Edelrid Sendero II Harness

I just received and this is my impression of the new version of the Edelrid Sendero II. 

What matters to me in a rock harness in ranking order:

1. Big enough gear loops
2. 5th or rear gear loop
3. Fits well, especially the height from waist to legs
4. Comfortable for hanging belays
5. Belt tails get out and stay out of the way

On first impression, this harness seems like it's going to work well for me.

Both the gear loops are 9cm inside width, and 45mm 'deep'. They're a stiff plastic.

The rear loop is quite small: 5cm x 45mm in a rounded loop. I fit three small (Grivel) lockers easily on it holding ATC w/ another Attache, a cordelette and nut tool.
There is a flush tagline/haul loop that would hold something above the rear loop, and anything on it would probably be in the way.

There's a full, wide space between the gear loops to:

1. fit a 20mm wide ice clipper. Black Diamond (which is one of the thickest) fit easily.
2. keep gear hanging on each from tangling

I fit 8 nano 22 with aliens and TCU on the front gear loop. I felt confident clipping and unclipping to the gear loops.

The harness fits we with most of the belt tightened. You can slide the webbing within the harness to center everything, which is nice. It's not easy to slide around.

I can see the front gear loops but they are not in front on my belly even though the harness is tightened almost all the way. The rear gear loops are on my back. I can pull the biners forward and see them, but it's not like if they were on my side. Ice tool clipper position ends up just past my side as it's set up on my waist.

Overall, the foam is pretty rigid and I think this will make it much more comfortable than the Sitta for hanging belays.

Really nice is that there's two waistband retaining loops, and they're along the top of the swami and will hold the belt out of the way of the gear loops.

A thoughtful feature is the waist and leg belt webbing ends are folded over and sewn inward, instead of outward, which makes them easier to undo from the elastic keepers.

(My rear loop is done differently - it is sewn more narrowly, and hangs to about the same length as the other loops. It is like the loop seen in the top photo.)

Thanks! Been curious about this harness. 

Used it for the first time this weekend and I hadn't noticed the feel of the harness while lowering or rappelling until the 8th or 9th route on the second day. Surprising as it doesn't feel soft. But it's stiff and the belt and leg loops are wide.

I recently got Sendero II and really like the sliding belt and how it allows me to center the belay loop and gear loops no matter how big/small my waist is that day. In contrast, my Adjama always ends up offset, which pulls my right gear loops forward enough to be in my way (catching cams on the wall in front of me) while the left ones get pulled rearward enough to be harder to reach. With the Sendero, the belay loop can be centered and the gear loops properly balanced and off to the sides of my hips. I hope that this sliding-belt feature becomes standard across all brands as it's lighter and less complicated than a double-buckle system while allowing a much better fit to many people of different sizes.

I really like the squared shape of the plastic loops. They are stiff enough to be easy to clip and do a good job at spreading out gear enough to return cams back to their proper order when I invariably guess the wrong size needed.

The one thing I found frustrating is that my large-sized harness has the rear loop sewn narrowly (as noted by the OP) and it wasted a lot of space to either side. I found that the narrow loop got really bunched up when I tried to fit my normal kit on it:belay device, prussik on a locker, biner with emergency rap/tat kit, cordelette, and a couple of spare biners. With 5 or 6 biners they ended up fanning out in all directions in a big clump and there was no remaining room on that loop to tag shoes or add anything else. It was also pretty difficult to pull one of those things off without looking or dropping anything. I probably carry too much up with me most of the time, but I'd rather have the weight and bulk be the thing that prevents me from carrying gear than frustration with a too small loop.

To address this deficiency I added a pair of gear loops made out of a single piece of hollow-braided 7/64" AmSteel (Dyneema) that I had on hand for making hammock suspensions. At each end of the piece the tails (~1/4 of the length from each side) are burried back inside toward the middle to stiffen up the cord and prevent fraying at the ends. I then thoroughly stiched the ends and middle through the harness's comfort belt to make two loops offset from the others below.

In my test at home this seems to solve my storage issues and the varied height helps keep bulk down when all three rear loops are in use. They are also easier to organize than one big loop would be. I'll post some photos after I get a chance to climb with these new loops over the weekend.

How does the hanging comfort/belaying compare to the Adjama or the BD solution? I’ve got a solution guide that needs to be replaced as my every day workhorse and I’m considering the sendero.

Adam Franco wrote:

In my test at home this seems to solve my storage issues and the varied height helps keep bulk down when all three rear loops are in use. They are also easier to organize than one big loop would be. I'll post some photos after I get a chance to climb with these new loops over the weekend.

Here are a couple photos of the custom Amsteel loops in use over the past week. As noted, I carry more than is likely needed, especially when I have no idea which gear I'll need on a climb.

I generally used them for extra slings/biners and anchor-building kit so that this gear would stay out of my way while reaching for draws or cams.

I really like how the higher tier keeps stuff up and away from the rest of the rack. With hind sight I realize that I should probably rack my extra slings over my shoulder to cut down on the bulkiness.

The custom loops proved to be stiff enough to use and about the right length for what I was after (they are about the same length as the main square plastic loops).

I had stitched the center to the sewn-in fabric loop on the back, but I think I'll add some more stitches straight through the waist belt to keep it from pulling the top edge down quite as much. These loops were hand-stitched on with about 20 stitches each of all-purpose polyester thread. I found that if I aligned the thread with the fibers of the cordage it would bury into the Amsteel and protect the ends of the threads from abrasion. No issues with the stitching coming loose so far, but I'll probably go back and add a few more stitches with heavier nylon thread when I get some, just to have a backup.

I just bought an Edelrid Jay III at Rock & Resole. It’s doesn’t have quite as many of the features as the Sendero II described herein, but I want say that it’s more comfortable than the BD Solution that I’ve been using in the same size.  I can cinch up the belt and leg loops more tightly, and, as mentioned upthread, the belt can be easily slid within the harness to center the belay loop and tie-in. This feature also allows me to equally reach gear loops on each side, important for my compromised shoulders. This harness was NOT made in China, as are many other brands. 

Thanks for your post. I am looking at the Sendero II and my only hold-out is the plastic gear loops. How strong do they seem? Are you at all worried about them breaking?

Dave Berlin wrote:

Thanks for your post. I am looking at the Sendero II and my only hold-out is the plastic gear loops. How strong do they seem? Are you at all worried about them breaking?

I’m not worried at all about the bear loops breaking. They seem very durable in my opinion. 

I ordered this harness in two sizes ( small and medium) and I’m considering returning them both. This harness has some good ideas but I’m not sure it works for me. The sliding belay loop is a great idea but it’s too close to the right side where the waist belt straps for the slack sit. In both the small and medium, with the gear loops set centered, I have to remove it from the first elastic belt loop to cinch it down all the way and the buckle is close to bottoming out. Im not even my lightest weight either. Also, the gear loops are nice and big but they left a space between the front and rear loops for an ice screw keeper. Makes it that much harder to see what’s on the rear loops when they’re an inch further back than they needed to be. I don’t know why they ceded that space to ice screws, maybe there are more ice climbers than I thought.