Climbers are a notoriously picky bunch to shop for, so keep it simple this holiday season. The editors at Climbing have been testing non-stop in 2024, and we’ve highlighted the best new gear that your hard-earned money can buy. We’ve field tested everything on the list below—from cushy socks and comfortable hardshells to innovative belay devices and ropes—and can confidently say these will earn the appreciation of the climber in your life.

Best Gifts Under $75

Camp Nano 22 Rack Pack ($40)

The Nano 22 is billed as the lightest “fully functional” carabiner in the world, and we wholeheartedly agree. There are certainly lighter carabiners out there—but they are typically much smaller and therefore a nightmare to handle when pumped or while wearing gloves. The Nano 22, meanwhile, has a surprisingly deep basket for its featherlight weight (22 grams), enabling us to clip them in a hurry when pumping out on long multi-pitches. These carabiners live on our alpine draws and cam slings when we’re shaving grams.

Arc’teryx Merino Wool Grotto Mid Sock ($30)

All but the least-kempt climbers in your life wear socks and, unlike spoiled children, will be thrilled to receive a fresh set. The Merino Wool Grotto Mid is among our favorites from Arc’teryx: its soft and comfortable Merino wool is blended with nylon for added durability over years of use, and it’s lightly cushioned for long approaches. Whether you’re hiking to the crag, cold-weather rock climbing, or powering up an ice pillar, the Grotto Mid provides a snug, slip-free fit.

Gifts Under $150

Edelrid Pinch ($120 USD/$170 CAD at the link below)

Edelrid’s new assisted-braking belay device, the Pinch, made waves earlier this year with its ability to attach directly to the belay loop—no carabiner required. (To open the Pinch, you must press a small, tilting button while the device is simultaneously rotated 90 degrees from your body.) Climbing testers were initially skeptical of the Pinch’s ability to stay locked while belaying, but after four months of steady testing, we are now confidently catching airy whippers and belaying on big walls without the added weight or clutter of an extra locker. The Pinch feeds rope just as smoothly as other popular assisted-braking devices, and offers a smoother lower and rappel thanks to a beefy handle. An anti-panic feature—which locks the Pinch if lowering too quickly—can be disarmed if preferred.

Petzl Sirocco ($130)

The beloved Sirocco helmet is redesigned for 2024 and—somehow—is even better than before. Petzl has swapped its magnetic chin buckle for a plastic one (greater security), a bulbous forehead for a slimmed down silhouette (greater field of vision), and a better ventilation layout to encourage airflow while limiting the sand and dirt and ice that inevitably falls into big forehead vents while climbing adventurous terrain. Despite these extra features the Sirocco retains its 160-gram weight in S/M, making it our favorite ultralight helmet on the market.

Black Diamond Ultralight Ice Screw ($85-$90)

With instant bite, smooth boring, and easy-action handles, there is no need to run it out while climbing with BD’s Ultralight Ice Screws. The aggressive geometry on the steel teeth gives it a bulldog bite when placed on vertical ice, and the aluminum shaft—an ample 2cm in diameter—let us re-use most screw-holes on popular climbs that resembled Swiss cheese. Add in a snappy, fold-out plastic handle, and these things practically spin themselves in. BD has shaved 45 percent off the weight by pairing aluminum and steel—encouraging us to bring a couple more up that crux pitch.

Petzl Swift RL Headlamp ($140)

The Swift RL is a brilliant headlamp for those needing long-lasting support on their nocturnal adventures. Whether you’re sessioning crispy crimps by moonlight, accepting benightment on Epinephrine, or foregoing bivy gear in Patagonia, the Swift RL’s 1100 lumens and max burn time of 100 hours will surely outlast whatever sufferfest you’ve imposed on yourself. The rechargeable Swift RL is efficient in more ways than one: its 100 grams comes with a “Reactive Lighting” sensor that examines the ambient light and adjusts its brightness accordingly.

Gifts Under $300

Scarpa Arpia V ($169)

Designed for intermediate climbers, the Arpia V is both moderately downturned and asymmetrical, and gets especially high marks in both comfort and edging performance. It’s a supportive shoe, thanks to its full-length midsole and outsole, and should be attractive to heavier climbers who need stiff, supportive shoes while standing on small edges. That said, the Arpia V still has enough shape and toe-box sensitivity (thanks to the asymmetry and downturn) to let you curl into incut edges and feel small deviations underfoot. All in all, the Arpia V is an excellent shoe for intermediate climbers looking for something that will perform equally well on face climbs in the gym or outside.

Mammut 9.5mm Alpine Core Protect Rope ($290 in 60m)

Climbing-rope security has come a long way since the days of stiff hemp cords, and Mammut has taken their ropes to a new level with the Alpine Core Protect: a 9.5mm single rope that has a second sheathe woven with burly Aramid fibers. This rope handles and catches falls just as smoothly and softly as any of Mammut’s other 9.5mm ropes, but in the event of a dangerous fall over a sharp rock edge—as often found in mountainous environments—this Aramid-infused sheath will drastically increase its cut-resistance. We’ve spent five months beating the crap out of this rope—including on Minotaur Direct (5.11+; 500m) in the Bugaboos, Mt. MacDonald’s Northwest Ridge (5.8; 900m), and Buddha Nature Direct (WI 5; 120m)—and have noticed zero premature wear. The Alpine Core Protect also comes in 8.0mm half ropes, if wandery routes are your thing.

Patagonia M10 Storm Pants ($279)

The new M10 Storm Pants is this year’s best climbing-apparel innovation. Ice climbers, alpinists, and backcountry rock climbers who need the weather-proof security of hardshell pants have historically had to sacrifice a significant amount of comfort and mobility, since run-of-the-mill hardshell pants stem and lunge about as well as a pair of suit trousers. Such a sacrifice is no longer necessary thanks to the M10, which fuses the mobility-first design of jujitsu pants with various , who has tested prototypes since 2019.

The M10 pants have a generously gusseted crotch—yes, you can do the splits in them—an elastic waistband and cuffs, a thigh pocket, a diagonal zipped fly, and little else. Coming it at just 240 grams in medium, the M10s are surely the lightest fully-waterproof pants we’ve ever worn, and have served us well while battling up ice pillars running with water and racing electrical storms in the rugged Purcell Mountains. Bonus: the M10 series also includes a . We’ve been digging the latter for its unrestricted arm mobility and low-key profile while tucked into a harness.

La Sportiva Mandala ($209)

La Sportiva’s No Edge technology is about as close to the term “divisive” as climbing technology gets: While the majority of climbing shoes have a defined, 90-degree intersection where the sole and rand meet in front of your toes, the shoes in the No Edge line have a rounded front, which La Sportiva achieved by wrapping the sole up around the toe so that it becomes toe-scumming patch on the top of the shoe. This design sacrifices some precision-edging performance, but it maximizes smedging—the ability to smear over edges and into divots—and allows you to extend on the tip of your toe like a ballerina.

With the new Mandala, the No Edge tech is paired with its most supportive shoe yet, making it an attractive choice for boulderers and sport climbers alike. Tester Matt Samet wore his extensively on a 15-degree overhanging 5.14 project in the Flatirons, while editor Anthony Walsh trusted them while onsighting 30-meter 5.11 and 5.12 limestone routes around Canmore. As Walsh put it: “I wouldn’t reach for these shoes for razor-thin edging (hello, !) or Font-style sloper problems (the !), but for everything else, they are in rotation. It’s what the La Sportiva Genius should have been.”

Gifts $300+

Coros Apex 2 Pro Watch ($449)

The Coros Apex 2 Pro is a GPS sports watch that gives mountain athletes of all kinds the ability to accurately track their training and performances. It features a touch screen made of sapphire glass and three low-profile buttons. It’s got all the bells and whistles, including geo-location data from five satellites systems, a topographic map, heart rate data, a barometric altimeter, a 3D compass, a thermometer, an oximeter, and music storage—plus specific activity tracking including the “Indoor Climbing” mode. The Coros Apex 2 Pro takes all the and brings it to a new level with an increased battery life (now 21 days with stress monitoring, and 66 hours with full GPS tracking) and a slightly larger watch face. Climbers who struggle with either over- or under-doing it in the gym will benefit from the insight and accountability this watch can offer.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT BY MOUNTAIN EQUIPMENT
Mountain Equipment Oreus Jacket ($449.95)

Endorsed by leading alpinists, the Oreus jacket from Mountain Equipment delivers superior warmth, functionality, and durability in challenging environments. This versatile jacket is crafted with innovative Aetherm Precision Insulation for down-like performance with the durability and weather resistance of synthetic fill. Between warmth, quick-drying performance, low weight, and pack size, it’s perfect for alpine climbing, ski touring, hill-walking and more as an outer layer, warm mid-layer, or lightweight belay jacket.

Black Diamond Hydra Ice Tool ($310)

Ice climbing tools have come so far since the medieval days of straight-shafted instruments that it can be difficult to wade through all the modern-day options. Most ice tools have a balanced swing weight, comfortable grip, and aggressively shaped shaft to minimize pump and bruised knuckles. So where does a would-be consumer go from there? We’d point them toward Black Diamond’s all-new Hydra, which is quickly becoming our favorite tool of all time.

One of our favorite things about the Hydra is how customizable you can make it depending on your objective. Its innovative head weights are the real headline here: Black Diamond sank the weights into the head itself, rather than bolting them onto the pick, simultaneously providing a more balanced swing weight and a lower profile. Thanks to this recessed head, ice climbers can opt for simple 5-gram “spacers” if they’re climbing warm, wet ice and don’t need the extra heft. Or, if swinging into bullet-hard ice in Canada, as we did on the north-facing Stanley Headwall last winter, drop in two 40-gram headweights to let the Hydras do the work. We’ve also been going hybrid—one light spacer, one heavy weight—to achieve that Goldilocks-swing at medium altitudes.

Head weights aside, the Hydra comes with a suit of tools that would make a mechanic jealous, including a long “Alpine” spike for snow plunging, a “Micro” spike, a full-size alpine hammer, micro hammer, adze, and handle spacers. And don’t get us started on their razor-sharp picks


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I hate myself when I uncoil new climbing ropes. I always mess it up and it ends up an impossibly tangled heap that takes at least 30 minutes to undo. I finally watched a YouTube video the other day and learned a lot. I realized that taking care of and managing ropes is a tad more nuanced than I initially gave it credit for, despite my years of experience.

I’ll never forget my first rope. It was a purple and yellow Edelweiss 9.8 that my parents gave me for Christmas. I lived in Dallas, hours away from any sport crag, but I had goosebumps. And my coach, who guided me along my competitive career, did her best to teach me the basics of rope care.Ìę

“Don’t step on it!” she snapped on our first outing.

“Why?” I asked.Ìę

“Because if you were wearing crampons, you could damage it,” she said.

“Why in the hell would I be wearing crampons?” I asked. I was 13 and had not one but two gym tags on my harness. It was a fair question, but one that she didn’t bother to answer.

To my coach’s credit, I have worn crampons exactly twice since then and have never stepped on the rope while wearing them. And not stepping on your rope is in general solid advice.

Below, more on that and other best rope-care practices.

Uncoiling

Most ropes that you will buy will be coiled in a spool. Duh, I guess. But the reality vs. imagined difference is evident when you picture unraveling a spool of T.P. If you pull from the end when it’s on the holder, it comes off nice and neat. But, if you were to rotate it 90 degrees and pull up, think of the twists that would occur—which is neither good for T.P. usage, nor for your climbing rope. That’s why when you just throw your new cord on the ground and then yank (as I may have done for the last *cough 15 years) it quickly becomes a kinky, knotted mess.Ìę

So here’s what you do: after cutting off the zipties and other factory attachments keeping the thing together, place both your arms through the middle of the rope (make your arms the holder!). Then, do the macarena (seriously) and rotate your arms in circles, keeping the rope tensioned on top. If you have a partner, it helps if they pull the rope out as you do the arms circles.

