Climbing

As for me and my pair, the mountains are calling. My first days of testing involved long approaches, big routes, and torturous descents in Red Rock, Nevada. One day included a 2,000-foot approach, a 900-foot climb, and a nearly 3,000-foot descent during which the Tag LTs were either on my feet or on my harness for nearly 11.5 hours. For as light as they are (7.5 ounces per shoe), the midsole felt more supportive than I expected. My feet were sore at the end of the day, sure, but they could..." go to full review

The rubber recipe—one part Mega-Grip for the heel, and one part Idrogrip for the rest of the sole—is as sticky as those pesky little burrs that get stuck to your socks and shorts and everywhere else when you tromp through the high grass. The stiffness and stickiness mean you can stand on your toes and even do some edging, while still feeling like you have good support (which is part of why they were so great for my injured foot). They work well for jamming in fist- to hand-sized cracks, too..." go to full review

Overall, the new Scarpa Rapids represent a great compromise between an approach shoe and a trail runner. They excel in mountain terrain and will continue to be my go-to shoe when I minimize my packing. Yes, they have some compromises, but no gear can be perfect at two very specialized pursuits. The Scarpa Rapids run, climb, hike, and scramble quite well, whether you’re in the mountains, the forest, or the desert. For missions that combine a fast approach with scrambling and/or low-fifth-..." go to full review

Blue Ice makes high-end mountaineering and alpine equipment, and I think the Addax shares more in common—in terms of look and feel—with a mountaineering harness than a beefy, beginner’s climbing harness. Putting the Addax on is a cinch via the standard pre-threaded aluminum speed buckle. One major plus is that the webbing stays put and doesn’t loosen up after wearing it—nothing is more annoying than constantly having to retighten your waistbelt, something I have to do more often than I..." go to full review

Unlike some competitors which use plastic to save weight, the trigger, cable sleeve and, well, everything is metal on the Zeros except the tube housing the cable where the sling attaches. Across a set, they are not the lightest cams on the market (on average 6-8 grams heavier than some of the lightest), nor the heaviest (can be 20 grams lighter than others), but somewhere in the middle. Lighter is not better, y’all. As with most cams, the range doesn’t easily stack up tit for tat, but, for..." go to full review

With that note out of the way, the Trango Prism harness did not disappoint. It’s comfy—the waist belt and leg loops distribute weight well, and, being constructed with a padded mesh lining, they breathe. More importantly, the harness has held up nicely through the four-month season I’ve thus far put it through, which has included outdoor climbing almost every weekend and a few weekday outings as well. This harness has seen some whips! There’s currently only slight wear on the bottom tie-in..." go to full review

Fans of the old Boostic who perhaps found the boot too stiff, narrow, or unforgiving will be thrilled with the redesign to this classic shoe—the wider toebox, full microsuede upper, and PAF heel soften up fit to let you size down for performance, with much-reduced foot pain compared to the original. These shoes are overbuilt beasts, incredibly precise on micro holds from credit-card-crimps to divots, with a stable, supportive midsole that lets you stand for ages on little nothings, though..." go to full review

The NIAD Lace is a great technical all-rounder, especially for climbers with long, narrow feet. It fills a niche for high-end trad and face climbing, multi-pitch performance + comfort, and thin edging. I appreciated its reliable stability and precision toe, and would use it at most granite venues and on tech-9 climbing like you find at Smith Rock, the Fins, or Ten Sleep. It’s always nice when classic shoes come back better than ever—like running into an old friend.go to full review

The Choucas Pro, though a featherweight harness, is surprisingly supportive and has all the features you’ll need for a big day in the mountains. One huge selling point was the real gear loops—not like the dental floss found on other ultralight harnesses. The harness packs down to peanuts and is breathable while moving fast on route, and its light weight encouraged me to pack it for long days of scrambling in the alpine. While no single harness will become your go-to for trad, hard sport, and..." go to full review

The ultimate test I set for the NIAD VCS was at Yosemite’s burly Arch Rock. Everything hard about Valley climbing is packed in here—endless cracks over stone so polished that it squeaks when you smear. I wanted to see how well they performed on Midterm, the squeakiest of the lines at Arch, a nails-hard 5.10 that begins with first-knuckle fingertip jamming with slick edges for feet. From here it widens to fingers, hands… all the way to a slick, flared chimney. That day on ..." go to full review