Petzle sequoia pros and cons

I've been in mine (new version, non SRT) for a year now, and I still love it. It may not have all the funky attachment holes the treemotion does, but with a little ingenuity, it's just as customizable as anything else out there.

I don't really see a need to replace any parts other than the bridge, and with a sliding ring, my bridges haven't worn all that quickly. You can always have treestuff sew up a bridge out of different material if you really dislike the stock ones that much. The open rings give you lots of options here.

It's super comfortable. The padding isn't as wide as the treemotion (and possibly not as wide as the MCRS...haven't seen one in person yet) but there's plenty there. As for carrying your stuff...there are gear loops everywhere. The carabiner tunnels can be used for a lot of stuff, not just carabiners. One of mine has silky saw clips sewn in with paracord.

The waist belt-to-bridge rings connection is adjustable, but it takes a few minutes to adjust...lots of double-backs to work it through. Once you get it set, several have noticed that over time, these buckles can allow a little creep, so you'll have to tighten them up a little again. Biggest drawback I've had, and manageable.
 
The straps connecting the leg loops to the waist belt have worn on mine. Seems a component that could/should be replaceable. I did like it overall for it's lightness, ease of set up, sufficient attachment points. I used a sliding ring but still with the usage the bridge would wear down sooner than a rope bridge.
 
I haven't climbed on the new version. I had the old version for awhile, it was a pretty good harness. I broke the plastic component of a leg loop buckle, the buckles on the new harness still have a plastic component, and it was basically the end of that rig.

Petzl asked that I ship them the harness, the only one I owned at the time, for up to a month and pay out big time for a replacement buckle.

I got a treemotion instead, more replaceable parts.
 
That is the other issue I had. Petzl tends to be somewhat highhanded when it comes to warranty claims. I went through a lot of grief with them over the snapping off of the bungies on the back of the leg loops. I've caught these on other models and none broke. But my sequoia did within a couple months of being purchased. Had to ship it to them then buy a replacement one until they determined if it was covered. They begrudgingly agreed to replace it.
 
Subscribed. I'm thinking of moving to the Sequoia SRT after having had pretty good service from my Petzl Avao. Plus, a couple optional items I currently own would transfer directly to the Sequoia, like the Petzl Top chest harness and Podium batten seat. If folks are seeing their old webbing bridges wear out, why not tie your own rope bridge?
 
I have the newer SRT model. I love mine. The only issue I have with it is that I wish the waist got a little smaller in the summer time. I also have a newer ergolite, which seems a lot heavier in comparison. It also doesn't get small enough for me. If I was choosing between the two I own, I would take the sequoia. Good luck.
 
It's true that the sequoia doesn't have any lower D's or Paws in the same way that one might find them on other harnesses, but you certainly can clip directly into the open rings with your flipline to get the same function.
 
Yeah, it's in the manual. It just makes it very clear that the rings cannot be used independent of each other (ie. only one side at a time), and cannot be used interchangeably with the hip D's. Both are pretty obvious, but bear mentioning for safety reasons. If you want the weight off your legs, use the hip D's, if you want it in your seat, use the rings, but if you want only one direct connection point, put it on your bridge.

The one disadvantage the open rings have compared to the D's is that the bridge is attached to the ring as well, so if the angle of your climbing system compared to the angle of your lanyard's tie-in-point changes dramatically, you sometimes have to remove both ends of your lanyard to clip them in above or below the bridge to keep ropes from twisting/running against each other. Doesn't take long to get used to, and I hardly notice it now...but I can certainly see the benefit of paws or the TM d's in eliminating this. If there was an openable small rigging paw of some sort, I'd seriously consider testing a "liger mod" type deal on a sequoia. Unfortunately, due to the strap orientation to accomodate the rings, I think it'd require a whole new custom piece of hardware to really make it work the way I wanted.
 
Coming from a rock climbing back ground, I love the Sequoia for its lightweight and lack of unnecessary extras. The webbing pockets wrap the entire waist belt, which opens many options for customization. One of my favorite is a caritool right aginst one of my side d's, it saves me a step when re-hanging my lanyard after a cut, just slap it in and go. I have climbed a cougar and an edge and the extra padding just added up to unnecessary bulk and weight. I'm 200 lbs and spend 6 to 8 hours climbing on a normal day and have never found my Sequoia lacking in comfort. In the middle of a Texas summer, I think the lack of the extra layers makes all the difference.

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I've been climbing on the new version of the sequoia (non SRT) since it came out. Solid saddle very light and comfortable. Had to take the leg and belt adjustments because they would tend to slip after a couple days. I like how you can replace the ring opens and bridge. Downside is, for me, when you put a 066 or even a 046 the saddle is completely unbalanced , I have a chest harness now for these occasions where I made quick release suspenders for this.
 
Greg_L said:
Yeah, it's in the manual. It just makes it very clear that the rings cannot be used independent of each other (ie. only one side at a time), and cannot be used interchangeably with the hip D's. Both are pretty obvious, but bear mentioning for safety reasons. If you want the weight off your legs, use the hip D's, if you want it in your seat, use the rings, but if you want only one direct connection point, put it on your bridge.

The one disadvantage the open rings have compared to the D's is that the bridge is attached to the ring as well, so if the angle of your climbing system compared to the angle of your lanyard's tie-in-point changes dramatically, you sometimes have to remove both ends of your lanyard to clip them in above or below the bridge to keep ropes from twisting/running against each other. Doesn't take long to get used to, and I hardly notice it now...but I can certainly see the benefit of paws or the TM d's in eliminating this. If there was an openable small rigging paw of some sort, I'd seriously consider testing a "liger mod" type deal on a sequoia. Unfortunately, due to the strap orientation to accomodate the rings, I think it'd require a whole new custom piece of hardware to really make it work the way I wanted.
Click to expand...
Beautiful holistic explanation on Petzl openable rings Greg L, l love my Petzl Sequoia and am waiting for delivery of adjustable bridge, looking forward to trying it out, have any of you Treebuzzers experience with same, also can one use it on left side of saddle, thanks for your time.
 
The Sequoia SRT version is easier to snug up in the tree when the waist belt loosens. I'm skinny, I've found the TM more comfortable for work climbing, my hip bone crests get pretty sore from the Sequoia waist belt even with pruning saw and gear on the harness. As mentioned for heavier saws doing takedowns fahgetaboutit if you don't have your own natural padding
-AJ
 
For me the non-SRT Sequoia seemed to be like alpine gear - it's light and comfy - that is, 'till you take up a saw and the kitchen sink - then I found it just too light duty. So I now use MBH with suspenders almost exclusively for work. I "sit" in it better, and it's easier to get on and off for me, with the ISC buckles. And legs aren't tired at end of day like I experienced in the Sequoia - maybe it's the extra leg pads for the MBH from New Tribe. Plus the bridge is easy to replace in the MBH - it's just RBW Arbomaster in whatever length your heart desires whereas the Petzl replacements are proprietary.
 
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