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Urban Climber Magazine Gear Reviews
Urban Climber Gear Guide 2011 Gadgets: Gizmos and doodads that will make your
climbing life that much better. |
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 Walk Hard: 10 kicks for sticky approaches
As a climber, your feet are sacred. Of course, by “sacred,” I mean you strangle them with disgustingly tight shoes akin to those traditional but inhumane Chinese foot-binding techniques until you achieve the perfect toe-pointing power. Your bump-laden, blistered, and generally malformed footsies could use some TLC before and after they’re caged in those sticky-rubber torture chambers, so your approach shoes are of the utmost importance.  2012 Gear Guide: Editors' Choice
Scarpa Boostic: The Boostic is an all-around outstanding shoe. It has everything I like: a simple heel, powerful downturned toe (but not too intense), Velcro closures, leather uppers, precise edging, and great rubber. It helps that I have a foot that matches the design like a gnarly-toed Cinderella, but this shoe should make a stellar addition to many climbers’ arsenal of boots.  Five Ten NEON Knee Bar
The kneebar is not for the faint of heart: Nail it and you could get a no-hands rest, or blow it and you could find yourself falling in an unfriendly and eventually painful position. For places like Rifle, Colorado, where the kneebar is king, the Neon is absolutely bomber. Made of Five Ten’s Stealth Mystique, it didn’t slip at all on Pump-O-Rama (5.13a), which is infamous for its kneebar crux.  ClimbX Technician Strap
As the name suggests, the latest face-climbing shoe from ClimbX is designed for technical footwork on small holds. A fl at last ensures that maximum sole rubber (X-Factor—very sticky) contacts the rock when pasting, and a semi-stiff midsole helps lock onto tiny edges. The midsole softens quickly as it breaks in, becoming less effective on micro edges but more comfortable. Over time, the shoe doesn’t stretch much, thanks to its synthetic upper and full hemp lining.  Columbia Just Right Straight Leg Woven Pant
After searching the world over for the right pair of climbing pants, I had given up all hope. Some were too techy, some were too stiff, and some were just plain ugly. Then these pants entered my world, and I was changed forever. Made of the lightest, most breathable, and stretchiest material I’ve found in pants, these babies graced my lower half for a long trip to the Cascades in Washington. For 14 straight days, the pants withstood dozens (probably more like hundreds) of crampon kicks on Mt. Shuksan and Mt. Baker...  So iLL/Cryptochild Crimp Reaper
Simple in design and eerie in appearance, the Crimp Reaper will work you so bad it will haunt your dreams long after you’re done training. With large jugs at the top, small crimps on the middle and bottom rungs, and perfectly sized pinches on the sides, this hangboard gets the job done at a fraction of the size of other boards. Its durable (So iLL offers a three-year quality guarantee) and hand-friendly urethane will last as long as you do, plus it looks badass above any door.  Happy Landings
12 crashpads for bouldering bliss - Despite bouldering protection being almost stupidly simple in concept, crashpad selection can actually be a complicated mess of tech spec evaluation and the never-ending hunt for specific extras. To make it a little easier for all you bouldering fools out there, we took some new pads, dragged them out to some rocks, then proceeded to flop, flail, and slam down on them like a sack of potatoes. We looked at everything from packing and hauling to durability and foam quality so we could present a thorough review of each pad tested.  Petzl Ange Finesse L
In our review of the Ange Finesse S quickdraw (UC 50) we had one main complaint: It was too small and futzy. With the new L (meaning large) version, you get all the benefits of the Ange series’ MonoFil Keylock technology: slim and light like a wire gate but smooth and snag-free like a keylock, with jumbo, rounded rope-bearing surfaces for less rope wear. Plus, size L means easier clipping and cleaning.  The North Face Convert Duffel
