ProView – Edelrid Sirana TC Review

Over the years it seems that highly specialized harnesses have become all the rage. Finding a harness that does more than one style of climbing well is hard to find at least without a large price tag attached! The big wall harnesses have the features, yet weigh too much. The sport climbing harnesses are insanely comfortable, yet lack in their ability to carry any gear on their tiny gear loops. Trad harnesses can carry the gear, yet most times are uncomfortable. Then there is ice climbing, which barely any harnesses can accommodate let alone focus on.  There are only a few harnesses out there that achieve the unbelievable and tread the center line with ability to do it all, which brings us to the Edelrid Sirana TC.

After my beloved Arc’teryx 395a harness finally bit the dust I have been on the market for a new harness that had similarly versatile features. With Arc’teryx discontinuing the 395a and similar harnesses on the market costing big bucks I kept searching, which eventually brought me to the Edelrid Sirana TC. Now that I live on the road in a truck camper with my fiancé and fellow gear tester, Emma, we don’t have the luxury of keeping many different harness in our non-existent gear room.  We focus primarily on alpine and multi pitch (trad) climbing in the summer and ice climbing in the winter. However, we do our fair bit of sport and trad cragging on all sorts of rock types and areas in between. Which means we are always searching for a climbing harness that is highly versatile so we can get away with using it for multiple climbing disciplines. During testing I put the Edelrid Sirana TC harness to the test on the immaculate granite of California’s Sierra Nevadas. 

Performance

Just as everything I have ever used from Edelrid, the quality of the harness is superb. I have yet to notice any wear although I have been beating it on rough California granite. When I am climbing in the alpine with an alpine rack (singles rack, nuts, a dozen alpine draws, and my personal equipment) the harness fits everything on its gear loops well.  Once I start carrying a doubles rack or more the gear loops start to get a touch small or downright cramped when I’m really racking heavy for those special climbs. I can’t fault Edelrid too much since they have the Sirana TC categorized under Sport Harnesses on their website. Yet, at the same time they do advertise it as an alpine harness which I think should at least be able to carry up to a doubles rack. Then again maybe I just rack a bit heavier than Tommy Caldwell! Nonetheless, when I am racked heavy the harness sits well on my waist and is very comfortable. The harness moves so well with my body that I can barely feel it let alone be restricted by it.

One of my favorite aspects of the Sirana TC is how lightweight and packable it is. It packs down very small which means you can get away with a small pack for fast and light alpine missions. Although during testing I didn’t get out ice climbing with it I feel that it would do pretty well in this regard. It has two integrated ice clipper slots in the waist belt but, you could easily fit a Grivel Carry-biner style ice clipper around the entire waistband giving you options to add more ice clippers than the allotted two.

Features

The Sirana TC comes stacked with features like wear indicators in the load bearing straps, a more ergonomic “butterfly” shape for increased load distribution, and two ice clipper slots. However, the really innovative features that sets the Sirana TC away from its competitors on the market are Edelrid’s center fit construction, five gear loops on a lightweight harness, and extremely durable Dyneema and HMPE hard points and belay loop. The center fit construction was a game changer and allows you to rotate the entire waist belt so that when you synch it down your belay loop doesn’t get tugged to one side. Basically it isolates your gear loops from your belay loop and vice versa so that when one rotates the other doesn’t have to. The Sirana TC also comes with a drop seat and a simple single buckle adjustment system for the leg loops which are very streamlined compared to other harnesses on the market.

Fit/ Comfort

When the Sirana TC first arrived I was skeptical of its fixed leg loops in regard to comfort. I generally prefer removable legs with buckles, however after many long days on rock in the Sirana TC I was very surprised by just how comfortable it is. The Sirana TC might be the MOST comfortable harness I’ve ever used. A lot of times it seems that even comfortable harnesses start to dig into you and turn uncomfortable after enough pitches or time. During testing I didn’t experience this with the Sirana TC. It was as comfortable when I finished the climb as it was on Pitch 1. Couple this with the center fit feature and the flexible Dyneema/ HMPE hard points and belay loop the Sirana TC can be finely tuned for optimum comfort.

Look/ Style

With a bold maroon (beetroot per Edelrid) color with bright accent colors on the belay loop and hard points it is both a good looking and safety conscious harness. With the hard points and belay loop visibly sticking out from the harness color it makes threading and checking your knots easier.  It’s slim design means it stays close to the body for a minimalist look that won’t get caught up in anything as you climb.

Weight/ Packability

The harness is very lightweight and packable! I have zero issues being able to fit it into a 22L pack with all my climbing gear, jackets, and emergency gear for a day in the alpine. It’s similar in size and packability, maybe even a touch smaller than the Trango Horizon harness (I tested prior) and a bit larger than my Blue Ice Choucas Pro harness which is just about as small as you can get a featured harness, yet that has no padding. For the features the Sirana TC is rocking it should be heavier and bulkier, but Edelrid really hit it out of the park with this harness.

Durability

How many squeeze chimneys do I have to do on splitter California granite to prove its durability? Well let’s just say I haven’t worn through the harness at all after much thrutching so I guess I need to get back to work in those offwidth’s! Seriously though, the Sirana TC has been holding up surprisingly well for the amount of granite I have scraped it up against thus far. Its slim design and face fabric seems to help is slide against the rock with adequate abrasion resistance rather than simply getting torn up like some harness fabric would fare. I rated it 4 out of 5 stars in this category only because an lightweight harness such as the Sirana TC inherently will not be as durable as a fully padded big wall or cragging harness. However, in terms of lighter weight harnesses it may as well be bombproof.

Eco-Friendly

Edelrid has the Sirana TC harness labeled as a coveted bluesign® PRODUCT which per Edelrid is one of the strictest standards in the textile industry. It “guarantees an eco-friendly manufactured product that is low in pollutants and safe for health and the environmental.” It is no surprise as Edelrid has led the way in many regards when it comes to eco-friendly climbing equipment lately.

Room for Improvement

As I mentioned previously, for those of us that aren’t Tommy Caldwell and like to carry a bit more gear, the gear loops are a bit too small. If Edelrid could make the gear loops a bit larger or enlarge the 5th gear loop on the back to a similar size as the rest then I think the Sirana TC would be an undisputed champ.

The Final Word

For those of you looking for a feature rich all arounder that excels in the alpine, sport climbing, or anything involving a long approach from the nearest trailhead that comes with a lower price tag than most specialized harnesses out there then look no further.  With supreme comfort, versatility, and packability the Sirana TC should be a serious contender for anyone looking for a harness to take them to the next level.

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