Petzl Cirro

It’s not often that a new crashpad comes along and makes our diehard bouldering testers stop obsessing over their skin and say “Wow,” but the Cirro did just that. “The unique design of this mat put all others to shame,” one photographer-climber said after carrying upwards of 35 pounds at a time in the pad. The taco-style, hingeless setup (single fold with one section of foam) meant there were no dead spots in the middle, eliminating the fear of bottoming out and creating a uniform amount of support across the large surface area of the pad (58” x 46.5”). Designers also achieved a superb balance of rigidity and cush in the landing with their three-layer foam system that places two layers of closed-cell foam with different densities on top of the softer open-cell foam. This distributes the impact of landing and offers the right amount of squish. Across the board, testers loved the full suspension system, with beefy, padded shoulder straps and waistbelt. The cherry on top was the foldover flap that closes the pad and prevents even the smallest brush from falling out, and then flips over when the pad is open to protect the carry system from getting muddy and gross. An additional single shoulder strap for short jaunts upped versatility.