8 Essentials For Your Next Climbing Road Trip

Updated February 27, 2025 10:46AM

There’s nothing like spending all day ticking off classics in dream destinations, then whiling away the evening telling whipper stories around a roaring campfire with friends.

That dichotomy exactly illustrates the magic of road trips: Done right, they let you both climb hard and rest hard on your days off from cragging. If you’ve got guidebooks and roadmaps stacking up on your kitchen table, consider adding a few of these gear picks to the packing list. They’ll help you achieve the ultimate in both climbing comfort and in-camp relaxation, as well as make the most of your time on the road.

La Sportiva TX 4 Approach Shoe

The first step of any climbing road trip should be taken with the aid of sticky rubber. Soled with grippy Vibram and lined with breathable mesh, La Sportiva’s TX 4s are the perfect tool for technical approaches. Our testers have used these on everything from six-mile alpine approaches to fifth-class ascents, and have been consistently impressed with both the climbing performance and the support under a heavy pack. The best part of a road trip is stumbling upon unexpected adventures. With shoes this versatile, you’ll always be ready to say yes.

Primus Campground Stove—Plus a Griddle/Grill

Your kitchen is now your tailgate, but that doesn’t mean you have to downsize your bacon-and-egg breakfasts. The Profile is a powerful stove with two traditional burner that can boil a liter of water in just three minutes. We also recommend snagging a standalone grill to diversify your cooking options—like the Lodge Reversible Griddle/Grill, which lets you do everything toast bagels to cook bacon on your camp stove. Bonus: The Profile’s built-in windscreen means you can pull off your signature camp feasts, even in Wyoming-level gusts.

GSI Outdoors Halulite Microdualist CookSet

The faster you get your coffee, the faster you can start climbing. That makes the 1.4-liter pot—with a strainer lid—a godsend: The ultralight, hard-anodized aluminum heats up faster and more efficiently than other materials, including titanium. And because GSI knows that we all have a few gaps in our camp cooking arsenals (where do all those utensils get off to, anyway?), this set also comes with two mugs with “Sip-It” tops, two bowls, two folding sporks, and a sink that makes camp dishes suck much less.

Patagonia Venga Rock Pant

The Venga Rock Pant is to climbing trips what sweatpants are to stay-cations. It doesn’t matter if you spend days or weeks in them—you’re not going to want to take them off. Integrated Spandex provides stretch and quick-dry properties, and articulated knees and a gusseted crotch mean these pants can move any way you can, even on gymnastic sport climbs and in wide chimneys. They’re also comfy enough for lounging in camp and breathable enough for rest-day hikes. A zippered thigh pocket and adjustable waistband round out the feature set and keep everything in place, even during long days in a harness. Available in men’s and women’s—and currently marked 30% off!

Helinox Chair One Camp Chair

As the experts say, quality performance is all about quality rest. Make the most of your evenings and rest-days with a Helinox Chair One. The foldable aluminum frame packs down small enough to fit behind your driver’s seat, and each chair weighs only two pounds. They’re well worth the weight—after all, it’s way easier to make friends and memories on the road when you can drag up a chair up to the campfire, crack open a beer, and stay a while. Inventory is low in this chair, so get to it.

Metolius Rock Rings CNC 3D

Nothing botches a dream trip like a blown A2 pulley. One of the best ways to prevent injury: Properly warming up your fingers. Metolius’s Rock Rings are packable and portable, and you can hang them anywhere, including from the door frame of a van or a sturdy tree branch. Use them to squeeze in a hangboarding workout on long travel days, or to get your fingers and shoulders warmed up before jumping on that four-star Ten Sleep 5.12 with the notorious mono-pocket crux.

Chaco Z/Cloud Sandal

If you’re going to spend all day in rock shoes, you need a strategy for airing your dogs in the evening. Chacos are a classic for a reason—they’re sturdy enough for rocky approaches and packable enough to shove in your multi-pitch bag for walk-off descents. (The stiff sole and great arch support also mean they climb fourth-class terrain surprisingly well.) Plus, the Z/Clouds don’t have that annoying inter-toe strap, so you can still wear your favorite fluffy wool socks with them on cold nights. Available in men’s and women’s.

ENO SlackWire Slackline Kit

No campsite is complete without a slackline to top off your day of climbing with some balance work. Or maybe you even have your eyes on setting up a big slackline between two desert cliffs this spring. Whether you bring a slackline kit along for training, a rest day activity, or just the good times, it will definitely enhance your road trip.