Evolv Defy VTR

There are a lot of considerations when picking out a pair of climbing shoes, but in the end it's what fits your foot and the style of climbing you want to do.  If this is your first pair of shoes, check out my article "Climbing Shoes - Your First Pair" for some tips, but beyond that, here we go. I recently picked up a pair of Evolv Defy VTRs and honestly could not be happier with them.  Having a wide toe box, I was really concerned when going to purchase a new pair of shoes that I was going to have the long and strenuous search like with hiking boots, but was pleasantly surprised when trying these on.  Just like all climbing shoes, the fit is definitely snug, but there was no ankle dig issues, and the fit around the toes was not too bad. I definitely threw them off after every wall for a while, but after a couple weeks, grew pretty accustomed to them.  Now they aren't a very aggressive shoe, but being somewhat new to climbing, I have yet to do a move yet where the shoes, not my technique, were the obstacle.  They have also been quite durable.  I've used them about 4-5 times a week over the last 4 months and outside of a very small rubber chunk out of the bottom of one shoe, they've held up quite well and there have been zero issues with any glued pieces.  They are also 100% synthetic, so the overall shape of the shoe has not changed at all from the first day to my most recent climb.  Now there is one big con to these shoes, and that is the stink factor.  I prefer to climb without socks, (which may be the root cause), but they pretty much smell like they could kill small animals.  I've done all the tricks, air them outside overnight, spray them down with Lysol and/or Odor Eaters, and even put them in the freezer overnight, and it kind of helps, but only temporarily.  In the end, I would still totally recommend these shoes to any climber, new or experienced. Happy Climbing!...

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Releasing a Loaded Auto-Blocking Device in “Guide Mode”

A couple years back an interesting story made its way around climbing Internet forums. In it, an experienced (relative to his partners) climber led a team of two others up the Shawangunks classic, High Exposure. High E is only a 5.6, but it’s a Gunks 5.6, which means it involves a roof of substantial size. Awkward in the extreme, the move past the roof has sent more than one unprepared follower into the ether. And let me tell you, that particular ether is immense. It’s not uncommon for the hapless second to end up dangling in mid air, unable to even touch the rock to resume climbing. Unfortunately, this particular leader rigged his second and third climbers in a cow-tail configuration. That means two followers on one rope, tied into the end 3-5 meters apart. The cow tail’s fatal flaw is that, if the last climber falls, he takes the second climber with him. It is as close to unavoidable as it’s possible to get, and this party was, of course, unable to avoid it. Even more unfortunately, the leader was belaying with a plaquette-style device, perhaps even an immensely popular Petzl Reverso 3 or Black Diamond ATC-Guide. He was unable to release it and lower his team to the ledge from which they started. Long story short... with the last climber out of reach of the wall, both of them hung in the air helpless as a two-inch trout, until some other brainiac attached the third climber to an intermediate anchor and instructed her to cut the rope. (Yes, cut the rope. Don’t even go there. That’s not the point of all this.) The point is, how many Reverso 3 and ATC-Guide users have actually tried to release a dangling follower -- under a full load with the climber hanging free in the air? I have a sawbuck that says very few.

Petzl’s recommended release and lower method is difficult to accomplish under full load.

Black Diamond and Petzl recommend similar methods. BD recommends girth hitching a 10mm Dyneema runner (a thicker runner won’t fit) to the ATC-Guide’s nose hole, redirecting that sling through a carabiner clipped to the anchor above, and then pulling down on the sling to reorient the device and release the autoblock. Petzl eliminates the sling by recommending you clip a carabiner through the Reverso 3’s nose hole and use it as a lever to accomplish the same thing. Neither method is perfect. The ATC-Guide comes closest with its sling redirect, but it also requires the belayer to adjust the angle of the device to control friction by adjusting his or her pull on the sling. And the Reverso 3? You may never get that far, because with dead weight on the line, it’s as difficult to release as Charlie Manson. If you manage it, you’ll find it even more difficult to adjust the angle of the device. With a tiny addition to the ATC-Guide method and a slightly larger tweak for the Reverso 3, however, both devices function magnificently.

Redirect the sling and the brake, attach the sling to you, and then weight it fully to open the device wide. Keep your hand on the brake!

Okay, you’re atop High Exposure marveling at the view, basking in your own after-send glow and belaying your beer-swilling, pizza-munching college roommate, who climbs about as much as the mercury in a South-Pole thermometer. Clipped to your anchor is an autoblocking device in “guide mode.” Your partner squirms into the roof sequence, burps pepperoni and Budweiser in just the wrong way and boom-bing-bang, he’s twisting in the breeze. Here’s what you do. 1. Rig your device -- it doesn’t matter which one you’re using -- as in the Black Diamond method. Girth hitch your runner to the nose hole and redirect it through a ‘biner higher on the anchor. 2. Now clip a second runner to the first and clip the other end of it to your belay loop. Tie it short if necessary. You’ll need to be able to drop onto it without weighting your anchor tie-in. 3. Redirect the brake strand of the climbing rope through a second ‘biner, also high on the anchor. 4. Hang on to the brake, and drop onto the sling hard enough to invert the belay device and open it wide. Your weight will keep it open and the redirect on the brake will enable you to control the lower easily. Things change a bit with other devices, such as Trango's B-52, but the gist is the same: redirect everything. As with all things climbing, practice, practice and practice some more in a controlled environment before you need to bust this -- or any plaquette lowering technique -- out for real. You’re a cut-the-rope kind of climber if you don’t. ...