While skeptical of this duffel bag–cum-cooler-cum-backpack, it allowed us to carry iced beer to the crag, so it was a no-brainer. Our tester dragged this bag from climb to climb for 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell in Arkansas (where beer is an acceptable substitute for water and food), and he said, “I threw it around a bunch, and it held up well.” The cooler compartment zips off, and it’s not watertight, so packing it with a lot of ice is gonna cause leaks, but a frozen ice pack should achieve the same cooling effect without the drip.  Westcomb Apoc Jacket
My tiny closet has a necessary hierarchy: Pieces that are worn the most have a front spot, and this jacket quickly replaced all six of my other shells. (Yes, I know six shells is ridiculous. Don’t judge me.) From ski touring in Iceland’s backcountry to stormy Mt. Baker in the Cascades and damp approaches to sport climbs, this jacket was highly breathable and completely waterproof thanks to the new Polartec NeoShell membrane. It was excellent for everything from windy and 20ºF to sunny and 60ºF.  Five Ten Quantum
The classic pink Anasazi lace-up has finally been redesigned for better performance. The new Quantum sports a stiff, asymmetric edging platform, and improvements include a downturned toe, noticeable arch, and a lower-volume, snug-fitting heel cup. The Quantum is solid on technical face climbs, thanks to a stiff midsole and 4.5mm Stealth Onyx outsole, yet the aggressive toe also grabs steep edges and pockets with authority. A high rand of Stealth Mystique rubber offers excellent heel and toe hooking.  Tsun Micro Edges
While the climbing gym is a wonderful tool for getting stronger, it does nothing to mimic the unique aspects of real rock. (If you find a massive bucket in the outdoors you can wrap your entire arm around, let me know—I want to climb there.) Tsun Micro Edges might just change the game. They’re realistic, flexible, stick-on features that work on most flat surfaces and also can be stuck onto other holds.  Leki Carbon 4
Remote climbing and bouldering are all about approaches and descents. That’s half the battle of crushing rocks in a high-altitude environment, but trekking poles always seemed to make you look doofy. But within 20 minutes of using the Carbon 4s on a steep downhill, I had that “Aha!” moment. I am officially a convert. These poles were so light and comfy that I barely noticed carrying them.  Feathered Friends Petrel 10
I took a leap of faith when I dragged this down bag into the woods of the Pacific Northwest for two weeks. Fortunately, the women’s-specific Petrel kicked total ass in all conditions from a windy ridgetop to sea-level car camping. The 900-fill down kept its loft night after night, even being packed and unpacked a few dozen times. My feet tend to be cold, so more down in the footbox was a godsend. In a tiny, one-man backpacking tent with total wall contact, the Petrel accrued some serious moisture on the outside of the bag, but the Pertex UL fabric kept the down inside from getting wet.  Evolv Shaman
Before the Shamans, I could never fully commit to a heel hook because I knew my shoe might slip and my heel would pop, leaving me flat on my back with some horrendous injury. The asymmetric, downturned Shaman’s tensioned heel eliminates that fear, and the stiff (but roomy for comfort) toe box maximizes power in your big toe, making it bomber for precise footwork and edging. You ever heard of that guy Chris Sharma? Apparently he’s a pretty good climber, and these are his shoes.  Five Ten Yosemite Jeans
Climbing might be the only outdoor sport in which wearing jeans is actually considered cool. The Yosemite Jeans (men’s and women’s) are comfortable, stretchy, and look damn good on all shapes and sizes. They have a relaxed fit and one percent spandex for excellent movement for offwidthing in Vedauwoo, winter bouldering in Hueco, or enjoying the roof patio of your favorite watering hole.  Five Ten Supermocc
If you’ve spent any time in Indian Creek, you’ve probably seen the Five Ten Moccasym floating up finger cracks. People love that shoe, so Five Ten decided to deck it out and create the SuperMocc. (You can still buy the Moccasym.) The SuperMocc is like that mint-condition classic Mustang that’s all original on the outside, but you open the door and—oh, hey, there’s a DVD player and a bumpin’ sound system. Sweet.  The North Face Super Zephyrus