It’s not the end of the world if you mess this up. Most ropes are prone to some amount of kinking out of the box, even if they were perfectly uncoiled to begin with. If your rope kinks, here are a few tricks:

Ìę– Try pulling the rope through a set of anchors. This is good to do anyways, since you should really switch up which side you’re climbing on so as to even out the wear.ÌęÌę

Ìę– A slightly more complicated method: after your partner has finished climbing and reached the ground, tell them not to untie—they will serve as an anchor. Then coil the remaining rope. Have your partner back up until the remaining rope is slightly in the air. Watch it spin! Be sure to stop it from spinning the other direction due to momentum.Ìę

Coiling

It’s best not to leave your rope coiled, as that can cause kinks. But for carrying and temporary storage, coiling your rope is a great way to keep it neat. There are many ways to coil your rope. The main methods are:

Ìę– For storage: Grab both ends of your rope and hold them together in one hand. Drape one arm’s length of rope over your shoulders. Continue adding loops of rope of approximately the same length across your shoulders until about one arm’s length of rope remains. Take the stack off your shoulders and fold it in half. Then take the excess loop and wrap it around the outside of the bundle, along the middle. Then you can feed the last loop of the rope on a bight at the top of the rope to secure it.Ìę

Ìę– For draping across your backpack: Grab one end of your rope. As with the method described above, you’ll drape arms-lengths of rope over your shoulders until you have about one arm’s length of rope remaining. Then take the rope off your shoulders, and grabbing the rope in the middle, make a small bight of rope using the excess. Then wrap the tail end around the middle of the rope. When you reach the end of the rope, thread it through the bight and cinch the bite down.

Ìę– A helpful video can be found .

Storage

UV radiation and extreme temperatures can damage your rope. So can dirt (more on that below). And, as stated above, storing your rope stacked in a pile rather than coiled helps prevent kinks. For all those reasons, use a rope bag!

Here are some of our favorites:

Blue Ice Koala ($43)

Best For: Cragging

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel here. Rope bags should be simple. Straightforward. But I have to hand it to Blue Ice, the Koala has some worthwhile innovations. When worn alone, the bag slings over your shoulder to, as the name suggests, hug you like a Koala. It unzips down the middle, the tarp pulls out, you’re ready to climb. Packing it back up is where the bag really shines. A helpful “Stop,” maker shows you where to zip up to. After that, you pick up the bag by the handles on the tarp, the rope conveniently packs itself in, and then you can finish zipping the bag up. Easy peasy. The bag fits ropes up to 80 meters in length, although a smaller rope gives you room for shoes and a harness. There’s even a small zippered pocket on the side, great for your phone, chapstick, and snacks. At $43, it is comparable to other bags on the market.Ìę

Kavu Shapiro Rope Bag ($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 some of his original materials and construction and, voila, Shapiro’s eponymous rope bag entered their product line.

Like other rope bags, the Shapiro Rope Bag has an internal tarp that folds out for the rope to sit on. But unlike many rope bags, the tarp is removable: it zips off, allowing you to burrito-up your rope and move it from belay stance to belay stance without restacking the rope (read: somehow getting it hopelessly tangled) into the bag each time. If you did want to re-bag it each time though, the Shapiro’s bottom and sides have enough stiffness so as to allow it to function as more of a rope bucket. The Shapiro forgoes the cinch-up drawstring that many rope bags rely on, instead using three strategically-placed straps of webbing—one vertical, two horizontal—that tidily buckle everything up. The closure system makes this bag a solid choice for cragging, but rules it out for any multi-pitch adventures unless you want to risk exploding your pack at every belay. Read on .

Mammut Magic Rope Bag ($70)

Best For: Gym bag, sitting mat, rope bag

Good things come in threes, or so we are told. Let’s see 


The Mammut Magic Rope Bag is tri-use. It makes a nice solid, handy gym bag. Room for a couple pairs of shoes and a jacket. Over-the-shoulder carrying sling. Large interior zip pocket to try, might as well try, to contain the chalk dust — anyway, it holds a chalk bag, and tape or whatever else you like. Wrist-deep exterior zip pocket works for keys, phone, sport bar or other snack.

The bag is padded, with thin foam sides, to make a comfortable mat to sit on and stay out of the dirt for putting on shoes. Or perhaps just basking and chatting. The instructions say to pull the drawstring for converting the bag to a mat, yet that seems not to make an appreciable difference. I’d just turn the bag on its side and sit on it.

Some people really like stand-up bags for, again, keeping things out of the dirt, but I prefer tarps and, usually, a big ol’ backpack for hiking to crags. So I have not used this item as a rope bag. The climbing gym, on the other hand, is a pleasant mile walk from where I work and elsewhere in town, and for that this bag is an easy carry, especially with just the usual few light gym items in it. Read on Ìę

Bonus Favorite: In a pinch, Ikea bags work great. Something is better than nothing.

Dirty Secrets

Dirt can work its way in between rope fibers and abrade it while the rope stretches and contracts. This is the real reason why you shouldn’t step on your rope, as that can really work the dirt in. A 2010 study conducted by the International Technical Rescue Symposium demonstrated that a rope can lose 20 percent of its strength after just one soiling, and 40 percent after eight soilings. Yikes!Ìę

Luckily, washing your rope is easy. The most important thing to remember is: never use detergents or bleach. Stick with dedicated rope cleaning products or just water. You can wash your rope in the tub, a bin, or the sink by soaking it and massaging it with your hands. Rinse and repeat. Or you can wash your rope in a front-loading washing machine. Be sure to run the washing machine with nothing in it first to rinse it of detergent residue. Then before tossing it in so that it won’t tangle.

To dry your rope, you can lay it out in a shaded area outside or a ventilated room indoors. Do not leave it in the sun or expose it to high temperatures.

Notes for in the FieldÌę

Sharp rock edges present the greatest threat to your rope, especially when it’s under tension. Inspect your carabiners and quickdraws, as they, too, can damage your rope if worn sharp. Use rope protector sleeves if you’re fixing your line.Ìę

Regularly inspect your rope for signs of damage, which include excessive fuzziness and flat or soft spots. If you see white it ain’t right. In other words, if the core is exposed, it’s time to cut the damaged section off. More than likely, this kind of wear will be towards the ends of the rope, where knots are tied and where falls actually happen.Ìę

To chop your rope, first wrap the spot you intend to cut with some basic finger tape. Slice through the rope and tape and then burn the exposed end with a lighter so that the tape, core, and sheath melt together. You can write on the tape the new length of your rope, but be sure to use a rope-specific marker, as regular ones can damage the cord. Also, consider marking a new middle point, as that will have shifted (or just cut both ends).

Speaking of rope length: Did you know that your rope will shrink with usage? As it swells in diameter over time, it may decrease 2 to 3 percent in length after just a few uses and up to 10 percent in length over its lifespan. Be wary of this and be sure to tie a knot at the end of your rope!

Like dirt, water can reduce the strength of your rope by up to 30 percent! It will regain this strength once it dries, but try not to get it wet when out at the crag, and never store it wet.Ìę

Bonus Tip: When cragging, keep your rope away from Fido, as .

When to Retire?

With regular use, most ropes will last you about a year. After that, you may be able to get away with using it in the gym or for top roping on short pitches. Based on how often you climb, here is what to expect:

Ìę– Frequent use (a few times a week): up to 1 year

Ìę– Regular use (few times per month): 1–3 years

Ìę– Occasional use (once per month): 4–5 years

Ìę– Rare use (1 – 2 times per year): 7 years

Ìę– Never used: 10 years

When the life is gone, recycle your old rope by making it into a rope rug, bracelets, or a dog leash.

The post How to Care for Your Climbing Rope appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Climbing helmets were once cumbersome and uncool, and it was thought that with proper technique, you could avoid having to wear one if you climbed carefully enough and avoided an upside-down lead fall (newsflash: even careful climbers have found themselves dangling heels over head). With today’s helmets, however, there really aren’t any excuses for not wearing one. They’re so lightweight and low-profile that you often forget there’s one on your head. “For me, a good helmet is like a safety blanket,” one of our testers noted. “It gives me the confidence I need to rip the heck out of a climb without soiling my diaper.” We put seven of the year’s newest climbing helmets through their paces—these are the three that stood out as the best of the batch.

Winners at a Glance

Black Diamond Vapor

Edelrid Zodiac 3R

Trango Halo

How We Test

Number of Helmets: 7

Number of Testers: 7

Total Number of Pitches Climbed: 119

Total Vertical Feet Climbed: 10,760

Range of Temps Climbed In: 40-80Âșčó

Range of Head Circumferences: 54-60cm

Number of Times We Were Grateful for Head Protection: No major incidents; but we’re happy to be protected every time we go out.

We recruited climbers in Reno, Nevada as well as Climbing magazine staff in Boulder, Colorado to put the newest climbing helmets on the market through their paces. Our test crew included climbers with varying head shapes and sizes—one tester even wears kids helmets sometimes. Testers hopped on routes of all types, from single pitch sport to multi-pitch trad in Lake Tahoe, the Eastern Sierra, Boulder, and Yosemite. They tracked how many pitches they spent wearing the helmets, while keeping notes on how breathable, comfortable, adjustable, and functional each helmet proved to be.

Meet Our Lead Tester

Our category manager is Ula Chrobak, a freelance journalist and climber of 12 years. Based in Reno, Nevada, she has access to some of the country’s best granite—from Donner Summit to Tuolumne Meadows. She’s also part of a network of multi-sport adventurers, which she tapped into to take the helmets out on their journeys. That means the helmets went through the wringer—one tester, Peter Throckmorton, managed to rack up 33 pitches in two weekends.

The Reviews: The Best Climbing Helmets of 2023

Black Diamond Vapor ($140)

Weight: 186 g (S/M) / 199 g (M/L)
Size: 53-59 cm (S/M)/ 58-63 cm (M/L)
Construction: Softshell
Pros: Lightweight; Breathable
Cons: Strap system irritated ears of one tester; One tester with a 54-centimeter head circumference found the S/M too big

Black Diamond’s updated Vapor is one of the lightest helmets on the market, which takes away the biggest excuse climbers have to not protect their noggins. The 18 triangular cutouts provide superior breathability, with one tester, Anthony Walsh of Climbing magazine, finding it comfortable enough to wear on 12-mile glacial approaches in British Columbia. Despite it being an ultra lightweight foam construction helmet—and thus generally more fragile—another tester, Nathaniel Dray, noted that after tripping and falling backwards onto the helmet attached to his backpack, it only had a small dent in the polycarbonate crown. Walsh liked that the bright red color option stood out in photos, and both testers thought it was stylish. No trade-offs between good looks and safety here.

Bottom Line: A lightweight helmet for any climbing adventure, though, as with any foam helmet, extra care is needed to keep it in good shape.

Eldrid Zodiac 3R ($85)

Weight: 370 g
Size: One size, 55-61 cm
Construction: Hybrid
Pros: Durable; Comfortable; Easy to adjust
Cons: Only comes in one size; Our tester with a 54-centimeter head said it fit her head awkwardly

The new 3R looks surprisingly sporty for a hardshell helmet, with black and green colors, angular design, and a lower-profile fit to the previous Zodiac. It’s also ten grams lighter. One tester noted that the wheel adjustment at the back is intuitive and the buckles are nice and snappy. But what’s most unique about the 3R is that it’s made entirely of recycled materials—in fact, the polyamide shell is sourced from rope production leftovers. Overall, it’s easy to wear, easy on the eyes, and easy on the environment. That said, the one size might not fit everyone.

Bottom Line: A solid option for a durable, long-lasting helmet that gets extra points for its impressive sustainability chops.

Trango Halo ($100)

Weight: 220 g (S/M), 225 g (L/XL)
Size: 48-56 cm (S/M), 54-62 cm (L/XL)
Construction: Hardshell
Pros: New S/M option accommodates smaller heads; Comfortable; Good ventilation
Cons: Magnetic buckle can be fussy

This season, Trango added another size option to the Halo lineup. The new small-medium comes in a trendy lavender color and was a hit with our tester, Natalie Bladis, who thought it was the best fit she’s ever found for her small, 54-centimeter head. “I loved it, it’s the only helmet I’ve tried that is more comfy than my Smith cycling helmet.” However, she found that the magnetic chin clasp was tricky to undo one-handed. Still, the hardshell helmet performed well on the wall, providing Bladis peace of mind on a traverse pitch directly below a roof on the Jelly Roll Arch at Donner Summit. “I was super grateful to have a well-fitting, lower-profile helmet as I crouched below the roof traversing,” she said.

Bottom Line: A lighter-weight hardshell helmet that’s comfortable, yet more durable than soft foam helmets. The new S/M offers smaller sizing than some other helmets.

How to Buy

Hardshell vs. Softshell

The main two categories of climbing helmets are hardshells—with a foam core that’s fully wrapped in a layer of hard plastic—and softshells—which are mostly foam to shed ounces. While they can weigh about half that of hardshells, softshells tend to be more sensitive to abuse. Meanwhile, a hardshell is tougher and generally lasts longer, but can feel heavier and may get sweaty on hot days if the venting system isn’t well designed..