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Totem Cams Review

A handful of years ago, almost simultaneously, three gear makers introduced radical new tech in spring-loaded camming devices, or SLCDs. Metolius’ Super Cam, Trango’s Max Cam and Omega Pacific’s Link Cam all debuted in the same year to fanfare and hype that spilled over from online forums and into the bars and crags climbers frequent. Now, in 2010, there’s another bizarre newcomer to the wide world of cams, but unless you frequent those forums, you probably haven’t heard of it, let alone seen one... let alone placed and climbed above one. This newest entry into the cam market, which hails from the Basque region of Spain, is the Totem Cam. And if you’ve never even heard of it, you might want to pay attention.

Totem Cams Features

The Totem Cam is not an SLCD. It is a camming device, and it is spring loaded, but Totem calls it a DLCD, a direct load camming device. Every other camming device you’ve seen is essentially the same thing: a stem connects to an axle(s), and spring-loaded cam lobes rotate around that same axle. In a Totem Cam, the lobes still rotate around an axle, but instead of to that axle, the stem connects directly to each lobe.

• Direct loading applies forces equally to each lobe, which virtually eliminates any risk of idle lobes doing nothing while the rest of them work overtime. They also have...
• The narrowest head width available and...
• A very flexible stem.
• Totems are easy to operate, even with gloves on.
• By clipping only one side of the stem, Totems are loadable on just two lobes.
• They have an effective cam angle of approximately 13 degrees combined with hard 7075-T6 aluminum lobes and...
• An expansion range of 1.64:1, which isn't amazing, but it's respectable. (Compare to: BD Camalot, 1.72:1; Metolius Power Cam, 1.47:1)

Totem Cams Review

Metolius’, OP’s and Trango’s offerings of a few years back, all felt... different. They all had a relatively substantial learning curve. Although Totems Cams actually employ some pretty radical new tech, they feel the same as any normal cam out there. The only learning curve comes in color-size recognition. The Good

• Two strands of cable stem attach to each lobe, which makes for an awful lot of stem (eight strands!), however, these cables are thin. The result is -- by far -- the most flexible camming device I’ve ever used, including the previous king of flex, the now defunct CCH Alien. This means a few things; the two I like the most are: one, shallow horizontal placements will be more secure than with a less flexible unit, and two, Totems can absorb rope drag more effectively, which makes them less likely to walk.
• Their narrow head width allows them to fit in placements where wider cams might not.
• A normal placement would involve clipping the sling equalized between the two main stems, but if you need an especially shallow vertical placement, such as in a pin scar, you can clip just one of them (see photo). Were I an aid climber, it would be difficult to describe how psyched I would be!
• A roughly 13-degree cam angle means that a Totem Cam exerts more force outward than most every other cam. In slick rock, that’s awesome. In crumbly rock, that sucks.

The Bad

• While the three largest sizes correspond in color to Black Diamond’s Camalots of similar sizes, the two smallest do not correspond to anything. I grabbed the wrong size a couple times before that sank in.
• I have some question about the Totem Cam’s durability. The same stem cables that bring the flexibility are thinner than anything else out there by far, and the trigger springs are exposed for the tweaking. I’ll try to revisit this point a few more months down the road.
• Totem Cams aren’t exactly ubiquitous in American gear stores. A retailer friend of mine mentioned that Totem offered him an exclusive online retailership... if he bought 300 full sets of cams. At roughly $55 wholesale, plus shipping and customs from Europe, that would have obliterated both his profit margin and his inventory budget. As of right now, you can only buy these babies direct from Totem, and at $80 a pop plus shipping (unless you buy a full set), they ain’t cheap.

Bottom Line:

Check the Totem website to compare specs, but I think you’ll find them not far off from most other cams -- they fall someplace in the middle of the spectrum for expansion range, strength and weight. They excel in flexibility and head width, and even though they look pretty funny, they feel great in the hand and are easy to place. My local crag is the New River Gorge. While I enjoy crack climbing, my favorite routes in the world are all facey trad climbs. Shallow horizontal placements abound around here, so having a cam this flexible is like a dream come true. I now climb above such placements with a confidence I haven’t felt since... well... I’ve never felt it. That alone makes Totem Cams worth it for me. Buy Now: Holiday money burning a hole in your pants? You could do a lot worse than burning some of it Totem’s way!...

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Edelweiss Laser Arc Climbing Rope – 9.6mm Review

When I was in the market for a new rope I wanted something lighter in weight than the 10.2mm x 60m rope I was using, it had to work for both sport and trad routes, and it had to last a long time. After researching I chose the Edelweiss Laser Arc Climbing Rope - 9.6mm. Edelweiss is a known and trusted name in the climbing community and has a good reputation. The Laser Arc fit everything I was looking for and threw in a couple things I didn't know I wanted.

