Outdoor Gear Lab

The Trango Lotus 9.9 mm wasn't any of our testers' favorite rope, but it got the job done and wasn't too expensive. If you're in the market for a dry rope but don't want to spend a fortune on it, the Lotus is a good choice.go to full review

Beal does make thinner lines than the Joker with Unicore construction, like the Opera 8.5mm (single, 48 g/m) and the Gulley 7.3mm (half/twin — 36 g/m!), and these lines have a useful purpose, particularly for guides or alpinists. But if you want something that can go from a multi-pitch route one day to a long sport route the next, the Joker is the better choice.go to full review

The Mammut Revelation Dry is a thinner dry treated line that is best used for alpine climbing and long multi-pitch routes. While it handles nicely and has a tightly woven sheath, our testing revealed it to be less durable than the competition, and unfortunately, it doesn't offer much in terms of weight savings over longer lasting 9.5mm alternatives. While we feel like it is a good rope, compared to the competition it is not the first one that we would recommend buying.go to full review

There was a lot to like about the Petzl Arial, and if it had withstood the abuses of our climbing a little bit better, it could have been an award winner. As it stands, this is still a great option.go to full review

While we weren't a huge fan of the Booster circa 1995, we do like current 2017 version. The Beal Booster III is a solid line that performs well in a variety of climbing styles and environments, except for excessive top roping. It's durable and not too expensive, and was an easy pick for our Best Buy Award.go to full review

The Maxim Pinnacle is a great niche rope for those who like to sport climb. It's not too heavy, and has great clipping and belaying action. This isn't the best all-around rope, and it certainly isn't suited for beginners, but if you've been sport climbing for a while and are looking for a high-performance line for your redpoint attempts, this is an excellent option.go to full review

The Trango Phase Quickdraws are compelling due to their super lightweight, but in truth, they are one of the hardest quickdraws to use that we have tested, and are thus not worthy of our recommendation.go to full review

We appreciate Mad Rock's efforts to create the least expensive draw possible. There's always a need for budget items, and the Concorde is something even the poorest of dirtbags could probably afford. While this quickdraw doesn't perform as well as the more expensive models, if you don't care about anything else but the price of your quickdraws (and some climbers just don't!), then these are hard to beat.go to full review

The Metolius Inferno II Quickdraws are a reasonably affordable and easily clip-able quickdraw that performed about average in our test group. However, they suffer from a flaw that keeps the bottom carabiner oriented incorrectly most of the time. While this doesn't seem to be unsafe, it is annoying, in a way that you don't want your climbing gear to be, and so we would generally recommend purchasing a different set of draws, regardless of your intended usage or budget.go to full review

We were really excited to check out the Edelrid Bulletproof quickdraw, and it didn't disappoint. While not our favorite overall draw, we think it's a great compliment to any rack, and we plan on keeping a couple of these around for extreme top-roping sessions or the first bolt on our proj. We've given it our Top Pick for Durability award for the extra longevity that the stainless steel insert is sure to impart, and we'll keep using it to test its lifespan compared to an all-aluminum draw...." go to full review