Budget and Weight

The main buying considerations are your budget and how you intend to use the helmet. Hardshells start around $60 and can be thrown around the crag, while softshells are generally more expensive and require some extra care. While you can use either type for your preferred style of climbing, softshells really shine where weight matters—long alpine days or projecting sport routes at your limit.

Feature Set and Fit

Other aspects to keep in mind: the presence of headlamp clips for climbers that start early or stay out late, how the helmet fits over a beanie for climbing in cold temps, and of course, whether it’s the right shape and size for your head.

The post The Best Climbing Helmets of 2023 appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Rock shoes have evolved light-years since the early days of the 1980s, when there was just one option: board-lasted high-top boots. Today shoes for the sport come in so many flavors, with new models being developed every year, that it takes concerted research to find the niche rock shoes you want. Not to worry, though: we did the work for you, and here present the most interesting, highest-performing climbing shoes of 2023.

The Winners at a Glance

Editor’s Choice: Scarpa Vapor S

Butora Gomi

Black Diamond Aspect Pro

Black Diamond Method S

Five Ten NIAD VCS

La Sportiva Katana Lace

La Sportiva Skwama Vegan

Red Chili Voltage LV

Scarpa Quantix SF

Tenaya Indalo

How We Test

Number of Testers: 10

Number of Shoes Tested: 16

Number of Vertical Feet Sent: 40,000-plus

Lowest Grades Climbed: 5.6, V0

Highest Grades Climbed: 5.14a sport, 5.12 trad, V10

Most Accessible Testing Venue: A backyard garage gym with a side-by-side MoonBoard and Tension board

Least Accessible Testing Venue: Bugaboo Mountains, British Columbia

Number of Times Our Lead Tester Threw His Shoes at the Rock Because He’d Punted on His Project Yet Again: At least once—maybe more (but who’s counting?)

Our climbing-shoe philosophy rests on two pillars. First: consider each shoe’s stated niche, and test it on the appropriate terrain. Second: take each shoe outside its comfort zone, to see if it has any surprise attributes. We also emphasize testing each model on as many climbs as possible, both to generate the most thorough feedback and to break in the shoe to see how it really performs. (Any reviewer who offers an opinion after a few gym sessions is full of it.) Testers will also climb the same route or problem repeatedly in different pairs, to see how the shoes stack up against each other on the same footholds and sequences.

This year, ten testers (including myself)—all experienced climbers ranging in age from their twenties to their fifties—considered 16 new (and newish) rock shoes, and narrowed our final selection down to ten. We tested on routes between 5.6 and 5.14; we tested at the climbing gym, on outdoor sport routes and boulder problems, and on MoonBoards, Tension boards, and Kilter boards; and we tested on trad climbs, sport climbs, and multi-pitch alpine rock climbs. Our crew covered almost all rock types—sandstone, limestone, granite, basalt—on everything from slabs to caves, and on cliffs in British Columbia, Colorado, California, New Mexico, Utah, and Kentucky.

The main factors we considered were fit, break-in period, comfort, precision, edging, smearing, hooking, scumming, and jamming. We also considered durability—how well a shoe holds its structure and last after heavy use. (Does it stay pointy, precise, and sharp, or does it “slop out” too quickly? Are the uppers and other components still intact?)

In this list, we kept the focus on intermediate and advanced climbing shoes, which are typically priced around $150 (but can run into the $200 range) and built for high performance. There is such a glut of undifferentiated, entry-level shoes on the market that it didn’t make sense to consider them in this review—and, to be honest, even newer climbers might do well to consider higher-end offerings after their initial months in the sport, to see what precision footwear is all about as their foot muscles strengthen.

Meet Our Lead Tester

Matt Samet, the former editor of Climbing, has been an avid rock climber since the mid-1980s, the era of high-top FirĂ© rock shoes. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he primarily sport-climbs, boulders, and trains on his home wall, and has been testing climbing gear for more than 20 years. The Climbing staff (Delaney Miller, Steve Potter, and Anthony Walsh) were also key testers for this review, as were husband-wife duo Chris and Heather Weidner, who are also based in Boulder and boast decades of climbing experience, as well as a shared hardest redpoint: Stockboy’s Revenge, a 5.14b in Rifle, Colorado.

The Reviews: The Best Climbing Shoes of 2023

Editor’s Choice: Scarpa Vapor S ($229)

Weight: 8.3 oz
Pros:

>Insane sensitivity
>A vacuum fit and lots of rubber make for epic steep-rock footwork (hooking, grabbing, and scumming)
>Zero dead space

Cons:

>Squishiness and asymmetry can be distracting on slabbier terrain

Don’t let the low-key aesthetic fool you: the Vapor S is a powerful, muscular slipper. The key is a sticky, full-length XS Grip 2 outsole married with a surprisingly flat last and touch of asymmetry that curls your big toes inward like talons. None of these attributes alone scream high performance, but consider them alongside the shoe’s overall flexibility, glove-like fit, gummy M50 rubber over the toe box, semi-stiff heel cup, and a low-profile, rounded toe that deforms preternaturally into tiny pockets, slots, and thin cracks. The collective result is one fierce steep-rock beast. Like a total beast, the kind you can maneuver into subtle heel-toe cams that would feel clunky in any other shoe. For a slipper, the Vapor S is also surprisingly versatile, as Heather Weidner can attest: “I was very impressed with the ability to toe in on small edges on more vertical terrain, as well as smear on slopey, sandy feet, but was also able to pull and grab on steep footholds.” Personally, I had the best gym session of my life in these shoes: I couldn’t get them to slip, whether on jibs or slopers, and I felt everything underfoot. Ditto on Red River Gorge cave climbs, where this shoe dug into the holds but offered just enough heft to see me through edging (smedging!) cruxes on the slabbier outros. The removable Nano Strap closure system looks nice, and I always ratcheted it down, yet it doesn’t seem to do much more than help angle your toes slightly one way or another.

Bottom Line: The Vapor S is for slipper aficionados who gravitate toward bouldering, gym climbing, and sport climbing. It’s pricey, yes, but all the elements are done right, and the shoe conforms to the foot like a second skin.

Butora Gomi ($160)

Weight (all weights listed are per shoe): 8 oz
Pros:

>Soft, intuitive, socklike fit makes for a quick break-in
>Regular version accommodates wide feet
>Excellent “all-shoe” sensitivity—good feedback in the toe box, heel, and scumming patch

Cons:

>Neo Fuse rubber felt squishy for long sport pitches, especially when sustained edging was involved

This nearly all-rubber boot had some of the best all-shoe feedback of the test. Translation: it’s sensitive everywhere, from the toe box to the heel cup to the scumming patch. (Most rock shoes only offer supreme sensitivity in one or two of these spots.) One tester confirmed this on a modern-style gym problem that involved rocking over a sloping jib screwed onto the side of a triangular volume. The hold was angled in such a way that you could only drop your heel—not toe—onto it. The Gomi did better than just about all the other shoes I tried on this problem, mainly because I could feel the jib through the molded heel cup and thus trusted the shoes on this bizarre move. Ditto for scumming and toeing into tiny jibs on gym boulders and overhanging rock. The socklike fit and tensioned Power Rand drive you down into the big toe, despite the Gomi’s merely mild downturn, offering an almost prehensile grip. On the flip side, this pair of shoes is not incredibly supportive, so I experienced some calf fatigue and squish on longer edging pitches, and the toe is a bit too rounded for micro crimps. That said, as a bouldering or sport-crossover shoe fit for wide dogs, the Gomi is one of the better, friendlier-priced options out there.

Bottom Line: This is a well-rounded boulderer-friendly shoe that also crosses over into sport climbing—especially steeps.

Black Diamond Aspect Pro ($200)

Weight: 10.6 oz
Pros:

>One of the kinder fits for a performance trad shoe
>Solid long-term comfort and incredible stability at stances
>Narrow toe profile great in cracks
>Thick, sticky Fuse rubber outsole was grippy on slabs

Cons:

>Toe box could be sharper, for better precision
>Lace eyelets caused foot pain in deep jams

We began by testing this shoe on a mixed bolt-and-gear granite slab with a strange, leaning, flaring crack, followed by thin nubbin stepping and faith smearing—exactly the type of climb it’s designed for. The big news here is that the Aspect Pro has such a kind, cushy microsuede footbed, and a softer demeanor than similar trad shoes, that it performed amazingly out of the box, needing almost no break-in period. On its inaugural voyage, the shoe felt grippy and reliable—and even had a dash of sensitivity, despite the full-length bilayer midsole. On smears, one tester found himself enjoying the Fuse rubber—a kind of thick, softer outsole that wouldn’t usually be my jam. It deformed nicely to rugosities in the rock. At 21.1 ounces, a pair of Aspect Pros is heavy, but in exchange you get stability and calf support, priceless for stances where you’re fighting calf fatigue while hunting for protection. The leather footbed promises long-haul comfort, bolstered by a sweat-wicking, knit tongue and thick, ropy laces that hold tension well, ensuring a dialed fit. However, tester Chris Weidner noticed a painful pressure point on the overhanging 5.10+ hand crack of Beach Buzz in Indian Creek, Utah. “After lowering and taking off the shoe, I realized that the combination of small lace coverings over such thick laces caused a single point of lace to be jammed against the crack, and thus also against my foot,” he noted. He did like the narrow toe profile, which shone while climbing Hail of a Beach, a baggy-fingers, thin-hands 5.11- crack also at Indian Creek. “I could stuff the tiptoe into the crack, twist, and stand on it reliably,” he noted.

Bottom Line: The Aspect Pro is a great option for trad and multi-pitch climbers seeking stability for long leads and mid-ankle coverage for cracks but favor a soft feel with greater emphasis on smearing than edging.

Black Diamond Method S ($144.95)

Weight: 8.8 oz
Pros:

>Comfortable fit, even when sized tightly, making for great bouldering-session wear
>Designed with a soft, pliable last that’s ideal for smearing, steeps with big footholds, and volume climbing
>Eye-catching camouflage aesthetic

Cons:

>Some bagginess over the forefoot hampered toe-scumming performance
>Black Label Fuse outsole feels too thick for a performance slipper

A softer sibling to Black Diamond’s all-arounder, the Method, the Method S is an ideal comfort shoe for long gym sessions and steep routes, thanks to its mild downturn and cozy footbed. It’s also one of the flashier shoes on the market: both the men’s and women’s versions sport a camouflage heel cup and tension rand that tend to be conversation starters with others. Two testers felt the Method S was great for grabbing extruded footholds on gym boulders and board climbs. “I was surprised by how well this shoe toes in on MoonBoard plastic and Tension board wood,” noted tester Chris Weidner. The shoe is sensitive (reason: the Soft Flex midsole is 0.9 millimeters thick, comprised of a small horseshoe in the toe box), making it a choice pick for smearing and steep grabbing. And it’d be even more so if the outsole wasn’t so thick—an odd choice for a slipper. (This issue that resolves over time, as you grind the sole down.) The sensitive squish means almost nonexistent edging performance, so you have to learn to toe in to holds, not on to them. Testers noted there’s no break-in period, and the shoes held up well, minus some minor toe flattening. My major complaint was that the scumming patch was baggy (albeit amply sized and nicely ridged). On a double-toe-hook parkour move, I slid down before the shoe caught. Though it did eventually snag, and I did send the problem.

Bottom Line: The Method S is the shoe for gym boulderers, board climbers, and cave boulderers who appreciate sensitivity married with a soft fit for long-session wear. It’s also adapted for smearing and big footholds, resulting in a solid steep-rock shoe that’s simply fun to climb in.