Edelweiss Laser Arc 9.6mm Climbing Rope Features

• Thickness: 9.6mm
• Type: Single Rope
• Length: 60m and 70m
• Dry: Yes
• Sheath Construction: Double-pick
• Impact Force: ~8kN (with 80kg)
• Elongation: 7.5%
• Center Mark: Yes
• Falls: 6
• Recommended Use: Sport, Alpine
• Weight: 61g/m
• Price: $250

Edelweiss Laser Arc 9.6mm Climbing Rope Review

My experience with the Laser Arc 9.6 has been extremely good. I've been using the rope for a few years and it is still running strong. I've used it from sport redpoints, to top-roping with the family, to long, multi-pitch trad routes. It honestly has excelled in every situation. My absolute favorite feature is the bi-pattern on the rope. This wasn't a requirement when I bought the rope, but it will be for every rope I buy in the future. It takes all the guesswork out of finding the middle. No more scanning the rope for the mark you colored with a marker. I had full confidence on every rappel and it was super handy on long multi-pitch routes for gauging distance. I thought that 9.6 might be a little skinny and it wouldn't hold up. After a few years of use it's starting to show some where and tear. It has taken some big falls, it's rubbed against thousands of feet of granite, limestone, dolostone, and many others, and it is still in good shape. I wish I would have purchased the 70m to get the extra distance for longer sport routes. 60m has been long enough though for just about everything I've done. There's been a couple of instances where we had to really stretch the rope to get it long enough and one time about 5 feet of downclimbing was required. If you plan on doing a lot of top-roping, get a thicker rope. The Good

• Bi-pattern
• Long-life (well, I've experienced long life with it)
• Good all-around rope

The Bad

• Too thin if you want to do a lot of top-roping

Bottom Line:

You really can't go wrong with the Edelweiss Laser Arc 9.6mm Climbing Rope. It you want a good all-around climbing rope, go with the Edelweiss Laser Arc 9.6 Climbing Rope. Buy Now: Pick up the Edelweiss Laser Arc 9.6mm Climbing Rope ...

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Metolius Safe-Tech Deluxe Harness Review

When Metolius introduced its Safe-Tech harnesses they were the first and only such harnesses of their kind. They were born of a simple idea -- make sure that every point possible to clip or tie into is bomb proof! Safe Tech did something no other harness did: it protected the wearer from the full range of stupid harness mistakes. Forget to double back your buckle? We got your back. Clip into a leg-loop keeper strap? You’re dumber than a bag of hair, but still, we got your back. In fact, anyplace you can clip on a Safe-Tech harness is STRONG. You may be a bit uncomfortable, but you’ll live to enjoy it. You might think that, years later, the game would be different and every harness out there would be so forgiving. And yet, Safe Tech is still unique in the harness world. Such unparalleled safety consciousness, however, is not the reason I wear a Metolius Safe-Tech Deluxe today.

Metolius Safe-Tech Deluxe Features

That it sits firmly atop the heap when it comes to protecting me from a hypothermic fit of dehydrated brain farting is not the Safe-Tech Deluxe’s only redeeming quality. There’s so much more:

• Engineered to provide every possible extra margin of safety
• Wherever possible, each component is engineered to withstand a load of 10 kN. * 2250 lbf (10 kN) Spectra gear loops * 3600 lbf (16 kN) Spectra rope locator * 3600 lbf (16 kN) rear haul loop * 1500 lbf (6.6 kN) leg loop elastic
• Two belay/rappel loops make setting up for rapples and multi-pitch belays easier*
• Reinforced, Long-wearing tie-in point*
• 3-D adjustable-rise system assures the perfect fit
• Shaped 3/8" foam provides maximum support to the lower back

* New and improved this year.

The author hanging around in a Safe Tech. Photo: W. Young

Metolius Safe-Tech Deluxe Review

I’m almost as worried about accidentally tying into a gear loop as I am accidentally onsighting 5.15. Still, that’s sort of the reason I bought my first Safe-Tech harness over six years ago. I was setting a lot of routes in the local gym, and my preferred method of carrying holds from point A to point B was via 5-gallon bucket clipped to a gear loop. I was plagued by the notion that one might break and, perhaps, send a 20-lbs. bucket of plastic -- Wile E. Coyote style -- right onto some hapless child’s head. There are three main reasons I keep on buying them. The Good

• I don’t have a typical climber’s body, which puts me somewhat at the mercy of harness designers. 3-D allows me to customize all the usual suspects plus the harness’ rise -- the vertical distance between the swami and leg loops.
• Shy of a big-wall harness, the Safe-Tech Deluxe is the king of low-back support.
• I have -- once or twice -- failed to double back my buckle before my partner caught it. Should I actually manage to leave the ground without the double pass, this buckle will still hold 10kN, which is more than most ropes’ impact-force ratings.
• I don't set in a gym anymore, but I do spend quite a bit of time equipping new routes and re-equipping old ones. With a Bosch, tools and a sack of steel hanging from the 10kN gear loop on my hip, I can swing around all day and never have to worry about it breaking.

The Bad

• I don’t need two belay loops, but it’s easy enough to clip them as one.

Bottom Line:

The Metolius Safe-Tech Deluxe is not just comfortable and safe. It’s more comfortable and more safe than any other harness in its class. So, if safety and comfort are your things, slip into a Metolius Safe-Tech Deluxe! If you can’t get it to fit you perfectly, well, it’s probably your fault, not the harness’. ...