Whatever words I write here won’t do this jacket justice, but dammit, I’m going to try. Labeled as a lightly insulated wind shell, the Super Zephyrus is lined with PrimaLoft One synthetic insulation in the torso and arms and Polartec Power Stretch panels on the sides. When you raise your arms, the bottom doesn’t lift up and expose your sensitive belly. On strenuous climbs in the Sawatch Range in Colorado, the breathable stretch panels acted as little vents to cool my sweaty self.  Happy Feet
11 rockin' shoes for 2011 - An amazing selection of rock shoes lines store shelves and e-tailer warehouses today: more than 150 different models designed for everything from gym walls to big walls, slabs to ceilings, tiny pockets to gaping offwidths. While some climbers wear the same pair for all angles and climbing styles, most prefer specialized models for various vertical genres. However, these days, the clear line between trad and sport shoes is all but obsolete, and the most important criterion for shoe selection— whether torquing toes in finger cracks or front-pointing limestone divots—is the right fit for your foot’s unique shape and personal oddities.  Wild Country Helium Friends
The Friend is the oldest spring-loaded cam, introduced in 1977, and it’s had a great overhaul. Helium Friends retain the classic single-axle design of the Technical Friends they replace, but their new hot-forged cam lobes are a tad lighter, and each unit has greater overlap with its neighbors—a full set is nine cams, versus the old 11. The Helium adds a big thumb loop for more clipping options, and the trigger system has been re-engineered.  Stoic Thrive Shorts
I gave these shorts to our most discerning apparel tester, and he described them as “slim, comfy, and simple,” and said the streamlined fit made them feel almost tailored. They still moved really well, thanks to the Thrive stretch-weave material and a cut that tapers from close fitting around the waist and hips to a looser knee. Our tester said, “If you’re high-stepping or heel hooking, you never notice the shorts; they move with your body as you move up the wall.”  CiloGear 30L City Bag
Developed in the wet winters of Portland, Oregon, the CiloGear 30L City Bag is just the pack for commuting between home, work, and gym. This burly backpack has all the nifty features of a great messenger bag, and it comes from a company that makes some of the toughest alpine packs out there. Our urbanite tester used it for airport travel, trips to the record store (can you say hipster?) and climbing gym, and to and from work.  Brooks-Range Alpini 15° Sleeping Bag
The word that immediately came to mind when I saw the BROOKS-RANGE ALPINI 15° SLEEPING BAG was “luxurious.” At first glance and touch, it seemed like a cloud, and it really might float away like one since it weighs only 23 oz. Because of the extreme light weight of the Pertex Quantum lining inside and outside, the bag’s down insulation was able to loft very quickly and stay fluffy all night. Four spring nights in Iceland (low elevation but really far north) with temps in the low 20s were no match for the Alpini.  Beal Joker 9.1
Near the thin end of the single-line rope-width spectrum, the BEAL JOKER 9.1 proved to be a solid and reliable rope. One of our testers, with 23 years of climbing experience, ranked this a “10 when it comes to sending hard sport climbs.” It’s obviously skinny, so it’s best to avoid toproping or high-abrasion situations, but for redpointing and onsight attempts, the Joker 9.1 is supple and clips like butter. The rope is dry-treated, which seems to reduce friction through quickdraws—although it did quickly collect dirt and grime from biners—and knotting is literally a cinch.  M-Rock Sierra Holster Bag
Making the switch to a digital SLR camera is a big step for any photog, but it also comes with some growing pains in the form of figuring out how the hell you’re going to carry it. Point-and-shoots slide right into your pocket, but the trade-off for taking better pictures with a dSLR is toting a fragile, heavy, and awkward, high-tech piece of equipment through the unforgiving wilds of nature. The M-ROCK SIERRA HOLSTER BAG is one answer, with a variety of carrying systems from a chest-harness front setup to a waist-belt system. |
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