Five Ten NIAD VCS ($150)

Weight: 9.5 oz (men’s) / 8.5 oz (women’s)
Pros:

>A very stiff, precise toe (though surprisingly rounded) allows for edging and micro-edging support
>Sticky 3.5-millimeter Stealth outsole yields surprisingly good smearing for a shoe with a full-length midsole

Cons:

>The flat last coupled with dead space midfoot hampered a precision fit

Five Ten’s Anasazi line has enjoyed a cult following since the 1990s. The NIAD family—Lace, Moccasym, and the VCS—is a reimagining of that line. The VCS is the most well-rounded of the three options, occupying middle ground between the stiffer Lace and the softer Moccasym. It’s a beast of an edging shoe, with the kind of old-school support (read: a flat last coupled with a full-length, two-millimeter midsole) and precision you want on long, vertical face climbs and trad pitches. “I hadn’t climbed in Eldorado Canyon for a couple years, and I’m always surprised at how small the toe edges are and how much you have to trust your feet,” said tester Heather Weidner of the Colorado hot spot. “In the NIAD VCS, I was able to be precise in my toe placements. The stiffness of the toe edge made it easy to weight my feet without too much calf pump on vertical, technical terrain.” Another tester, Yosemite local Chris Van Leuven, described the toe as “chiseled,” and commented on how well it let him lay the shoe against offset seams but also stand on micro edges and granite nubbins. For such a stiff shoe, it offers quite decent smearing performance, thanks to ĂŒber-grippy Stealth C4 rubber. As with so many Five Tens, these shoes are better for long, narrow feet, although the toe box is more rounded than, say, the brand’s Hiangle. Weidner, who is flat-footed, experienced dead space midfoot and had trouble eliminating it with the straps. “The flaps under the Velcro need to be arranged perfectly while buckling, which I found annoying, especially on multi-pitch climbs where you take your shoes off and on constantly and have many other logistics to think about,” she said.

Bottom Line: This option is perfect for climbers who tend toward old-school edging, as well as mixed and traditional pitches, and who value support over sensitivity. The fit is geared more for flat, narrow feet, though it’ll accommodate wider feet after break-in.

La Sportiva Katana Lace ($219)

Weight: 8.8 oz (men’s) / 7.5 oz (women’s)
Pros:

>Offers extreme precision for edging and micro-edging
>A long toe box and laser-cut sole promote access to thin cracks, pin scars, and seams that elude other shoes

Cons:

>Very stiff: smearing takes real trust and visual inspection of the foothold

The Katana Lace is among the highest-performing all-around and thin-face shoes on the market, overbuilt for durability, support, and performance in that unique Italian way. Trad aficionado Clayton Laramie wore them to flash his hardest climb ever, a 5.12c gently overhanging a mixed-face-and-seam route in the Tan Corridor of Colorado’s Staunton State Park, about an hour south of his home in Boulder. “I love this shoe,” he said afterward. “It’s my personal favorite for hard trad and vertical face.” Meanwhile, Climbing’s digital editor, Anthony Walsh, lauded the thin toe profile. “Both vertically and horizontally, It provided unparalleled access to thin cracks and a ton of precision,” he said. Walsh said the shoe shone on Zap Crack, a 5.12+ crack line in Squamish, British Columbia, where the crux centers on two parallel, left-leaning seams: a right-hand seam that takes 0.1 cams and a toe jam and left-hand offset seam that you crimp. “The Katana was the only shoe that could meaningfully jam the right seam while my left foot edged hard on granite chips,” he said. The key with such a long, thin toe is that it’s also supportive, with no flex. The Katana held its rigidity and shape over months of testing, in part due to the full-length 1.1-millimeter midsole. On the downside, even after breaking these in, the shoes remained stiff, and you often had to take smears on trust, visually confirming your foot placement. For me, the low-volume women’s version, with its four-millimeter XS Grip 2 half-sole (versus the men’s full-length four-millimeter XS Edge sole), climbed much better; its deliberately inbuilt flex and softer outsole rubber render greater versatility while still keeping the precision toe.

Bottom Line: Need a stellar precision shoe for thin face climbs (pockets and micro-edging) and thin crack routes? The Katana Lace is it and will especially appeal to anyone who prefers long, narrow, supportive toe boxes.

La Sportiva Skwama Vegan ($199)

Weight: 8.1 oz (men’s) / 7.1 oz (women’s)
Pros:

>A new vegan option for what’s a proven, high-performance slipper
>Versatile
>Extremely sensitive
>Perhaps La Sportiva’s most forgiving last for wide feet

Cons:

>Break-in takes time and patience

The Skwama has a huge fan base for a reason: it’s a high-torque, highly sensitive slipper that gets the job done—and done well—on just about any terrain, even the slabby stuff. The downturned last drove energy into the forefoot. The XS Grip 2 outsole and pointy toe provided stick and bite on tiny holds, especially bouldery steeps. The bulbous, geometrically patterned heel held its own in stiff hooks—arĂȘtes and heel-toe cams—but also deformed for technical hooks on crimps and rails while bouldering. This shoe dominated on everything from the 40-degree MoonBoard to a gently overhanging pocket climb called Triple Sec, 5.12d in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge that involves precision high steps into tiny pockets and smeary feet. The synthetic upper stretches less than leather and complements what La Sportiva calls its SkinLike insole: an interior 0.6-millimeter odor-reducing microfiber layer that’s adhered to a 1.6-millimeter microfiber upper. These shoes may feel a little squishy to some, especially climbers who haven’t yet developed strong slipper feet, and they aren’t great for endless edging routes. But for everything else, the feedback married with power is 100 percent on point.

Bottom Line: Designed for advanced climbers with strong feet, the Skwama Vegan is ideal for those who value feedback, a high-torque fit, and are consciously looking for a shoe with a synthetic upper for ethical or fit reasons (or both).

Red Chili Voltage LV ($180)

Weight: 8.3 oz
Pros:

>A forgiving fit and stretchy elastic tongue meant almost no break-in period
>High marks across the board for smearing, edging, hooking, and grabbing

Cons:

>The uppers and closure system need better integration, to increase tension down into the big toe

Made by a small European brand not often seen in the U.S, the Voltage has long been a sleeper classic. It’s one of the friendliest downturned shoes available, with a low-key fit that’s good for steep-rock neophytes, a precise and supportive toe, and a suction heel. Now it comes in a low-volume (LV) version for narrow feet. Our LV tester, Scottie Alexander, mostly bouldered in this new shoe. He praised its precision toe, giving it an eight out of ten on technical demands presented by fussy sandstone and quartzite boulder problems, a seven out of ten for edging, and an eight out of ten for grabbing and smearing. “This shoe gets the soft-versus-edging balance as close to optimal as any shoe I’ve worn, and it does so out of the box,” he noted. However, Alexander thought the soft uppers and orange knit tongue were too flimsy to properly impart tension from the double-Velcro-closure straps (especially the upper one, which he felt was misaligned with the plastic eyelet). Red Chili either needs to stiffen the uppers or remove the straps altogether and recast the shoe as a slipper. On the other hand, my wide feet felt happily snug in the regular Voltage, which features a socklike upper and stretchy knit tongue.

Bottom Line: The Voltage LV is a good steep-climbing and bouldering quiver for narrow-footed climbers determined to enjoy a more comfortable fit.

Scarpa Quantix SF ($189)

Weight: 8.1 oz
Pros:

>Extremely precise toe box held both shape and bite over months of use
>The combination of a stiff forefoot with overall flexibility and a soft PAF heel made this shoe a jack-of-all-trades
>A precision all-arounder, marked by its light weight

Cons:

>Pumpkin-orange color may not be for everybody
>Toe-hooking patch is so small that it’s nearly nonfunctional

The most remarkable thing about the Quantix SF is how much precision you get for such a light, low-key shoe. °ä±ôŸ±łŸČúŸ±ČÔȔ’s digital editor, Steve Potter, concurred—we both gave the Quantix SF a perfect ten for edging, thanks to a sharp, pointy toe box that digs into micros. However, unlike other precision masters (say, the brand’s Boostic), the Quantix SF is not overbuilt. The forefoot is stiff—despite having a gummy XS Grip 2 outsole—but the rest of the shoe is super malleable, so you can drop your heels to vary your angle of contact with the rock. It was superb at toeing incuts on a steep wall, particularly when using low feet, yet also solid on slabbier edging. Potter put this versatility to good use on a granite V7 block in the Adirondacks that started with overhanging smears, compression, and heel hooks, finishing on a tech-nine slab that required a pistol squat on a slanting three-quarter-inch edge. The Quantix SF “bends enough to allow you to stand on your toes without the surface of the shoe changing its alignment on the foothold,” he said. My ultimate test was a 50-meter lead at Staunton State Park. The bottom half was slabby 5.10, while the top half required precision edging—with all that rope weight dragging you down. On the upper crux, the shoe flexed as it was meant to, but stayed locked in on the tiny holds nonetheless. Two dings, in my opinion: the toe-hooking patch is just a thin strip, so you don’t get much stickum, and the toe box’s beak-like shape means toe hooks hurt.

Bottom Line: The Quantix SF is a sleek, airy, low-profile best friend for sport climbers, boulderers who climb like sport climbers (or cross over into sport climbing), and anyone attempting hard trad.

Tenaya Indalo ($215)

Weight: 11.3 oz
Pros:

>Well-balanced and precise forefoot structure locks in on small holds
>Forgiving fit for a performance shoe
>Sets up great grabbing, overhanging edging, and smearing, thanks to the XS Grip half sole
>Molded heel cup excels at hooking

Cons:

>Toggles on Draxtor closure system are hard to adjust, due to small components

Like the La Sportiva Solution, the Tenaya Indalo is a downturned, slightly asymmetrical, semi-stiff quiver and bouldering shoe that scored good to great on just about everything. As someone with wide, high-volume feet, I was initially skeptical about the Indalo. It’s a pointy shoe, and I figured I’d have to contend with dead space in the toe. But Tenaya nailed it this time, building just enough softness into the microfiber upper and lateral stretch on the bilayer perforated tongue so wide feet can spread out and fill the toe box. The Indalo shone on a hyper-techy, gently overhanging granite project at a secret crag near Estes Park, Colorado, which I ultimately sent in this shoe, after a month; I was able to dig into the smallest divots and micro-edges (the dual-construction double midsole—a 0.5-millimeter textile-and-thermoplastic layer superimposed on a braided-polypropylene layer—is just stiff enough) but also toe down and grab sloping footholds. Yes, the toe box is long, but it’s also just the right amount of heavy, and the feedback was off the charts. I also dug the thermally-molded heel cup and its full-wrap rubber panels, which kept me locked in around arĂȘtes and on bouldery moves. Tester Anthony Walsh appreciated the stretchy, thin-mesh tongue for hot gym sessions, and he noted that the vegan material “didn’t tear or fray despite yarding on them far too hard a couple times.” My single complaint is that the Draxtor closure system, while highly effective at letting you customize fit, is hard to adjust with fat or pumped fingers.

Bottom Line: This is an amazing, quiver-of-one shoe for sport climbers who lean toward technical, gently overhanging routes and mega-steeps. It’s a bit soft for dead-vertical edging-fests, but still has enough big-toe bite to squeak by on spots of slabbier terrain.

How to Buy

With brands offering so many rock shoes, including “families” of shoes (lace, Velcro, and slippers all built on the same last), it can feel overwhelming to pick out a new pair. Really, there are no wrong answers; only the wrong fit or the wrong shoe for the wrong job. Here are some parameters to help refine your search.

Intended Use

This is a big one, with two facets: you should know both how you intend to use the rock shoe and what the brand’s intended use was when they designed it. These don’t necessarily need to match up, but it’s better when they do. First consider what you want the shoes to do for you, then take a look at the product information to see where there’s overlap. Rock shoes are super niche these days; shop accordingly.

Gym Bouldering and Board Training (Moonboard, Tension Board, Kilter Board, Grasshopper Board, Etc.)

For gym bouldering or board sessions where you’re frequently removing your shoes, you want a slipper or a Velcro-closure shoe that makes for easy on/off. You’ll also want a versatile shoe that performs both on radical steeps and for volume smearing on comp-style problems. To that end, look at soft shoes with only a mild downturn; you need jib-standing power, but you’ll mainly be smearing, hooking, scumming, and glomming, whether it’s on the holds or the actual wall surface.

Gym Lead Climbing

It’s rare to see people wearing lace-ups in the gym, as they’re often too stiff and too cumbersome to take on and off frequently. Instead, you want a softish, jack-of-all-trades performance shoe, usually a slipper or Velcro version that’s one notch stiffer than your gym-bouldering shoe. A semi-stiff all-arounder gives you options on your gym’s lead terrain, which typically varies from vertical to very overhanging. Some climbers like shoes they can keep on for the duration of their session, and there are now purpose-built models for exactly these scenarios (including the ).