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Rope Thickness and Belay Devices: a Complex Relationship, Part Three of Three

Have you read Rope Thickness and Belay Devices, Parts One and Two?

A single factor-2 fall was harsh enough to produce core shots. The damage seen above was in the clove hitch near the belayer's end of the rope, which he had used to attach himself to the anchor. Photo courtesy of Rockclimbing.com user, "Sittingduck."

If I had a small salad for every time I saw a first-time climber’s eyes go wide upon seeing how skinny the rope is, I could cure obesity in America. Apparently, they knew something the rest of us taught ourselves to suppress. Collectively, we have shed the anxiety of whether or not our gear will work by accepting the false logic that, since all ropes are well made and all belay devices are well made, all belay-device-rope combinations must therefore be safe. So, where does that leave you? You have a thin rope, say a Beal Joker, which clocks in at 9.1 millimeters, or an oddly named Mammut Serenity, which sports a ruler-defying 8.9. You bought it, because it’s light, a belayer can throw slack like Nolan Ryan hucked fast balls, and it really does minimize rope drag. Unfortunately, every one of the above also makes it more difficult for your belayer to catch falls. Here are few pointers you can employ to hedge your multi-pitch bets:

• Leave your thin cord on the ground!
• Test your belay device on your rope of choice. Says Rich Goldstone: “If you can't do a single-strand free-hanging rappel comfortably, you'll never control a high-factor fall.”
• Buy a belay device with a grooved brake side, but be aware that according to knowledgeable and concerned sources, with a thin rope such a device still might not be enough of an edge. You may also be able to add friction to the system simply by adding a second belay ‘biner. Consider also buying a locking-assist device, such as a Mammut Smart. (But be aware that such devices are not automatically the best answer. They take a lot of practice to use well, and they tend to add impact force in a fall.)
• Wear gloves. In Goldstone’s opinion, “Gloves are in the same category as helmets.” Not everybody wears them, but everybody should.
• A guide hand is wasted in a hard fall. When belaying a leader who’s in a position to pitch bigtime, keep both hands on the brake whenever possible.
• When leading out on multi-pitch climbs always always always clip your first piece of protection before leaving the relative safety of the anchor. If possible, continue to protect often low on the pitch.
• If you believe a hard fall is likely, consider positioning the belayer several feet below the anchor, and then clipping the anchor as the first piece of protection. This shortens the potential fall relative to the amount of rope in the system and lowers the fall factor. (See photo at right.)

(While you’re at it, keep most of those in mind no matter how thick your rope may be.)

Fall-factor 2 potential? CHECK. John Wesely races for the Hudson River Railroad on Grand Central, the Nears, Shawangunks, NY. Photo: © Greg Burns.

You’ve undoubtedly heard this before, but rock climbing is dangerous -- like, piranha-fishing-with-a-fistful-of-worms dangerous. Although we can sometimes shed a good amount of climbing’s associated anxiety by trusting our equipment, it’s a potentially deadly error of judgment to assume that the onus for our safety is on any shoulders but our own. Unfortunately, such an error of judgment is all too prevalent in climbing today, as is a cavalier attitude toward actions we perform on a regular basis (read: belaying). Do not be one of those people. Research your safety equipment before you buy it. Make an effort to understand its limitations and realize that, every so often in climbing, it is possible to exceed those limitations. Once you own a piece of equipment, practice with it to build a first-hand understanding of how it will perform when the poop hits the fan. Do your best to understand how things might fail, and you’ll take a huge step toward understanding how they work. ...

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Rope Thickness and Belay Devices: a Complex Relationship, Part Two of Three

Have you read Rope Thickness and Belay Devices, Part One? When ropes first began to really thin out, I purchased one that clocked in at a previously unheard of 9.4 millimeters. On its maiden voyage, I led out on the second pitch of something or other and placed a bomber mid-sized cam right off the belay. A few feet later I got something similarly solid, and shortly after that -- just below the crux -- I clipped a bolt. I was around 30 feet out from the belay with excellent protection, but that’s still not a lot of rope. Juggy holds were in short supply, slopers seemed more the norm, and soon, I was airborne. The fall was short by climbing standards, maybe six feet, but my wife, who was belaying with a (since discontinued) first-generation Petzl Reverso held the fall only with a maximum amount of effort. To this day, she reports being barely able to hold that small fall. She had both hands on the brake, and that alone probably saved my life. Do the math: six feet of fall divided by 30 feet of rope equals a fall factor of only 0.2. Had I fallen but a few feet higher, I might not be here to tell the tale. Had that fall been of a much higher factor, say with only the first piece off the belay -- or none -- I certainly would be talus food right now. It’s important to note that, with the knowledge of the time, we did everything right.

Fall factor is the length of the fall before rope stretch (20 feet in the above diagram) divided by the amount of rope in the system (10 feet). This is the hardest fall possible on the least amount of energy-absorbing rope... and you and your belay device (not to mention the climber) might be left holding the bag.

