Climber

“I used these for 16 pitches in a day at Castle Rock [granite face and trad] and some sport,” said our tester. “They held edges well on 5.11+ face, jammed great on Country Club Crack, and worked well on mixed terrain.” The General has become a favorite for all but gym climbing, and he praised the chiseled toe in both hand and finger cracks. For a high-top trad shoe, they are remarkably precise.go to full review

They’re pretty comparable and I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. The important point I’d like to make here is that despite their subtle differences they are both perfectly fit for purpose and both are approved by the UIAA, at the end of the day what it might just come down to your personal preference. Earlier, we asked what you get for your money. Well, you get a pretty good set of nuts at a good price. I don’t think I’d ever climb only on offsets but my rack now comprises a selection..." go to full review

Master Cams are best known for their small units and tend to be labelled as specialist pieces of gear, so Metolius was keen for me to try the larger sizes of Master Cam to show that they can stand up as a workhorse in ordinary sizes. The first impression on handling Masters was that they had unusually strong springs, with an audible snap. In use I found they seated extremely well with the combination of strong springs and flexibility keeping the head rock steady. I pretty quickly found..." go to full review

After all the hype since their launch, Dragons probably need no introduction. The clever stem arrangement in Camalots is patented so DMM use a conventional single stem but save weight with hot-forged cams and have an extendable sling courtesy of a very clever thumb termination. Dragons sat very nicely in the hand and the thumb termination felt very secure – no fumbling around here. I found the double sling could sometimes be a little fiddly but I did end up using it a lot, even on grit, and..." go to full review

Camalots have steadily increased their following in the UK since they were redesigned a few years ago. Not a lot of people know this but, internally, a Camalot is a twin-stemmed device. The two sides of the stem are pinched together in the plastic sleeve and swaged into the head to give the handling of a single stem but the weight saving of a double stem. Camalots gain extra range from the double axle, and also by slightly increasing the camming angle of some sizes. In theory this will very..." go to full review

I was surprised by how impressed I was. Superficially they don't look all that clever but Wild Country has got a couple of subtle aspects of the design spot on. The springs are good and strong, at least on the prototypes I tested. That might mean they feel less smooth in the shop but it also makes them a little less prone to walking and also very slightly reduces the chance of the unit slipping at the point of loading (as the rope comes tight in a fall the load isn't constant -..." go to full review

They do what it says on the tin. Not exciting exactly but then as much as I might get excited by cams in the shop, when I'm climbing I want them to quietly go about their business without fuss. They do exactly that and are solid and dependable. I could wish that the triggers were a little longer on the smaller sizes to give more reach into deep placements but that is a relatively minor complaint. I also found the double stem can be awkward in a tiny minority of constricted placements..." go to full review

To summarise: these are ideal if you are shaving weight, for instance Alpine use or super long multi-pitch routes when weight is more important or, nowadays, the need to keep within strict budget airline baggage allowances. I read somewhere that these are, ‘These are a bit like Marmite – you’ll either love or hate them. Me, well I don’t like Marmite but I do love these small wonders’. Well for me that sums it up nicely and yes when lightweight is key they are excellent, however, they may not..." go to full review

In use, what can you say? Most of the time you don’t know it’s there; it's incredibly comfortable due to its light weight and the ventilation works well; certainly much better than the first generation lightweight helmets like the original Petzl Meteor. In fact, a friend recently suggested you could quite happily wear it on the walk-in using it as an alternative to having to take a sun hat, it's that unobtrusive...." go to full review

I’m not going to name names here regarding the bad experiences that I’ve had with ropes, but suffice to say I’ve got my 'Yes' and my 'No' camps. After testing the Boa 9.8mm, Edelrid are definitely a 'Yes' and as such I’d even consider checking out one of their more specialist, skinnier options like the Corbie 8.6mm as a specialist tool for long, pumpy on-sights or redpoints...." go to full review