Performance Sport Climbing

This is likely the largest category on the market, with each brand offering multiple options. Sport climbs come in all flavors, from radical cave ascents on tufas to techy granite faces and arĂȘtes to pocketed limestone. Consider where you’ll be climbing frequently. What attributes do you need the most? A pointy toe for micro-divots and pockets? A neutral (i.e., not downturned) last and a stiff outsole for performance on vert and slab? A slight downturn and medium-sticky rubber for grabbing power on semi steeps? Major downturn, radical asymmetry, and squishy rubber for cave climbs? Or are you looking for a “quiver of one,” pretty good at all disciplines and/or able to excel in just one or two?

Bouldering

There are countless high-end bouldering shoes out there. Most are designed to encase the foot in rubber, for fluency with futuristic, non-big-toe-focused moves like heel-toe cams and toe scums. These tend to have an aggressive fit—an asymmetrical “banana” shape and a radical downturn—to help you bite into small holds on overhanging terrain. They are not meant for edging-intensive climbs or long-duration wear.

Trad Climbing/All-Around

In general, these shoes are flat-lasted so your feet and toes sit in a more neutral, less activated position, for the longer-term comfort you’ll need on traditional and multi-pitch climbs. Trad shoes are meant to be stiff and supportive, so that the small muscles in your feet and calves don’t fatigue on long, vertical leads. Trad shoes will also often have higher heel cuffs or ankle protection, for wider cracks. They can be very precise, but will typically lack flexibility and sensitivity.

Fit and Break-In Period

Fit is personal and varies from shoe to shoe and genre to genre. If I really love a particular shoe, I may even buy two different sizes: a looser, more forgiving fit for warm-ups, long pitches, multi-pitch climbs, and gym sessions; and a tighter pair for sport climbs and boulder problems at my limit—short-duration wear. Here are a few rules of thumb.

Go by Volume

Some brands make shoes that favor wide feet, and some that favor narrow feet. So you may discover that some shoes just work better for you. That said, many climbing shoes now come in regular and low-volume (LV) models, or may be labeled as men’s or women’s versions (women’s fit usually translates to LV). It pays to try on both options. There may also be a difference in midsole support between the two: a thinner or half midsole for lighter climbers (often marketed to women), and a stiffer, full-length one for heavier climbers.

Know How Brands Size Their Shoes

Some brands design their shoes to correlate with your street-shoe size; others design them to be sized down. Check the manufacturers’ websites, or go to a shoe demo or retail store, before you commit. For my wide, high-volume feet (street size ten), I’ve figured out the corresponding size by brand, which may help you on your search:

Black Diamond: 9.5

Butora: 9.5

Evolv: 10

Five Ten: 10

La Sportiva: European 40.5 or 41

Mad Rock: 9

Red Chili: 9.5

Scarpa: European 41-42, roughly two to four European sizes off street shoe size

Tenaya: European 41

Unparallel: 10

Again, these are just rough guestimates, but after intensive shoe testing for the past 15 or so years, they continue to serve me well.

For women’s sizing, I asked Heather Weidner, who wears a women’s street-shoe size eight (equivalent to a European size 39). For the sizes she’s sure of, she said:

La Sportiva: 37.5

Five Ten: 39

Scarpa: 39

Recognize the Right Fit

You never want your climbing shoes to fit so tightly that you immediately lose circulation—not even during break-in. In a shoe that fits perfectly, your big toe will sit flat or slightly curled at the very tip of the toe box, and your heel will slide all the way into the heel cup. If your big toe or other toes are so curled that you can barely weight the shoe, or if your heel doesn’t drop down fully into the pocket, the shoes are too tight. At the same time, you don’t want loose or baggy shoes, except maybe for warming up and long gym sessions. If a shoe is too comfortable out of the gate, it’s likely too big and will slip on smaller holds, especially as the shoes stretch. Most synthetic shoes only stretch a little (to become a quarter size larger), while those with leather uppers can stretch up to a half size, so take that into account when making your purchase. Finally, with performance sport and bouldering shoes, listen for a vacuum whoosh noise when you put them on—that signifies a good, conforming fit.

Don’t Skimp on the Break-In Period

Some models—especially high-performance shoes that run $200 and up, with their numerous sewn panels, special materials, and tension rands—are meant to have a long break-in period. Most performance shoes come with plastic sheets, to facilitate sliding tight, new shoes on over your heels. (You can even climb with the plastic hanging out the back. does it!) I’ll usually wear a tight pair at home (including the plastic sheets) for a night or two in front of the TV, then do a few gym sessions in them, then finally take them on the rock when they’re more pliable and better shaped to my feet.

The post The Best Climbing Shoes of 2023 appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

The explosion of climbing has yielded a progression and specialization in gear beyond our wildest dreams, even when it comes to the humble climbing harness. Looking for an ultralight skimo rig under 100 grams? Easy. Fixed leg loops? You got it. Fully adjustable waist and legs? Espresso and steamer? Done. Done. And Done. (Well except the espresso function, but surely that’s coming.) Whether you’re looking for a hyper-specific climbing harness for your most outrageous adventure yet, or a jack-of-all-trades that will serve you on rock and ice, you’re sure to find what suits you in today’s market. Here are our favorite climbing harnesses of the year.

The Winners at a Glance

Black Diamond Long Haul

Wild Country Mosquito

Black Diamond Technician

Black Diamond Solution/Solution Guide

How We Test

Number of Testers: 8

Number of Products Tested: 12

Number of Miles/Vertical Feet Climbed: Immeasurable

We rated each harness individually for comfort, utility, and durability for an assessment of a harness’ overall performance, then weighed that metric against price for a final determination of value. For example, a moderately performing harness with a high price would not get our recommendation here; whereas the same harness with a moderate price likely would because that represents a solid value product.

Meet Our Lead Tester

Harnesses can be a tough “fit,” so we assembled a broad roster to evaluate this year’s bundle of padded nylon. Ranging from thickly built lead tester Maury Birdwell, a lawyer and “weekend warrior plus;” to the lean and svelte Max Barlerin, a former NPS climbing ranger with first ascents from the Rockies to Patagonia; to crack phenom and dirtbag extraordinaire Brittany Goris. They put in the vertical meters and whippers to separate the sweet from the chaff.

The Reviews: The Best Climbing Harnesses of 2023

Black Diamond Long Haul ($140)

Weight: 1.4 lbs
Size: S-XL
Pros: Comfortable; 5 super roomy gear loops; Adjustable leg loops
Cons: Heavier and bulkier (granted that’s purposeful)

The trend has consistently been to make climbing gear lighter and faster, and while in many cases we appreciate that, it certainly can come with compromises. The Long Haul represents a different approach: instead of stripping it down in the name of weight savings, Black Diamond prioritized comfort and a full feature set for a specific use-case that sees lots of time hanging in your harness. Technically, this new harness is part of Black Diamond’s revamped Big Wall climbing line, but our tester found himself reaching for it even on regular cragging days. In reality, the Long Haul’s ~300 extra grams over standard rock climbing harnesses is just over half a pound, and let’s be honest: how many of us are sending at the cutting edge where half a pound makes that big of a difference? Especially when you factor in the extra comfort the Long Haul offers while at a hanging, semi-hanging, or even hangdogging belay (which equals saved energy and calm)? We found the benefits of the extra padding (and weight) outweigh the cons 90% of the time. What began as a specialized product is now, in our minds, a harness for every climber to consider, whether tackling The Nose or just enjoying some comfort at the local single pitch crag. BD Athlete Dave Allfrey wore a prototype Long Haul on his new route in the Kichatna Spires of Alaska last year and had this to say, “From wall routes in the Alaska range to developing sport routes in the desert, this is what I’m in if i want comfort and movement.”

Bottom Line: While aimed at big wall climbing, the Long Haul is for any climber looking for a comfortable, versatile option when they aren’t counting grams.

Wild Country Mosquito ($110)

Weight: 7.8 oz (men’s) / 8.5 oz (women’s)
Size: XS-L (men’s) / XS, S, M (women’s)
Pros: Lightweight, trim and streamlined; Relatively comfortable; Moderate price
Cons: Finicky buckle

Swinging to the other end of the spectrum from Black Diamond’s Long Haul is Wild Country’s Mosquito, an excellent choice for those desiring a super light harness that retains a surprising amount of comfort. While aimed more towards sport climbers, the molded plastic front and minimal, bare nylon rear gear loops can still hold a decent bit of kit, giving the Mosquito decent crossover versatility for longer routes without many hanging belays. The one drawback is that the waist buckle requires manual feeding in and out with both hands, versus the typical one handle cinching and loosening seen on most other “speed buckle” designs. Though slightly annoying, the buckle wasn’t enough to keep our testers from enjoying the harness overall once they had it on, with a sleek, low profile fit that moves well with your body and is barely noticeable from clip to clip as you send your project.

Bottom Line: The Mosquito is ideal for weight conscious single pitch rock climbers.

Black Diamond Technician ($90)

Weight: 13.3 oz
Size: S-XL (men’s), XS-L (women’s)
Pros: Comfortable; 4 roomy gear loops plus haul loop; 4 ice clipper slots; Adjustable leg loops
Cons: Jack of all can mean master of none

The Solution line of harnesses has been a go-to rock climbing favorite for years: Climbers of all stripes love how comfortable, lightweight, and affordable they are. The Technician utilizes the same svelte, comfortable waist and leg loop construction of the Solution line while adding more bonuses: adjustable leg loops, wider gear loops, and trimmer webbing and belay loop make for an impressive all-arounder. Our male and female testers agreed their respective models were the standout of this year’s lineup. High praise for the women’s version: female testers agreed their version proved to be more than just an afterthought with a different color scheme; it’s well adjusted for more feminine sizing and dimensions, beating out other women’s specific models in our testing. But perhaps most impressive when it comes to both versions: how affordable this fully-featured harness is. If you’re looking for a single-quiver harness that will get the job done across all disciplines, it’s hard to compete with the Technician.

Bottom Line: The Technician is a solid, fully adjustable all-arounder for ice and rock.

Black Diamond Solution/Solution Guide ($80 & $100)

Weight: 11.6 oz / 13.9 oz (Guide)
Size: XS-XL
Pros: Good general fit; Comfortable; Affordable
Cons: Not the lightest or slimmest option on the market

While not new for this year, we’ve chosen to include the Solution and Solution Guide as a bit of a “standard” for bang-for-your-buck performance. At $80, the Solution has for years been a solid choice for all-around rock climbing, and is as comfortable and lightweight as other harnesses twice the price. Introduced a few years ago, the Solution Guide added larger gear loops (plus an additional fifth loop), wider waist and legs for even more comfort, and Black Diamond’s Super Fabric, which makes the harness even more durable than previous iterations—all for a $20 price bump and only 64 added grams. Each comes in women’s versions as well, and even a Honnold Signature Edition, which donates a percentage of sales to the Honnold Foundation’s work on solar energy access.

Bottom Line: A broad range of sizes and styles to cover any gender of rock climber at a friendly price.

How to Buy

Try. It. On! We really can’t stress this enough, because every harness differs in fit and proportion—even within the same manufacturer. Often European companies and/or sport climbing oriented models have thinner leg loops, but you never really know till your butt is in the seat. Most good climbing shops will have a setup allowing you to hang in the harness for a few minutes, the only real way to know how it will feel when you actually hang in the harness on the rock.

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Projecting a climb is sometimes as much a struggle off the wall as it is on, because—unless your project is at the gym—you need to get to the route first. This could mean a miles-long off-trail jaunt across sprawling scree fields and through dense undergrowth or it could simply entail a 20-minute sprint from the parking lot on a well-packed trail. Either way, time and energy spent on an approach is time and energy wasted because you’re not climbing. So investing in a solid pair of approach shoes is vital.

Approach shoes vary widely. Some, like the ĂŒber-light The North Face Summit Cragstone Pro, are practically trail-running shoes, excelling during lengthy ascents below tree line. Others, like the Scarpa Gecko LT, are closer to a climbing shoe, affording superb footing on techy scrambles. Still others are incredibly versatile—they’ll not only get you to the crag and back but are hip and comfortable enough to accompany you to the brewery, gym, and office.

We asked five testers to put hundreds of long, hard miles on this year’s newest approach shoes. After rigorous testing, these four were our favorites.