The problem will be compounded by a heavy climber. Says Jim Ewing, Product Engineer for Sterling Ropes: “It’s much harder to hold a 100-kg (220 lbs.) guy with an ATC on a 9.2-mm rope than a 70-kg (154 lbs.) guy with an ATC-XP on a 10.5-mm rope.” Okay... but how much harder? To understand what catching a high-factor fall might be like, we can rely on anecdotal evidence from people who have been there and done that. Rich Goldstone, a climber of 52 years and a student of the sport is such a person. “I've caught one factor-2 fall in the field and twenty or so practice UIAA-level falls with weights,” reports Goldstone. “The impact is brutal -- you are going to be thrown violently up or down. Some rope will run, and burns are almost certain without gloves. As far as I can tell,” he continues, “climbers evaluate their devices on the basis of how well you can pump slack to the leader. Of course, a low-friction device is likely to be best in this regard, while being inadequate for big leader falls.” To boot, if the fall you’re catching is a true factor-two fall, i.e., the rope runs directly from your belay device, though zero protection and up to the climber, your device is going to invert. “We had an accident maybe two years ago in which a guy fell from a few feet up onto the belay ledge, then fell off the ledge and dropped 100 feet to the ground, because the belayer couldn't control the rope,” reports Goldstone. “The belay failure here might have been exacerbated by the belayer reflexively braking downwards rather than upwards. Far too few people seem to know about this.” If you’re cranking out single-pitch rock climbs, where theoretical fall factors cannot, by definition, exceed 1, rope thin-ness may be a valid consideration. But if you’re into multiple pitches, you’d better make sure your belay tech is on a par with your rope tech. And if the worst-case scenario -- a fall directly onto the belay -- occurs be ready for a catch that is challenging at best, no matter what size the rope. Most of us will never have to catch a hard fall, and yet the spectre of such a situation hangs over all of us. If the time ever comes for you, will you be up to the task? If you glean only one salient point from this article, make it this one: You may not be as prepared as you think to catch a high-factor fall, especially if you use a thin rope -- double especially if you use a thin rope and an older belay device. Of course, you can’t know for certain unless a hard fall happens, but there are a few things you can do in terms of practices and equipment to hedge your bets. Look for more on that later this week in Part Three of Rope Thickness and Belay Devices: a Complex Relationship....

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Rope Thickness and Belay Devices: a Complex Relationship, Part One of Three

A few years back I reviewed a 9.2-mm rope for another website. It left me grinning from ear to ear as I put the poor thing through the proverbial ringer, especially when I beat it senseless on my project du jour, a steep, single-pitch trad climb with a high crux that offered gear at my feet. I pitched over and over again as I tried in vain to work out the sequence, and through it all, that skinny little rope was my faithful companion. My belayer arrested each and every fall effortlessly. That day, however, might have had a horrible ending if the circumstances had been different. Make that climb a multi-pitch route with a crux right off a high belay; make it poorly protected to achieve a high fall factor, too, and an easy catch on the part of the belayer is no longer a foregone conclusion. Slap an old-school belay device -- one not grooved specifically for additional friction -- into the equation, and the result may be more grim than many of us would care to think. When and why did ropes get so thin?

A 9.4-mm cord next to a 10.4. Though there isn't much of a difference visually, in terms of friction, the divide may be vast.

Sterling Rope’s Product Engineer, Jim Ewing, notes that at some point in time rope technology left belay-device technology in the dust. “Improvements in nylon production for tire cores were the beginning,” he states, “So we can actually thank the auto industry. Better technology in terms of machinery, manufacturing techniques and chemistry,” all helped lead climbers to where we are now -- tied into the ends of what amounts to colorful string, and trusting our lives to it implicitly. “Until recently,” continues Ewing, “there was no UIAA standard for belay devices, but they did have a rope standard that all commercial climbing ropes needed to pass. Rope makers went to work building the thinnest, lightest cord possible that could also pass the UIAA test, and ropes just outpaced belay devices.” We had ropes being built over there... and belay devices over here... but ne’er the two did meet until they were on the crag and in use.

Older tech on the left and newer on the right. Note the notches in the right-side devices. The intent there is to add friction to your catch. Though whether those notches are enough to catch a hard fall with a thin cord is at issue, it's fair to say that the older devices are not, all by their lonesome, up to the task.

As of 2009, the UIAA does have a standard for testing belay devices, but unfortunately, it has nothing whatsoever to do with measuring relative friction on various rope diameters. Kolin Powick, Director of Quality at ATC maker, Black Diamond, attends UIAA meetings. “They’ve been talking about belay device relative friction for years now,” says Powick. “The first draft of the belay device standard had something in there.” It was not, however, in the final draft, which you can download online here. Its exclusion may be due to the fact that the issue is a little more complicated than mere rope thickness, which is just one factor that will affect friction at the belay device. As for plans to include such information later, says Powick, "I don’t see it happening anytime in the near future.” With the process of belay devices catching up to rope diameter far from over, there are undoubtedly potentially dangerous combinations in use afield. We can hypothesize that one reason why climbers aren’t dropping like flies is the simple fact that high-factor falls are so rare. “People generally don’t take factor-two falls,” notes Ewing. “The UIAA test drop is brutal, but in the field those falls are uncommon. Even when they do happen, big falls often involve something to slow the climber down... a slide, a bump, hitting something...” Rope Thickness and Belay Devices, Part Two is live now, including a bit about what you might be in for if you are ever called upon to catch the worst of falls with the thinnest of ropes....

