Climbing Gear Reviews UK
The weight penalty is noticeable but not an issue in actual use and the Mescalito Mids feel equally as agile as their lighter sibling. For hill walking and general UK scrambling they have proved excellent. Days out in the Lakes incorporating the likes of Pinnacle Ridge are ideally suited to these boots. The Goretex lining proves to be a real bonus as the wet grass and damp approach walks of a typical UK summer are shrugged off. My concerns about the Mescalito Mid GTXs being over hot because..." go to full review
The Duetto has proven to be an excellent all round climbing helmet – I can’t really vouch for it’s skiing prowess apart from a brief session on rolerskis when I’d forgotten my bike helmet and luckily had my climbing kit in the van! In terms of overall bulk it is similar to the Grivel Stealth HS and easily fitted beneath a variety of hardshell and belay jacket hoods although it is marginally ‘taller’ than the Petzl Sirocco. The one size fits all harness was extremely stable keeping the helmet..." go to full review
Though marginally more bulky than the original the new TIBLOC sits perfectly alongside my MICRO TRAXION on a pulley carabiner as my ‘hope I never have to use it’ crevasse rescue kit. As you can see from the photos the new TIBLOC is actually lighter than a medium length prusik! So; lighter than a prusik cord (won’t abrade/degrade in UV either), grips icy ropes better, lighter than the old TIBLOC, and can be used to increase security simul climbing! If you travel in crevassed terrain or may..." go to full review
The Booster is a technical and precise shoe that works best on steep, technical terrain. Great for bouldering and sport climbing as well as the ever blossoming indoor climbing market, I’d recommend the Booster for climbers who want a precise, aggressive and sensitive shoe with a lot of toe power. The twin velcro straps, DTS rand and PAF system give a secure and powerful feel to the shoe and the light, thin materials and general lightness of the shoe, offers incredible levels of feel on steep..." go to full review
Most of this winter season I climbed with Black Diamond Fuel Hammers. These super burly tools have an indestructible feel, particularly mixed climbing and dry tooling and whilst they’re great on steep ice, they’re not fully optimised for this, being a little heavy for my liking and not swinging quite as naturally, particularly when getting sticks on less steep ground.go to full review
With the pandemic the vast majority of my climbing time with the Voltage Lace has been outside which is no bad thing! As I alluded to earlier there has been little in the way of multi pitch climbing bar a few two pitch Lakes HVS classics. However the Voltage Lace has been thoroughly tested on Yorkshire limestone up to 7a and on the local Gritstone boulders. Bouldering the increased heel precision and security was noticeable when heel hooking and the slightly stiffer forefoot was a double..." go to full review
They are light, precise, nimble and durable. They climb ice and mixed ground like a dream, feel like trainers (almost!) when walking and they are super comfortable. I really hope they never stop making these! Perfect boots for Scottish winter, technical alpinism, Mont Blanc and technical ice and mixed.go to full review
In short it is difficult to imagine anyone not being happy with the Sendero, excepting perhaps the extreme sport climbing fraternity. It excels as Trad/Alpine/Winter harness and is perfectly usable for sport climbing. There is a a female specific version the Autana as well as a lighter weight fixed leg loop version the Sirana so Edelrid have pretty much covered all the bases.go to full review
Gill found the harness to be ‘really comfortable’ for climbing, belaying and even falling. He also found that ‘it doesn’t get in the way of anything’ whilst climbing and moving about. However he did note a downside in that it needed ‘more (gear) loops to hold gear on’. With two gear loops the Finn has adequete racking for most sport climbing routes but if like Gill you do more trad climbs and/or your dad places lots of gear then you may find that a makeshift bandolier becomes neccessary...." go to full review
The Scarpa Velocity has benefitted from a complete overhaul. They are a thoroughly modern shoe for the modern climbing era. As sustainable as they can be, super comfortable and precise enough for harder climbs if you want to use them for that. If you want comfort I would suggest your normal approach shoe size and if you want performance drop a size down.go to full review