Winners at a Glance

Most Lightweight: The North Face Summit Cragstone Pro ($175)

Best Technical Climber: Scarpa Gecko LT ($199)

Best All-Around: La Sportiva TX2 Evo ($149 in eco-leather, $159 in synthetic)

Most Comfortable and Stylish: Salewa Wildfire Canvas ($130)

How We Test

Total Tester Miles: 495

Tested In: Arizona, Colorado, California, Nevada, New York, and British Columbia

Lowest Elevation: 1,800 feet

Highest Elevation: 13,000 feet

Beers Spilled on These Shoes: 3 (at least)

These four models were distributed among five testers spanning in age from their mid-twenties to mid-sixties. Each model was tested by at least one male and one female tester. We took these approach shoes to the crag carrying heavy loads of gear and on long cross-country hikes, and we wore them for more than a few trail runs. Weather never stopped us—we headed out the door in various conditions and climes, from the warm, sun-baked granite of Joshua Tree and scree-filled gullies of Mount Whitney, California, to the mud-choked trails of the Pacific Northwest. Each model that made this list was worn for at least 100 collective miles, and every model was tested under a wide range of elevations, with a minimum of 5,000 feet of elevation gain for each shoe.

Meet Our Lead Testers

Owen Clarke is a former editor-at-large and columnist for Rock and Ice, Climbing, and Gym Climber whose writing has appeared in over 40 outdoor sports publications. He has been climbing for 15 years, and has soloed more than 100 peaks on five continents. He also thinks of himself as an avid adventure motorcyclist.

Steven Potter is a digital editor at Climbing. The only thing he enjoys more than injuring his fingers and rehabbing his shoulder is hunting for unclimbed boulders in the overlooked corners of New England and New Mexico. He rarely finds anything, but he puts a lot of miles on his shoes.

The Reviews: The Best Approach Shoes of 2023

Most Lightweight: The North Face Summit Cragstone Pro ($175)

Weight (all weights listed are per pair): 9.3 oz (men’s), 7.9 oz (women’s)
Pros: Extremely breathable; Ultralightweight
Cons: Minimally supportive and weatherproof; Poor technical climbing capabilities

You’ll either love or hate the minimalist Summit Cragstone Pro. A three-strap BOA lacing harness makes honing and adjusting fit a split-second process, and the shoe weighs a mere 9.34 ounces (265 grams). Features include a Vibram outsole, an ESS edging plate, and a soft, porous upper—so porous, in fact, that you can clearly see the top of your foot through the shoe.

That upper is what makes the Cragstone Pro unique. It’s easily one of the most breathable shoes of its kind out there, which means if you want to go sockless on the approach, you needn’t worry about having stinky feet by the time you arrive. On the flip side, the Cragstone lacks weatherproofing, offers negligible support, and affords little warmth. This is truly a model, then, for the diehard minimalist. With no toe rubber, it’s not really viable for more than fourth-class scrambling; that said, the BOA harness provides an incredibly locked-in feel, making it a shoe that goes where you want it to go (even if it’s more of a runner than a climber).

All told, the Cragstone Pro shines as a lightweight, flexible trail shoe for cross-country approaches. If moving fast and light are what you’re after, this is your shoe.

Best Technical Climber: Scarpa Gecko LT ($199)

Weight: 11.3 oz (men’s), 9.9 oz (women’s)
Pros: Superb support and grip on faces; Allows for confident, comfortable jamming
Cons: Poor grip on trail; Lack of comfort for long hiking-style approaches

The Gecko LT—a reinvention of Scarpa’s popular and long-standing Gecko—is a climber’s shoe through and through. This techy, stiff, and burly model is our top pick for folks who want to hit the wall and climb moderate fifth-class routes without busting out their rock shoes. Its lightweight ripstop upper offers a blend of breathability, abrasion resistance, and protection. A flat last and grippy sole, boosted with sticky toe rubber, excels when smearing, with shallow lugs offering maximum rubber-on-rock contact. Meanwhile, the rigid, supportive build makes the Gecko LT far and away the best edger and jammer on our list, with one tester noting it gave him a “TC Pro–esque feel” during such movements—high praise for an approach shoe.

However, the characteristics of this climbing-heavy build—with its neutral last and low-profile lugs—are just what keep it from performing well on long trail approaches and soft or wet surfaces.. Tester Anthony Walsh said he loved the shoe’s flat last while edging and smearing, “but this also means it doesn’t ‘roll’ with the terrain while walking,” he said. “The lugs, while grippy for climbing, lack meaningful traction while walking downhill on wet, grassy, or muddy trails.”

Still, the Gecko LT is plenty comfortable for short trail approaches and even cruising around town. Aside from its first-rate climbing performance, testers appreciated the shoe’s comfort and durability—specifically its ability to maintain shape and rubber over time and the breathability of the cushioned, perforated tongue. The Gecko LT hits shop shelves in September 2023.

Best All-Around: La Sportiva TX2 Evo ($149 in eco-leather, $159 in synthetic)

Weight: 10.2 oz / 10.4 oz (men’s synthetic, eco-leather), 8.5 oz / 9.1 oz (women’s synthetic, eco-leather)
Pros: Excellent grip on both rock and trail; Lightweight and breathable
Cons: Poor durability and a stretchy cuff closure in the synthetic version; Soles prone to wear

While most approach shoes fall largely on one side or the other of the hiking-versus-climbing spectrum, the agile, lightweight La Sportiva TX2 Evo lands dead center, and excels in its role here. Versions of the model are available with a traditional synthetic upper or an eco-leather upper, and we tested both. The synthetic shoe is slightly lighter and features a cuffed sleeve and snug, sock-like fit, while the eco-leather shoe is a bit more durable and has a traditional tongue and lace-up closure.

What the two share are qualities that make the TX2 Evo a master of middle ground: lightweight and techy, it grips well on both hard rock and soft trails. “This shoe is super light, which makes it feel incredibly agile on semi-technical terrain,” said tester Steve Potter. “It’s almost like a running shoe in that way—you feel like you can dance around.” Tester Kimmie Casto seconded this, adding that the shoe felt equally comfortable “on rock and on easy-to-difficult trails.”

The TX2 is comfortable and breathable and durable enough for rugged trails and talus—particularly the leather model. And although the leather version isn’t sturdy enough for jamming—one tester noted wear after a single 5.6 crack route—it’s a nice hybrid between the pliable synthetic model and stiff shoes like the Gecko LT. Where both models suffer is sole durability: they tend to wear down slightly faster than other comparably priced models.

Despite the snug fit of the synthetic, heavier testers remarked that the upper’s soft, pliable mesh doesn’t contain the foot as well as the leather upper; as a result, their feet sometimes overshot the footbed while hiking downhill. It’s also worth mentioning that this shoe is relatively eco-friendly, with recycled mesh and laces, a partially recycled midsole, and a resole platform that caters to fast and simple repairs.

Most Comfortable and Stylish: Salewa Wildfire Canvas ($130)

Weight: 10.8 oz (men’s), 9 oz (women’s)
Pros: Lacing harness that’s quickly adjustable; Breathable and comfortable
Cons: Poor durability; Mediocre grip on rock

Not only is Salewa’s Wildfire Canvas a reliable do-it-all approach shoe, but it’s one of the coolest-looking models on the market. Vibrant neon-orange lacing is married to a recycled cotton and hemp canvas upper (available in subdued hues of brown, blue, and green), making it a real eye-catcher in the field of approach shoes.

That wide, climbing-style lacing harness runs all the way down to the toes, so it’s a cinch to lock in and adjust fit, and the Pomoca outsole grips well on both trails and rock. However, the deep lugs and soft rubber mean the Wildfire leans more toward a trail or scrambler model than a technical climber, with better traction on soft dirt trails and grass than rock. The outsole, while plenty tacky, isn’t particularly burly: after a few days on sharp Joshua Tree granite, one tester noted it flaking off in a few places.

In short: though a capable scrambler, where the Wildfire Canvas shines is comfort, breathability, and style. I personally tested this shoe and found it to be the most comfortable approach shoe I’ve set foot in. The canvas upper was among the most breathable of any model our group tested. And if you’re seeking a shoe that can take you across the alpine, both on-trail and off, and will turn heads at your local brewery or rock gym, then the Wildfire Canvas is for you.

How to Buy Approach Shoes

Shop for an approach shoe like you would any other piece of footwear. Visit a local retailer to try some on, then scour the web for the best deals before you pull out your wallet. If you don’t have the opportunity to try a shoe before you buy it, order from a retailer with a flexible return policy.

Use Case

Approach shoes should be comfortable and durable and offer traction on various trail conditions—mud, dirt, grass—as well as on rock. Where your ideal shoe sits on this sliding scale depends on the type of climbing you have in mind. Consider the climate and conditions of the areas where you’ll wear your shoe, and gauge your breathability, weatherproofing, and warmth needs based on that.

Understand Sizing

Unlike a technical rock-climbing shoe, an approach shoe is sized traditionally. So if you’re a women’s size ten in your Vans or Dr. Martens, you’ll generally find a good fit with a women’s size ten approach shoe. Also, unlike a technical rock shoe, most approach shoes are worn with socks, like a typical hiker or trail runner. One exception on this list is the North Face Summit Cragstone Pro, which is viable as a sockless shoe, due to its porous upper and superb breathability.

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Climbing hardware is tricky to review because, well, gear is pretty damn good these days. Many manufacturers rely on iterations of the same tried-and-true conventions, so it can be hard to find standouts. Still, some items are slowly shifting the narrative, from high-tech iterations on classic gear that approaches perfection, to products made following a greener manufacturing process, to niche items we didn’t even know we needed. Below, you’ll find our picks for the most interesting new climbing hardware of the season.

The Winners at a Glance

Editor’s Choice: Ocun Hawk QD Wire Bio-Dyn Ring Quickdraw

Edelrid HMS Bulletproof Belay FG Eco locker

Fixe Hardware 10mm Dyneema Anchor Sling-240cm

Grivel Plume HMS K3GH carabiner

Metolius Captive Quickdraw

Metolius Ultralight Master Cam

Petzl Nano Traxion pulley

Petzl Spirit Express Quickdraw

Trango Superfly Evo Autolock locker

Wild Country Zero Friends cam

How We Test

Number of Testers: 6

Number of Products Tested: 22

Number of Vertical Feet: 35,000-plus

Number of Years Climbed by Our Most Veteran Tester: 49

Least-Punishing Testing Venue: “Valmont Canyon,” aka the corridor in east Boulder, Colorado, that’s home to the city’s four rock gyms

Most-Punishing Testing Venue: The Bugaboos, British Columbia

Worst Weather: An epic thunderstorm at the Monastery, Colorado, that had two testers (and one dog) cowering under boulders while the gully flash-flooded

We tested 22 products, then narrowed down our final selection to 11 finalists. Our six testers put each piece of climbing gear through its paces in as many venues as possible, including the climbing gym (for things like belay carabiners); front-country cragging in Colorado (the granite around Estes Park, the sandstone of the Flatirons and Eldorado Canyon, the limestone of Rifle), North Carolina, Squamish, and Kentucky; and alpine, backcountry routes in the Bugaboos and Canadian Rockies. Our testers ranged in age from their late 20s to early 60s, all with years and even decades of climbing experience.

The goal when testing any climbing hardware is to determine how well it performs for its intended use—so, for example, we sent the Metolius Ultralight Master Cams with our resident alpinist, Anthony Walsh, who put them to work on trad climbs in the Bugaboos. Since I’m primarily a sport climber myself, I tested things like quickdraws and wire brushes on the local crags. Although we considered factors like weight and appearance, the main criteria with hardware are always reliability and durability. Our goal is to answer questions like, “How well does this gear do what it’s supposed to?” and “Does it perform over weeks and months of hardcore use?”

Meet Our Lead Tester(s)

Matt Samet, former editor of Climbing, has been an avid rock climber since the mid-1980s, the era of high-top rock shoes, Hexentrics, and early camming devices. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he primarily sport climbs, boulders, and trains in the gym. He’s been testing climbing gear for the past 20-plus years. Two other key hardware testers were Anthony Walsh, a digital editor at Climbing based in Golden, British Columbia, who has a deep love for Canadian granite—be it the smooth gray rock of Squamish or the alpine splitters of the Bugaboos. And Duane Raleigh, the North Carolina-based, former editorial director at Climbing and a climber of nearly five decades, who’s seen gear come and go during his tenure in climbing media.

The Best Climbing Hardware of 2023

Editor’s Choice: Ocun Hawk QD Wire Bio-Dyn-Ring Quickdraw ($110 for a five-pack)

Weight: 2.7 oz
Pros: Bio-Dyneema is an ecologically friendly, light sling with dogbone material for weight-conscious climbers; Easy-clipping action on the wiregates was welcome on crucial clips—lots of tension and spring
Cons: White coloration, also found on regular Dyneema, could be confusing in a fixed-draw situation, in which you’re not sure whether the draw was dyed and has faded (and is thus a safety risk) or whether the dogbone was white in the first place.