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Five.Ten Anasazi Moccasym Review

At the start of pretty near every climbing season, I face a dilemma: which climbing shoes to buy. When I first began climbing in the late eighties, the choice was easy. There were only a few pairs of climbing shoes on the market and they were all fairly similar. They were all high tops. They were all lace ups. They were all stiff as boards and none of them were all that sticky by today’s rubber standards. Now, there are literally hundreds of shoes from which to pick, and the choice is, shall we say, complicated. Standing in front of the shoe display at my local climbing shop, it seems so daunting. Lace up, Velcro or slipper? Soft or stiff? Cambered or not? Slingshot rand? What type of climbing do I mostly do? Fit (which is the single most important factor in a shoe choice) aside, which is the right shoe for me? Given the uncertainty surrounding new climbing shoes and how they’ll work for me, is it any wonder that, year in and year out, I pick the same make and model? Over and over again, I pick the Five.Ten Anasazi Moccasym.

Five.Ten Anasazi Moccasym Features

As climbing shoes go, the Moccasym is refreshingly simple, and none of its features are high tech. Five.Ten hit on a winning formula with this one. There’s just no good reason to change them!

• Unlined leather upper
• Soft and supple Stealth C4 sole
• Slingshot rand

Five.Ten Anasazi Moccasym Review

The Good

• Stealth C4 rubber is, in my opinion, stickier than a murder charge on Charles Manson. Even later versions of Five.Ten rubber do not perform as well.
• The sole under the Anasazi Moccasym is softer than a new-born puppy. This means sensitivity and gripability (the ability to grasp foot holds with your toes, much like a monkey) are high. This softness also enables the Anasazi Moccasym to deform to rock irregularities and smear like a champ.
• Easy on, easy off: granted, this goes for any slipper, but I’ll mention it anyway, because it’s such a huge factor in my decision to keep buying them. I remove them at every opportunity -- no fuss, no muss -- even when hanging at multi-pitch anchors. I suppose a “comfortable” shoe would suffice, but what’s more comfy than bare feet?
• The Moccasym’s low toe profile also makes it a surprise winner for crack climbing, especially thin cracks.

The Bad

• Unlined leather stretches, which makes the Moccasym difficult to size. What’s more, the larger the shoe, the more unlined leather it has and the more it stretches. I figured my sizing out early on, so I’m set, but given that this shoe could stretch the equivalent of a full size... or less... or more... a correct size first try isn’t a foregone conclusion. You won’t know if you got it really right, until after a break-in period.
• Unfortunately, the soft sole under the Anasazi Moccasym also makes it difficult to dial in miniscule edges on slabs, which require you to place most of your weight on tiny features. Along these same lines, it takes a strong-footed, precise climber to really make use of something so soft. This is not a good beginner shoe.

Bottom Line:

Five.Ten’s Anasazi Moccasym has been around longer than almost any other model of shoe I can name, and there’s a reason why it’s the best-selling slipper of all time. I dread the day they discontinue this model -- a day I might also consider quitting climbing. Oh, who am I kidding? I’ll just buy enough pairs to last the rest of my life! Buy Now: Pick up the Five.Ten Anasazi Moccasym and find out why so many people before you did the same. ...

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Wild Country Helium Carabiner Review

The evolution of the carabiner is remarkable in its scope. Hold a clunky steel round-stock oval of yesteryear in one hand and a modern ultra-light ‘biner of today in the other, and the difference will make your brain boil. Changes, not only in carabiner design, but also in manufacturing techniques, have left us with something far different than its grandfather. The Wild Country Helium, for example, sits at the very apex of the evolutionary arc.

Wild Country Helium Features

The Helium brings to bear a host of advances in one carabiner, but leaves a few others behind. One trend they dropped -- thankfully -- is that of shaving weight by making carabiners smaller. Wild Country certainly picked and chose its features carefully, and the result is something outstanding.

• Clean-wire nose
• Hot forging
• I-beam back
• High strength, full size and yet still superlight
• Flatwire gate
• Individually Tested to 10kN

Wild Country Helium Review

I use Wild Country Heliums primarily on Quickdraws and runners (for bolts and traditional protection) for a host of reasons. First up, at only 33 grams, these suckers are light. Sure, they’re big boned compared to, say, Metolius’ FS Mini or C.A.M.P.’s Nano, but 33 grams isn’t exactly an albatross either. Plus, Helium has a few assets those others don’t, which more than make up for the extra ten paper clips. The Good

• The Helium is full sized, which makes it easier to work with, especially gloved, than the handful of lightest ‘biners on the market, which all shaved size to save weight. Instead, the Helium relies on its I-beam construction and Flatwire gate to lessen the amount of metal and create one of the strongest non-lockers available.
• The Helium has a whopping 10kN gate-open strength, which, along with only a few other models available, is the highest you’ll currently find. It’s not uncommon to see carabiners with as low as 7kN in that department, which is actually an achievable force in a hard fall. In addition, every single Helium was individually tested to 10kN. Talk about piece of mind.
• The Helium’s Clean-wire nose makes it easier to clip and unclip virtually everything from the Helium, including and especially bolt hangers when cleaning all those forearm-exploding steep rigs.

