I am very stoked on my new Elektras and would definitely recommend them to any lady – from noobs like me to seasoned climbers – who are looking for comfortable, high performance rock shoes they can climb in anytime. Thanks Evolv!go to full review

In spite of a few minor drawbacks, for me the Petzl pads offer the best balance of innovative features, comfortable carry, solid durability and good impact protection currently available. Whilst not cheap they do last well and the carry system alone is considerably more advanced and comfortable than any other pad I’ve used. In the Alto and Cirro, Petzl have certainly set a new standard in top-end crash pad design and function.go to full review

Both the Otaki and the Skwama perform very highly in the areas they are designed for, and buying a pair of each would be a wise choice for all-round climbers. The fit and design of both models represents the state of the art, for now at least, and this combines high performance, durability and comfort. I was particularly impressed by the Skwama because it took me by surprise – showing not only the characteristics of a great soft shoe, but also holding its own on edges and excelling on..." go to full review

The device does automatically lock off when weighted for lead and top rope belaying. Though this model is rated for ropes that are 8.7 to 10.5mm, I’ve found it to be jerky when the rope is 9.8mm or thicker, especially if its a well used rope. For top ropes it works great, just as well as a GRIGRI.go to full review

The La Sportiva Otaki works really well as a single shoe to use both for technical face climbing and the occasional crack. It’s comfortable enough to wear when belaying and on moderate crack climbs, making it a pretty strong one-shoe-quiver contender, though hard core crack climbers might want something with a little less downturn and asymmetry.

Another way to think about this is that the Otaki is ideally suited for the hard, cryptic combination of face and crack holds on vertical..." go to full review

Overall, the new Five Ten Quantum works quite well as an all-arounder, though it’s probably best to think of it as a high-achieving, all-day granite shoe. Climbs that range from slab to vertical granite with lots of edging play to the strengths of the Quantum. For Indian Creek splitters where you are often going straight in on difficult cracks, I personally prefer a flatter last and lower-profile toe box than the Quantum offers, but bigger routes on granite walls are almost universally much..." go to full review

The feel is noticeably lighter for the larger sizes, and otherwise identical in terms of trigger and placement. Very solid, very satisfying, very safe. So here's the thing: unless you have extra money and/or a real need for weight savings on your rack, you can stick with the regular Camalots and save a lot of money and/or buy more cams. To put it in perspective, if your rack had one of each of the seven sizes it would cost about $500 for a rack of regular Camalots (total weight about 38..." go to full review

Soft and sensitive are the two words that echoed through our testers’ review notes on the new Instinct VSR. Built almost exactly the same as the outstanding Instinct VS—a favorite around here—shoe designers put Vibram Grip 2 rubber on the shoe, which is a softer and more supple compound. The other major change was making the upper fit even closer, so testers said, “I wore it like a sticky-rubber sock; my toes could actually feel even quarter-inch bumps.” The VSR stood out impressively for..." go to full review

The Mega Jul Sport is a tube-style device that relies on its shape to catch the rope in the event of a fall, so it has no moving parts. The belay technique is similar to any other tube-style device, but when feeding slack, the belayer must hold the thumb loop so the rope will run through the device without locking up. The technique felt natural after a few pitches. The Mega Jul Sport takes double ropes, making it more versatile for rappelling and belaying with half or twin ropes. The..." go to full review

The shoes proved themselves admirably on slabs that day. So I took them to the glass-smooth vertical walls outside of Denver, called East Quarry, to the unrelenting finger- and hand-size splitter cracks at Turkey Rocks in South Platte, and the hard edging routes in Boulder Canyon and Eldorado Canyon. They conformed like slippers on thin to hand-sized cracks, were aggressive like the Evolv Shaman for the steeps and provided much-needed support on micro edges and small pockets.go to full review