We’re big proponents of Dyneema—it’s great for saving weight on multi-pitch climbs or when starting up a long onsight while carrying a ton of draws. But, as with so many synthetic materials used in climbing, standard Dyneema comes from non-renewable fossil fuels. Bio-Dyneema, on the other hand, presents a better alternative: It’s made from waste products upcycled from the pulp and timber industry, but with regular Dyneema’s weight, strength, and UV resistance. (Ocun, for now, is the only company using bio-Dyneema for their dogbones.) The draw we tested the material on, the Hawk QD Wire, rates to a very high 25 kilonewton breaking strength—i.e., more than enough holding power, and plenty of toughness for high-wear situations (like the dogbone sitting over an edge or while alpine climbing). “They’re little, they’re light, they’re strong—like Mighty Mouse,” said one tester. The wiregates have fast, snappy action—while in a pump crisis on a roofy climb at the Solarium in Kentucky, the same tester slapped the draw on, dropped the rope in, and kept going, all within a few critical seconds.

Bottom Line: This is a more eco-friendly, multi-use quickdraw that works for all genres and all climbers, but is especially good for alpinism given its light weight and freeze-resistant wiregates.

Edelrid HMS Bulletproof Belay FG Eco carabiner ($40)

Weight: 3.1 oz
Pros: Steel insert in the basket aids carabiner longevity; Spring bar consistently prevented cross-loading; Gate action is stiff and snappy; not anodized for greener footprint
Cons: The gate is so stiff and snappy, and the keylock closure so small, that one-handed use can be painful on your thumb

We’re so used to seeing anodized carabiners that we were initially taken aback by the old-school aesthetic of the gunmetal-gray HMS Bulletproof Belay FG Eco—and going bare gets rid of toxic chemicals in the anodizing process. Once we got past the looks, however, we loved the carabiner for belaying at the crag and gym—it’s nice to have a big, beefy HMS locker. The ample basket (plenty of room for your device to cant from side to side) and the steel insert there—a trademark of Edelrid’s Bulletproof carabiners—are big selling points, as this main wear point on a belay carabiner often scuffs or thins on a standard aluminum basket. But you can barely ding this steel. On the flipside, this makes the Belay FG Eco heavy, but it’s a big clipper meant for cragging and gym use anyway. Testers liked the stiff, snappy gate, though the keylock closure was rugged on our thumbs, given how hard you have to press down to slide it open; we also kept snagging on the nose. It seems like the ergonomics could be refined there.

Bottom Line: Minus some thumb wear, this is a strong, eco-minded, anti-cross-loading belay carabiner that’s ideal for gym use and cragging.

Fixe Hardware 10mm Dyneema Anchor Sling-240cm ($26)

Weight: 3.1 oz
Pros: No anchor-equalization “knot fuss”; Supple Dyneema is easy to knot; Packs down small for harness and backpack carry
Cons: More expensive than a cordelette

A sling is a sling is a sling, but this light 240-centimeter anchor sling from Fixe solves an issue we didn’t realize had been bugging us: namely that of the knot in our cordelette always ending up in the wrong damned place—hanging up on a carabiner—when we equalize a trad anchor. Made of supple ten-millimeter Dyneema that’s a snap to knot (and that unknots easily with some minor back-and-forth tugging after it’s been weighted), Fixe’s anchor sling coiled for easy harness carry (you can quadruple it for shoulder carry too), and, thanks to the the low-profile, three-inch-long bartack, was much easier to work with than an unwieldy cordelette knot. On a tricky, spread-out cam anchor atop a Colorado granite dome, one tester was glad he had the sling—the anchor equalized first go, and he was on rappel before he knew it. It’s rated to 22kN.

Bottom Line: This is a compact, easy-carry anchor-equalizing solution for multi-pitch and alpine climbing that does away with the dreaded “knot fuss” you get with cordelettes.

Grivel Plume HMS K3GH locker ($15)

Weight: 1.5 oz
Pros: Compact and lighter than a screw-gate locker—great for alpine and multi-pitch climbing; Opposed double-gate closure system reduces the risk of accidental opening
Cons: Gate closure takes some getting used to and is a tight fit with certain belay devices

With its two opposed wire gates, the HMS K3GH doesn’t look like a “locker,” lacking the twist-lock or screw gate we’re accustomed to seeing. (It actually looks like a giant paper clip, which makes it a great conversation starter.) Yet, it is a locker. The Twin-Gate system is interesting: You pop open the outer gate, floss the eye of your belay device or the ropes over it, and press down on the inner gate to get it all the way in. While testers initially struggled to pull this off one-handed, they reported they eventually got quicker. The HMS designation means this piece is suited for belaying with either a belay device or a friction hitch (MĂŒnter), and it did both well, with just enough room in the basket for a Grigri, though it was a somewhat tight fit getting the device on. (The HMS K3GH has a gate-closed strength of 23 kN and a minor-axis strength of 7 kN.) The HMS K3GH would also be a useful tool in fast-and-light situations, such as part of an anchor system on an alpine climb.

Bottom Line: The HMS K3GH brings locker functionality to a small, light package, making it ideal for multi-pitch and alpine climbing (particularly for building anchors), though it works just fine for belaying, too

Metolius Captive Quickdraw ($30)

Weight: 3 oz
Pros: Captured-eye technology on both pro-side and rope-side carabiners is 100-percent effective at preventing carabiner rotation; Snappy gate action; Steep angle on basket creates room for rope plus fingers for fast clipping
Cons: Dogbone could be thicker for scenarios where one needs to grab the draw

Metolius has always put great thought, effort, and energy into the safety engineering of its gear (e.g., the Safe Tech Trad Harness with two belay loops, or locking Anchor ‘Draws). The company’s new Captive draws continue that tradition, solving the issue of quickdraw carabiner rotation, which can happen when a draw is clipped to your harness or, more annoyingly, up on your project when you pull the rope. Throughout our testing, whether on granite sport and mixed climbs in Colorado or clip-ups in the Red River Gorge, Kentucky, none of our testers could get the carabiners to rotate, even when whipping the rope down through a long, steep line of draws. So you can leave them up on crux clips with total confidence. The six-inch sling length is nice—good for mitigating rope drag—but the sling itself is skinny, making it tougher to grab when your arms are pumped.

Bottom Line: The Captive is an especially great redpointing clipper that eliminates the carabiner rotation. And at three ounces, it’s also light enough for onsight use.

Metolius Ultralight Master Cams ($275 for #1–4 set, $285 for #5–8 set)

Weight: 1.6–4.5 oz
Pros: Remarkable weight savings (20 percent) over the original Master Cams makes these ideal for long-approach, multi-pitch climbing and alpine routes; Flexible stems are good in horizontal placements; Range Finder feature helps with assessing placements, especially for newer trad leaders
Cons: Flexible stem makes it harder to place the cams when pumped, especially in the larger sizes

Understood as a genre—and not simply a goal for all gear—“ultralight” has its place, namely on longer climbs where weight savings add up. Our tester Anthony Walsh put the Ultralight Master Cams through their paces in perhaps the perfect venue, the Bugaboos of British Columbia. “The approach was multiple hours, and our packs were loaded with two-and-a-half days of food, fuel, and a lot of climbing gear,” said Walsh. “I brought a single set of these Master Cams and, while stuffing them into my overloaded pack, I noticed how low-profile they are compared to my other camming units.” This build paid off on the harness, too, where Walsh noted how light the cams felt on one side versus a competing brand’s ultralights on the other. “The route we were trying was long and technically easy, with few opportunities to place gear,” he said. “When there was a crack to plug a cam, we were usually at a comfortable stance. This sort of terrain is where the Master Cams shine.” Walsh felt like the trigger action required extra pressure to retract compared to other ultralights, though once partially retracted, the action was smooth. He found the cams’ narrow head particularly appealing on thin granite cracks and seams, especially in the smaller sizes where you want deeper placements. The biggest ding is the minimalist thumb loop, which, along with the pressure-sensitive gate action and flexible stem, made it harder to place the units when pumped, a drawback more prevalent in the larger sizes.

Bottom Line: The Ultralight Master Cams are great for gear-intensive rock and alpine routes with long approaches, where you can take your time with placements.

Petzl Nano Traxion Pulley ($100)

Weight: 1.9 oz
Dimensions: 48mm x 52mm x 21mm
Pros: Ultra-light and portable hauling option; Tiny—takes up almost no space on a carabiner; Silky smooth progress-capture action
Cons: Small size makes it easy to fumble when you’re pumped silly; Lacks the cam-open lockout feature of the Micro Traxion

One of our testers owns every generation of Petzl’s Traxion progress-capture pulleys and uses them primarily for toprope soloing, something climbers have been doing for more than a decade. (Petzl lists rope ascent as one use of the Nano Traxion, plus they offer their own for solo toproping on their website.) The idea is that the devices cam against the rope in one direction, letting you pull slack through (or ascend a fixed line, as in a toprope-solo or rescue situation) without having that slack drop back down through the device. Each iteration has gotten smaller, and now we have the Nano, which weighs next to nothing and is about the size of a Matchbox car. It’s easy to bring one along on a multi-pitch climb. One tester used the Nanos to haul bolting gear and a day pack on long climbs, and they clamped down reliably. He also used one as a secondary, backup device for toprope soloing (they work on ropes from seven to 11 millimeters), and it slid ably along under his Micro, even on his fatty 11 millimeter static line. As someone with big fingers, our tester’s one caveat would be that the Nano can be fussy to remove up at your anchor, especially when you’re wicked pumped.

Bottom Line: This is an indispensable tool for weight-conscious, multi-pitch free climbers hauling the crag pack from belay to belay, or as a backup (secondary device) for toprope soloing.

Petzl Spirit Express Quickdraw ($24 for 11cm, $25 for 17cm)

Weight: 3.1 oz (11 cm), 3.4 oz (17 cm)
Pros: Lighter weight than previous iteration; Bolt-side carabiner is less prone to flipping due to smaller dogbone eye; Clips just as smoothly, if not better, than the previous version; Gates have improved ergonomics
Cons: Premium pricing may be too high for casual climbers

Petzl Spirits have been a gold standard in performance quickdraws for years. Known for their buttery gate action and light, ergonomic handling, you’ll see them hanging on routes at almost any serious sport area. The latest iteration builds on that legacy with two big visible tweaks. The carabiners (straight-gate and bent-gate) are slightly smaller, shaving weight off their previous counterparts (eight grams per draw with the 11 centimeter dogbones; or, for a rack of a dozen 11 centimeter draws, 96 grams—roughly the weight of one more quickdraw). There are a few other updates as well: The clipping divot in the straight-gate is closer to the keylock nose, which makes for better handling but no snagging; the size of the keeper eye in the straight-gate side of the dogbone is smaller, reducing flipping; and the bent-gate has a friendlier curvature that makes for faster clipping action. One tester, pumped out of his gourd on a 30-degree-overhanging cave climb at the Red River Gorge, was beyond grateful to have a draw that clipped so quickly.

Bottom Line: These are stylish, premium quickdraws for hardcore sport, trad, and alpine aficionados, with fast-clipping, ergonomic action that’s notable for how light the draws are.

Trango Superfly Evo Autolock locker ($17)

Weight: 1.9 oz
Pros: Nearly perfect balance in hand (weight-to-size-to-thickness) makes this a user-friendly belay carabiner; Twist-lock gate closure is fast, responsive, and reliable; Carabiner has ample room to accommodate any belay device
Cons: The edges on the semi-circle cutout on the twist-lock mechanism (the sleeve) are a tad sharp, and would be better milled down.

There are so many lockers on the market, it can be difficult to single any out for special notice—they all have the same function and they all do their job pretty well. What stood out with the Superfly Evo, however, was the marriage of utility, balance, and bright, flashy style. Two of our testers noted how well balanced the carabiner is: It’s just the right thickness to feel natural in hand while belaying, while the twist-lock gate is reliable and responsive. The barrel is a good, grabbable size—it just feels solid under your thumb. “Many locking carabiners, particularly auto-lockers, seem to suffer from a lack of friction on the sleeve or have over- or undersized sleeves,” said one tester. “The Superfly seems to walk a perfect line of these two attributes, making repetitive operation seamless.” Also noteworthy are the bright color schemes—with the fluorescent turquoise-and-green Superfly Evo, you’ll never have any trouble finding the carabiner and belay device amidst the chaos of your crag pack.