The Bad

• The Helium’s sling-side basket is a bit on the small side, so anything other than a skinny Dyneema dogbone seems to rest less than optimally away from the spine. It may be best to stick with skinny bones on these, such as those that come with the Helium quickdraw set.

Bottom Line:

Years ago I crashed at a friend’s house while traveling the western U.S. on a snowboarding trip. Said friend lamented that she had no time to climb anymore (I know -- nuts, right!?), but that she had just recently received 12 Helium quickdraws for X-mas. Maybe, she mused, she could Ebay them. “I’ll give you $100 for all of them right now!” I blurted and the deal was done. One Helium quickdraw retails for $25.50, but even had I paid full price, I would still consider it one of the best climbing purchases I’ve ever made. Buy Now: I can make a dozen phone calls right now and find a dozen people who love Heliums. I can’t find one who doesn’t. Rack up with a mess o’ Wild Country Heliums and you won’t regret it. ...

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Arc’teryx R280 Women’s Climbing Harness

As an outdoor enthusiast, I spend most of my time and free cash getting cool new toys like cams and harnesses. For this reason, I'm not super familiar with nice cars. I spend most of my time trashing my Toyota Tacoma, filling with with climbing gear, dogs and muddy people. So, I don't really have a great breadth of knowledge regarding upscale vehicles. However, I recently came to a conclusion. It seems that a few brands within the outdoor industry seem to parallel nice car brands. Arc'Teryx was the first one that came to mind. Expensive, they're much like the ferarris or a porsches of the climbing realm. They make very high quality equipment. Yet is it necessary to spend all that money to get a functioning product? No. But, ooo, man, does it feel nice to sit in luxury for a bit. This was the case with my Arc'Teryx R280 Women's Climbing Harness. Certainly the most expensive harness I've had my hands on, I was curious to see if the price difference ($135 new as opposed to a measly $45.95 for a basic Black Diamond Harness) was worth the comfort difference.

Basic Info

• All around harness
• Self locking buckles
• Fixed leg loops
• Weight: 10.1 oz
• Sizes XS thru XL

Pros of the Arc'Teryx R280

• Packable- The R280 gets practically as small as my Alpine Bod Harness, and weights near nothing. The plastic molded gear loops can be snapped on and off, so you can truly use this harness as a lightweight alpine harness. Mine squished down to the size of my two fists combined.
• Comfortable- Warp Strength Technology distributes the pressure of a fall or simply sitting in the harness throughout the entire waistbelt as opposed to simply throughout a single piece of one inch webbing with lots of padding (how harnesses are typically constructed). Despite being thinner than most harnesses, the change in the way this harness distributes weight makes it just as comfortable, if not more so.

Cons of the Arc'Teryx R280

• Pricey! Definitely the most expensive all-around harness I've seen.
• The drop seat attachment to the back of the harness isn't as secure as some I've seen. A little time hiking with a pack on over the harness, and I'd managed to accidentally undo my leg loop keeper straps, accidentally dropping my seat.

Bottom line- Arc'Teryx makes a great, lightweight harness that has redesigned the way weight is distributed on your body. It was incredibly comfortable to climb in, and packed down very tiny- much smaller than I could get any other harness of equal comfort to compress down. Occasionally, it is nice to have a little luxury in your life! Check it Out! Arc'Teryx R280 Women's Climbing Harness...

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Black Diamond Primrose Harness

I spent a good chunk of my spring break in a harness. No complaints here, since that means I was out doing some pretty fun stuff. Not only did I spend a lot of time in a harness, but I spent a lot of time in a comfortable, lightweight harness; the Black Diamond Primrose Harness. The women's specific version of the Momentum harness, the Primrose is a great all around harness. Ice climbing, rock climbing (even canyoneering for a day!), this harness has done it all for me. The Primrose comes with a variety of buckle and leg loop choices. Let's break them down.

• Primrose: The straight Primrose name indicates a traditional buckle system for the waist and fixed leg loops.
• Primrose AL: Traditional buckle system for both leg loops and waist. This makes the leg loops completely adjustable, which is idea for ice climbing. Space for added layers, the ability to take your harness off without doing the "hop on one leg" dance in crampons...
• Primrose SA: SA Stands for Speed Adjust- both the leg loops and waist are adjustable, and the buckles are pre-threaded, so all you need to do is give it a pull and it's safe.

Key Features of the Black Diamond Primrose Harness

• Four molded gear loops- allow you to rack up for a long trad route or grab a few draws and head up that sport climb.
• Clipped leg loops- drop your leg loops quick if you need to make a bathroom run but don't want to dismantle you're whole upper half.
• Padded bullhorn waist with increased rise means that the harness really will fit better than a men's harness. That increased rise means that the waist of the harness will truly sit above your hips, where it needs to be for safe usage. The bullhorn shaped waist also means accommodation for hips, something that men's harnesses don't tend to have.
• Comes in sizes extra small - large: Accommodates waist sizes from 24 inches through 36 inches.

