Toprope solo climbing or (TR soloing) is a form of toproping that doesn’t require a belayer, making it ideal for quick sessions, cold days, or following a pitch and then hauling up a backpack. ...
The first time my partner packed a haul rope, haul bag, and hauling device on a short rock route, it was NOT my idea. I was adamantly minimalist, hailing from the northwest where mountaineering and long...
Guest Author and Gear Geek Khoi Chau here to talk about the nuances of locking carabiners. Belay carabiners aside, what are some of the most common applications you use locking biners for? Odds are they...
What are Dry Treated Ropes Made for? Dry treated ropes aren’t only for alpine climbing, ice climbing and mountaineering. The dry treatment definitely helps keep your rope from absorbing water,...
Whether you are an alpine, sport, or trad climber, gear is expensive, and despite best intentions and skill, sometimes we drop and lose things. Most climbers develop a communication technique when passing...
The quickest and easiest way for a new climber to gear up is to buy a climbing starter package. These packages include almost everything you need for indoor roped climbing — a harness, belay carabiner,...
Slings are often chosen based on factors other than width alone, and those factors can dramatically narrow down your width options. If you’re looking only for the lightest and most compact slings,...
When I asked some new climbing friends to guess how many brands make climbing harnesses the first climber said “16” and the second, who reported knowing this was a trick question and upped...
You’ve seen all the sling choices and aren’t sure: Dyneema, Spectra, Dynex or Nylon. This post dives quickly into the pro’s and con’s along with the best uses and the rest of the post...
There is a lot of conflicting information available about how to reduce or eliminate shoe smells. This post aims to get to the bottom of it all and give tips to keep your shoes smelling reasonable....
There are 2 main methods to make climbing shoes: slip-last and board-last construction. Slip-lasted shoes are by far the most common today, with only a handful of manufacturers still producing board-lasted...
In a nutshell: Top rope and lead climbing are methods for protecting a climb. More specifically… Top Rope climbing is when you climb on a rope that has an anchor already set up. This is how most...
Who Makes Climbing Gear? We List all the Climbing Brands.
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