Bottom Line: The Superfly Evo is an ergonomic crag companion for belaying and gym climbing. It’s also small, portable, and multi-functional enough for other general locking-carabiner use (anchors, etc.).

Wild Country Zero Friends cams ($230 for 0.1–0.3 set, $230 for 0.4–0.75 set)

Weight: 1.8–2.91 oz
Pros: Buttery-smooth trigger action; Cable stem flexes but still has enough heft to reduce floppiness, allowing for deep placements; Extendable sling reduces the number of draws you need to carry
Cons: Spendy (though $5 cheaper per cam than a competing brand’s thin-crack pro)

Duane Raleigh was the perfect tester for these cams—he’s been climbing for 49 years, since the pre-cam era—so he’s seen every generation of spring-loaded camming device since the original Wild Country Friends came out in the late 1970s. He took these sleek, thin-crack pieces out to a local granite area, the Narrows, near Carbondale, Colorado, to test on its bottoming cracks and funky seams. “The Zeros were excellent in micro placements,” he said. “The stem flexes to keep rope drag and flex to a minimum, yet is stiff enough for easy triggering.” He also appreciated the teeth machined into the cams’ non-anodized working faces, noting how well these helped placements stay put. By comparison, Raleigh said, he “used cams with anodized cam faces and they skipped around; I hated them.” As with comparable, high-end thin-crack pro (Metolius Master Cams, Black Diamond Camalot Z4s), the Zeros will ding your wallet, but after months of testing, the trigger action remained buttery, justifying the cash outlay for a full set.

Bottom Line: The Zero Friends are for trad climbs with thin pro and where a narrow head width and semi-flexible stem are key, as in Eldorado seams, Yosemite thin cracks, and Gunks horizontals.

How to Buy

Climbing gear is such a vast category, but we always come back to the obvious: What is your intended use for the gear? And: Is the gear built for that use?

Weight

For climbers, the primary consideration with hardware is almost always weight. You have to schlepp the gear to the cliff, and then clip it to your harness or carry it in a multi-pitch pack. Thus, a school of thought that lighter is better has emerged, and manufacturers seem to be constantly on the hunt for ways to lighten their gear; in fact, they’ll sometimes offer a regular and an ultralight version of the same product.

Durability

What buyers sometimes fail to consider, however, is that lighter doesn’t by default equal better; it just equals better in certain situations, typically for alpine climbing, multi-pitch climbing, or onsight cragging where you’re placing pro or hanging draws. And there’s the physical reality that lighter gear—hollowed-out or drilled-out metal, thinner-diameter slings and ropes, smaller pulleys and belay devices, etc.—will be less resistant to wear-and-tear, thus prone to wearing out more quickly, or even, under extreme forces, failure. In certain cases, beefier gear that’s more resistant to friction may in fact be better, and usually only adds a pound or two of weight in your pack, a minor consideration for front-country climbing.

Materials

Finally, there’s been the recent acknowledgement that the ores we use to make metal aren’t infinite, and that the nylon and other synthetic fibers in our slings, quickdraw dogbones, and ropes comes from another nonrenewable resource: oil. There’s also the fact that the dyes and processes used to make our gear bright, smooth, and sexy—as with anodization—create toxic byproducts, and may not be necessary. So if environmental impact is a consideration for you, there are now more options than ever.

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I have noticed that hardly anyone wears socks in theirÌęrock shoes. Hardly is an understatement. Actually, I may be the only climber on Earth who wears socks. To me, socks make sense. Rock shoes, even expensive ones, are uncomfortable and socks add a bit of cushion and a hygienic layer. Am I wrong to wear socks?

—Jesse Dank, Enumsclaw, Washington

The style choice of not wearing socks—or going “commando,” raw doggin’ it, etc.—in rock shoes is, like the jellyfish haircut, a recent phenomenon. When I started climbing in 1973, almost everyone wore socks with E.B.s or P.A.s, non-sticky rubber shoes that were smart accessory footwear to the thumbscrew, but of limited value on rock. When you wear these shoes, which were said to have been cast on a men’s dress-shoe last complete with point, socks provided padding for your tortured dogs.

Yet sometime around 1983, when sticky Fires hit the market, most climbers refused to give up their socks. This might have been because we had been trained to wear them, or we wanted to look like John Bachar, who famously sported calf-high tube socks with his Fires.ÌęPerhaps it was because everyone climbed long routes and had to carry sneakers and socks anyway for the certain-to-be-really-long descents.

Then, curiously, some climbers began rocking their shoes bareback, and after this happened, wearing socks branded you as a noob. This holds true even today.

Assuming you are merely a practical person rather than one who falls into the above category, wearing socks, as you noted, does protect your feet from a shoe’s harsh stitching, seam tape, and other interior sharpies. If I were climbing El Cap, or any bit of long stone, or cracks, I’d size my rock shoes slightly larger and wear socks for comfort.

There is, of course, the question of sensitivity. Performance demands a skintight fit, and that demands that the skin of your foot press right against the interior of the shoe. It can be said that going sockless gives you a better “feel” for the holds, that socks dull the sensation, like wearing a raincoat in the shower.

Pshaw. Saying that you can feel the rock through a slab of rubber and a midsole is to confuse “sense” with “feel.” You do develop a sense for how your shoe contacts the rock, how the edge sits on holds, for example, but it is a stretch to believe that you can actually feel the texture and shape of the holds through the shoe sole. This is especially true for board-lasted shoes, which have the feel of wooden clogs (and which I prefer, really).

In most cases, there is no rational reason for not wearing socks. Instead, it all comes back to fashion, and as they say, “fashion changes, style endures.” If you like socks, fly them with pride. Next!

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Elliot Vaughan, 21, a climbing-gym employee, packs up to go bouldering on the high granite blocks of Independence Pass, Colorado. Shoes, chalk, crash pad, fan 
.

In the last several years more and more people are bringing fans to cool and dry themselves and the surfaces where they ply their hard sequences. Moisture in the air can dampen those little tiny holds you must, must minutely progress on. We are talking portable nine-inch fans—more the kind of thing you’d look for at Home Depot or on ($120) than from Petzl or Black Diamond—with rechargeable batteries that cost more than the fans. Climbers (not this one!) take fans to boulders, seeking those cool sending temps even in some dank cave. Some lug them around at competitions. Some even them.

I’ve been climbing longer than you want to know, and it used to be that you’d take a rope and rack, shoes of course, the jacket on your back—and maybe a nail clipper—to the crags. OK, a roll of tape. Today you’d still take those, but climbers may also bring these accessories:

Leaf Blowers

Again to battle the dread humidity. They are portable and can be aimed, as if you were a sci-fi character with a laser gun.

Humidity Gauges

Handheld meters, that is, are used perhaps not widely, but internationally. “Conditions aren’t good!” someone might say in consternation. It’s unclear whether, psychologically, that information helps or hurts.

Stick Clips

These extendable sticks (named after the actual branches climbers used to tape a carabiner to) with a notch or clasp for a carabiner allow you to clip a rope into the first bolt of a route from the ground rather than going ten feet up with no protection. Some climbers traditionally scorned this resource: they were cool characters, fine climbing a few feet off the ground. Yet as far back as early Rifle, Colorado, days in the 1990s, some routes were designed to be stick clipped, because they had hard moves right off the deck. Moreover, holds can break, or you can slip Today everyone is walking around like a shepherd with a crook.

Oh, and if you want to connect elements, you can put a fan on the end of a stick clip, and hoist it up high to dry off that s0-key hold.

Belay Glasses

“Cheaper than surgery,” as Roger Schimmel, a lifer climber, has intoned. These are shelf-like open reflecting specs that allow you to hold your head level rather than craning up to watch and belay a climber on lead. I dislike them; they make me seasick and for other reasons: a climber on lead used to be able to glance down and see the belayer’s nice concerned human face looking up. Yet I may soon concede to neck aches from peering up at overhanging terrain. People in belay glasses are now routine along the bases of popular walls, like the audience in a 3-D theater.

Belay Gloves

Once these seemed a bit 
 over careful. Now they’re standard issue. And judging by the amount of blood I saw at the base of a wall last week, left behind the day before by a very nice, experienced climber whose finger got pinched in her belay device, belay gloves just gained another convert.

Dremels

At the climbing gym, young Elliot brings out one of these electric burr devices between burns on the Kilter Board and calmly tends to calluses on his palms and fingers. From nearby, Noah Jones, 23, lowers his eyelids, murmuring, “Sooo extra”—while another youth offers that there are also callus grinders for feet.

Crash Pads

Boulderers simply used to spot each other, but that was dicey over rocky ground or on hot days with slippery people. Now climbers carry bouldering pads—sometimes several strapped together—on their backs to spread on a rock, forest, or desert floor to protect them in short and not-so-short falls. Climbers with pads look like ants lugging huge crumbs.

My early bouldering career, at the historic Alcove in Boston, was pre-pads, and one time I sprained my ankle and had to crutch up and down the stairs to my fifth-floor walkup. I don’t need a fan, but pile on those pads.

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What you bring with you to the crag (and onto the wall) is just as critical as how you train. You could do 1,000 pull-ups per day and drink half a dozen energy drinks right before you tie in, but if you’re using thumbtacks as pro, clipping carabiners from Dollar General, and tying into 50-pound hemp rope, you aren’t going to get far. We tied in for over 100 pitches with the newest climbing accessories—including ropes, cams, helmets, belay gloves, packs, and apparel. Here are the nine pieces that came out on top.

Black Diamond Capitan MIPS Helmet ($100)

The new Capitan MIPS boasts large vents and weighs just 285 grams in size small, without compromising protection. A two-part ABS plastic shell covers a layer of lightweight EPP foam with a stiffer EPS foam puck at the crown, plus MIPS technology.

Wild Country Offset Zero Friends Camming Devices ($390 for five)

Boasting the narrowest head width of any cams on the market—28.1 millimeters on the 0.1–0.2—the Zero Friends are ideal for weird fits like flares and pin scars. Their soft aeronautical-aluminum heads boost friction, and the wide, 17.6-degree camming angle yields more expansion for small sizes. They range from 49 to 78 grams and feature flexible stems and adjustable Dyneema slings.

Trango Physic Locking Carabiner (from $17)

The small and lightweight Physic takes up less space on your harness than a traditional belay biner. But its wide top keeps rope handling and Munter-hitch management just as easy. A flat keylock nose prevents snags. It’s available in autolock (pictured) and screw-lock versions.

Sterling IonR 9.4mm Yellow Xeros 60m Rope ($250)

Sterling’s IonR line gets upgraded with a new dry treatment that’s applied at the fiber level before weaving rather than to the outside of the finished rope. This reduces waste and ensures the water protection lasts as long as the rope does. The lightweight, do-it-all 9.4-millimeter version is easy to feed and flake.

Arc’teryx Konseal 40L Pack ($190)

At 40 liters, the Konseal is big enough to devour your rack, rope, harness, shoes, and helmet with room to spare—and it stands up on its own, which makes for easy loading and unloading. The tough Cordura body and padded sides and bottom keep your kit safe, and the large top lid yields ample room for lunch and sundries.

Mammut Crag Keylock Wire 10cm Quickdraw ($80 for six)

Mammut’s newest quickdraw mates a large, snag-resistant keylock clipping carabiner to a stiff polyester dogbone for easy clipping. But a lightweight wiregate bottom biner shaves weight, so the finished piece comes in at a respectable 106 grams. Red fibers appear as the dogbone sheath degrades over time, so you know when it’s time for a replacement.

Ortovox Valbon Pants ($150)

These organic cotton and hemp bottoms are stretchy and light, yet still weathered rough sandstone cracks without a rip. They lay flat under a harness, with a comfy merino-infused waistband and out-of-your-way elastic cuffs.

Pitch Six EyeSend Belay Glasses ($95)

These are the only belay glasses we’ve found with an adjustable field of view. A flick of the finger lets you change your perspective from 60 up to 120 degrees as your climber moves above, reducing dreaded neck cricks.

Hestra Climbers Short 5-Finger Gloves ($55)

Built from rugged goat leather with foam knuckle pads and neoprene cuffs these snug fingerless gloves offer supreme protection for alpine rock or backcountry missions. But they’re breathable enough for daily cragging, too.

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