Bottom Line= A great all-around harness that fits well! If you're looking for a sport-specific, even lighter weight harness, try the Black Diamond Diva. If you're looking for an ice-specific harness, look into the Black Diamond Blizzard. Buy Now! Black Diamond Primrose Harness...

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Five Ten Anasazi LV Rock Climbing Shoes

Along with canyoneering in Zion, I also spent a few days climbing in Red Rocks, NV during my spring break. I finally had a chance to leave the snow behind and try out my Christmas present- new Five Ten Anasazi LV Rock Climbing Shoes! After climbing a few pitches in these shoes, they began to settle in, and I was super excited to finally have a shoe that truly fit my foot. Though I wouldn't quite call them comfortable, they climb like rock stars.

Five Ten Anasazi LV Rock Climbing shoes

• Synthetic upper= Minimal stretching. After about 10 pitches, mine had stretched a little bit, but just enough to accommodate my slightly larger right foot. After that, no more stretching.
• LV= Low volume (no, it's not "Lady's Version"). Boy, does Five Ten mean low volume. I have a mid-volume foot, and the "split overlapping" tongue barely overlaps. If you've got a really low volume foot, you're psyched about these shoes!
• Heel= Awesome! Full rubber coverage offers great traction on all parts of your foot, and the 2 "pull-on" loops make for easier shoe entry. Still had to yank on them pretty hard, but totally worth it for the fit of the heel.
• Velcro closures= easy on and off.

Buy Now! 5.10 Anasazi LV Rock Climbing Shoes...

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Metolius Climbing Glove

I am a wuss. It's true. When it comes to rappelling especially, I hate it when my hands get rubbed raw from holding the rope in the break hand as I head downward. To limit the wuss-factor, I use a pair of Metolius Climbing Gloves. Being that I am a bit on the lighter side, I am usually having to pick up the rope and actually feed it into the device, so these gloves see a lot of regular wear when I'm climbing.

Get the Facts on The Metolius Climbing Glove

• 3/4 length fingers allow you to maintain dexterity while still providing a good amount of coverage
• Webbing hooks allow for clipping gloves with a carabiner to wherever you want them
• Velcro wrist closure keeps gloves snug
• Great for rappelling AND belaying- palms are reinforced
• Again, a word about sizing- I have kinda tiny hands, and the XS is almost too big on me. The sizing chart from the Metolius website indicated that I would need a size Small glove, and those were definitely too big. Be sure to try them on if you're got hands on the extreme end of the spectrum, be it large or small. Also, keep in mind that they're going to stretch a bit.

Check 'Em Out! Metolius Climbing Gloves

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Black Diamond Focus SA Climbing Harness

This past summer I figured it was time to retire my old Trango climbing harness.  Since Black Diamond is a brand that I trust for a lot of my gear I figured a climbing harness from them would be a good choice. To figure out what harness I'd buy, given that there are a number of Black Diamond harness models to choose from, I listed what I wanted in a harness

1. Adjustable leg loops - I prefer adjustable leg loops cause I climb throughout the year
2. 4 season capability - Minimize the amount of fleece or other fabric on the harness that might make it a one season
3. Gear loops made for rock climbing but will work for alpine and
4. Comfortable - it has to be comfortable for long alpine or even big wall
5. Light - I wanted to be sure it wasn't too heavy

After considering these factors I finally honed in on the Focus SA.  Much like the Focus AL which I have climbed in (and which is on sale at Moosejaw through the Gear.com store) the SA is that all around climbing harness you want with all the bells and whistles but without the bulk and weight. It comes in at 17oz but if you're of the ounce shaving crowd and don't want adjustable leg loops then the Focus at 14oz may be the meal ticket for you. Black Diamond calls it their top of the line harness for the all around category stating that the Focus SA:

...combines a Speed Adjust waistbelt and leg-loop buckles with all of the Focus’s features including: SoftEdge construction, pressure-molded gear loops, 15 kN-rated haul loop and ultra-comfortable 3D molded foam.

As for myself? I call it perfect for my style of climbing. Comfy all day on a route on the Grand Teton and easy on easy off at my favorite crag. It's light enough that I barely feel it. For the all around climber, the Focus SA from Black Diamond is as sweet as red-pointing! Buy Now: Pick up the Black Diamond AL Climbing Harness and let your mind be at ease....

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Evolv Elektra Climbing Shoe

I have stinky feet. My roommates have stinky feet. We are a house of stinky feet. This is mainly due to the fact that our toesies are regularly crammed into small purple stink bombs, also known as climbing shoes. All three of us sport the Evolv Elektras for our days on the smeary sport routes. A softer climbing shoe, the Elektras are a great shoe for beginner climbers who are looking for something more on the comfortable side. They are also great for days at the crag when you are single pitching it for the morning. The velcro closure makes for easy on and off when you're ready to give your feet some wiggle room. The upper sole is synthetic, so while it may dry quickly from your foot sweat, be ready for it to retain the smell for days to come.

Evolv Elektra Climbing Shoe

• Minimal stretch when out of the box
• TRAX XT-5 soles provide great smearing capabilities
• Velcro closures make for easy in and out of shoes and easy adjustment

BUY NOW! Evolv Elektra Climbing Shoe...

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