Garmont Tower Extreme LX GTX Mountaineering Boots
Garmont has got a lot of things right with these lightweight and comfortable technical mountaineering boots.
Black Diamond Momentum
This review appeared in Rock and Ice issue 249 (April 2018). The Momentum is Black Diamond’s first foray into rock shoes. Hailed by BD as the “perfect entry-level” shoe and great for “all day comfort,” … Continue reading "Black Diamond Momentum"
The North Face Chalk Bag Pro
MSRP: $25.00 BEST FOR: Rock climbing A chalk bag’s a chalk bag’s a chalk bag. 9/10 times you can’t go wrong. That being said, every bag is slightly different, and it’s worth checking … Continue reading "First Look: The North Face Chalk Bag Pro"
Blue Ice Choucas Light
MSRP: $79.95 I was tempted to fall into the trap of cliché and write that the Choucas Light is “butt floss.” Although that would have been an apt visual, I won’t debase myself … Continue reading "Blue Ice Choucas Light"
La Sportiva Trango Ice Cube GTX
MSRP: $550 BEST FOR: Mixed climbing, light and fast alpinism The La Sportiva Trango Ice Cube GTX is a lightweight alpine boot, perfect for mixed climbing, light and fast missions and Alps-genre mountaineering adventures. … Continue reading "La Sportiva Trango Ice Cube GTX"
Kavu Shapiro Rope Bag
MSRP: $75 BEST FOR: Cragging Professional climber Jeff Shapiro found himself dreaming of an improved rope bag, and, after some do-it-himself arts and crafts, created a prototype. One of his sponsors, Kavu, improved upon … Continue reading "Kavu Shapiro Rope Bag"
Sea to Summit Alpha 2.1 Cookset
MSRP: $64.95 BEST FOR: Camping and backpacking The new Alpha cookware sets from Sea to Summit are lightweight camping sets for backpacking and camping. Each set nests together into the largest pot and can … Continue reading "Sea to Summit Alpha 2.1 Cookset"
Black Diamond Mission 55
MSRP: $219.00 BEST FOR: alpine and winter climbing It’s for ice and winter climbing. Winter travel. Alpine cragging, at the very least. But what if you are a plain rock climber who always overloads … Continue reading "Black Diamond Mission 55"
Metolius Freerider Pack
MSRP: $139.00 BEST FOR: Trad or sport cragging In design, Occam’s Razor encourages us to eliminate unnecessary elements that would decrease a design’s efficiency and the Metolius Freerider crag pack adheres to this … Continue reading "Metolius Freerider Pack"
Black Diamond LiveWire Quickdraw
MSRP: $25.95 BEST FOR: Sport climbing With a lot of new quickdraws these days, we find ourselves trying to fumble the rope through tiny wire gates, or a thin strip of dyneema cutting into … Continue reading "Black Diamond LiveWire Quickdraw"
TrailKeg Growler
MSRP: $40-$199 BEST FOR: Drinking Bringing together post-climbing libations and keg-quality beer has long been the goal of civilization, from Babylonia to the Greeks and onto ‘Merica…but, alas, problem solved. TrailKeg has brought … Continue reading "TrailKeg Growler"
Boreal Dharma
MSRP: $159.95 BEST FOR: Steep bouldering and sport climbing and edging at your limit Based on first impressions and initial use we’re really impressed by these aggressive and technical Boreal shoes, available in … Continue reading "Boreal Dharma"
Climbing Addicts Colored Chalk
MSRP: $16.99 BEST FOR: Any type of climbing We enjoy chalked up holds during onsight attempts: rather than navigating a sea of uninterpreted rock, the clues and hints about which holds are good … Continue reading "Climbing Addicts Colored Chalk"