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 New and Notable: CAMP Stratos - 2010 Gear Guide
The new CAMP Stratos continues the relentless march towards sleeker and lighter weight harnesses. No surprise: the Italian gear maker has long had a reputation for bantamweight gear — from biners, to ice tools, to helmets — and the Stratos holds to this less-is-more philosophy.  New and Notable: Asana Climbing Green Highball Pad - 2010
Already in good standing with climbers everywhere, Idaho-based Asana Climbing decided to improve their standing with Mother Earth, too, by creating a greener crashpad. They started by hunting down compostable materials and testing them until they found one with all the right crashpad characteristics (shock absorption, manageable weight, durability...).  New and Notable: Mad Rock Trigger Wire - 2010 Gear Guide
You’re at your limit, pumped, panicked, and staring down the barrel of 20 feet of slack. Shaking, you go to clip a draw that’s just within reach, but the rope gets stuck between the gate and biner nose, popping out and setting the biner swinging. Luckily, this unpleasant scenario has a solution: the new Mad Rock Trigger Wire carabiner.  New and Notable: Kayland Hyper Traction - 2010 Gear Guide
Available in fall 2010, the Kayland Hyper Traction is a technical mountaineering boot with a fixed inner boot, and it shines in cold weather. The super-rigid feel here comes courtesy of an ECT Traction composite insole and Kayland Vaporlite Midsole (see below). Combined with toe and heel welts, the Hyper Traction is a perfect mate for rigid, step-in crampons, and is designed to offer high-end control.  New and Notable: Edelrid Jul - 2010 Gear Guide
The German company Edelrid recently released a single-rope sport belay device that, in addition to offering a mean catch, taps into something beyond the numerology of rope diameters and ounces — the Jul, as it’s called, has sex appeal. Yes, it’s light (2.1oz), and it handles ropes from 8.9 to 10.5mm, but the first reaction the Jul elicits is more visceral than cerebral: you just want one.  2009 Shoe Review - August 2009
A bumper crop of sport, trad, and approach rigs - Shoe designers still find ways to tempt those of us who need the perfect shoe for a specific climb. So, as with last year, we asked them to send us their flagship high-performance sport/bouldering model and then a traddie version of the same. We recruited 15 testers with as many different foot shapes and ability levels, showing no mercy to our kicks on rock (and plastic) from coast to coast.  2009 SUMMER O.R. INSIDER - ROCK SHOES
By Justin Roth - July 28, 2009 - The truth is, there just wasn't enough time to see all the companies I wanted to see on this trip. Three eight hour days looking at gear might seem like a lot, but with so many companies and products, it's just enough to explore the tip of the iceberg. Anyway, here are some of the rock-shoe highlights from my second and third days at the Summer Outdoor Retailer Show 2009, in very hot and sunny Salt Lake City.  OR Show - Day 1 Highlights
By Justin Roth - July 22, 2009 - The Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, is madness this time of year — the reason is the Summer Outdoor Retailer Show, a massive gathering (over 20,000 people, I’ve been told) of outdoor gear and apparel companies, retailers, media, and athletes. Some come here to look for gigs as pro climbers, or to drum up business for their new PR companies.  New and Notable: C.A.M.P. QUARTZ CR3 - 2009 Gear Guide
Like a Ferrari around your legs and waist, the C.A.M.P. (camp-usa.com) Quartz CR3 is svelte, high performing, and highly customizable. New for 2009, C.A.M.P.’s harness is a sport/trad marriage of light — 15.8oz — and right. The right comes from welcome flourishes like a foldoverpadding, slide-through waistbelt; auto-locking fast-pull buckles; full-strength haul loop ... Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com  New and Notable: WILD COUNTRY ALPINE SHIELD - 2009 Gear Guide
For 2009, the venerable UK manufacturer Wild Country (wildcountry.co.uk) brings multi-functionality to the cranium-care department with its new Alpine Shield. Only 9.2oz in pared-down rock mode, this vented, EPS-shell/EVA-foam helmet wears light and cool while cragging or multi-pitch climbing. But snap on the polycarbonate shield and you have an alpine player that screens out debris and ice shards, as well as imparts durability and impact resistance beyond that typical of the “one-strike-then-retire” comolded helmets.  New and Notable: THE NORTH FACE MINIBUS 23 - 2009 Gear Guide
For a rest station after a marathon day of cragging, battling steep approaches, or dodging spraylords, you can’t get much more soothing than The North Face Minibus 23 (thenorthface.com), a user-friendly, two-person, three-season tent new for 2009. The Minibus 23 — with two exits and two big vestibules — comes with a host of innovative features that add up to a tent experience of a different sort. Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com  New and Notable: MILLET CRISTAL 9.8MM - 2009 Gear Guide
New for 2009, Millet’s Cristal buffs out the popular 9.8mm-diameter category with this addition to the French manufacturer’s cabled-core line (the threads are twisted and assembled, not braided). The Cristal is an excellent all-arounder with an angle toward sport climbing — thick enough to work with all belay devices and withstand a day of crux-bolt whippers.  New and Notable: LA SPORTIVA TC PRO - 2009 Gear Guide
Using skills and knowledge honed on El Cap’s burliest free walls, Tommy Caldwell helped design the new La Sportiva TC Pro . Made to shine on such mega-endeavors (or any trad line requiring comfort and high performance), the TC Pro combines advanced edging and crack capability with all-day wearability. Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com  New and Notable: TRANGO FLEXCAMS - 2009 Gear Guide
Single-stem cams are all the rage, with a versatile, plug-deep configuration great for the smallest sizes (hyper-thin cracks) and in any case where “walking” is not an option. Although Trango FlexCams (trango.com) have been on the market since 2004, this year sizes 1 to 4 have been reconfigured as a traditionaloffset four-cam design. Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com  New and Notable: METOLIUS CLIMBING COLOSSUS - 2009 Gear Guide
In 2009, bigger is the bouldering rage: bigger hucks, bigger boulders, and bigger crashpads. Oregon-based Metolius Climbing (metoliusclimbing.com) is in synch with this trend, this year replacing their Behemoth with the Colossus, four by six feet of 3.5-inch, heeland spine-saving landing zone. But it’s not enough just to have a big pad — you need one you can actually get to the proj or into your car. Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com |
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