Climbing Report
In use the Metolius Recon crash pad proved to be very durable. The 900d nylon is practically impenetrable. Except for some dirt and sand you can’t even tell it’s been used. This is especially helpful in areas where the ground is very rocky and crash pads take a beating from the landings and being drug around areas like Joes Valley. We got a lot of compliments on the quality of the pad and design from our testers and other climbers. We really can’t think of anything we wished this pad did..." go to full review
Bottom line, the FS Mini Long draws are always on my rack now whenever I have to backpack into my climbing objectives and the Metolius Curve Hexes are almost always on my rack, especially when doing a lot of the long winding old school routes in Little Cottonwood Canyon. These are honestly two of my favorite discoveries over the past year. I haven’t found a better way to drop weight and add to the fun of climbing.go to full review
Everyone that climbed with this rope commented on two things. First, the bright Yellow/Black color combo, which spurred the nickname “Bee Rope.” And the supple clipping and handling of the rope. It has a great feel, not too stiff, not too floppy or kinky. It comes from the factory with a mid-mark, so until you cut an end, you’ll know where the middle is. The 9.7mm size keeps the weight low, which is nice when approaches are long, or you’re working a tall project and you want to limit rope..." go to full review
The Metolius Monster 8.9 has a really great hand. Not too stiff, not too floppy. This, combined with the slick sheath, makes for a really easy clip when you’re pumped. The sheath is tightly braided to help with durability. One of the really great new features that comes on this rope is the middle mark defined by short orange threads that stick out a few millimeters. This makes it possible to both see and feel the middle mark, adding to the safety of the rope. The only issue is if you have to..." go to full review
We try to simulate all activities with our testing, but stopped short of taking falls on the Petzl Laser Speed Ice Screws. However, given the design and ease of driving these screws we them a big thumbs up. In addition to the Laser Speed Ice Screw, Petzl has also just released the Petzl Speed Ice Screw. All the same features except the color coded fold out handle. Check them both out.go to full review
The DMM Dragon cams have been around for a few years. They are distinctive for a couple of reasons. First is the extendable sling. The sling, and attached cam, are racked like an alpine draw, with an 8mm Dyneema sling double looped through a carabiner and hung on a gear loop. Once you place a cam, most of the time you want to extend it by adding a sling or quickdraw. The Dragon Cam is built to extend so you can either just unclip on side of the sling and extend it out, or in the case of deep..." go to full review
The main design features are stiff foam inserts on the waist and legs, with large perforations that allow a lot of air flow. This is a really nice feature for those hot Summer days that are right around the corner. The padding on the waist and legs is fairly thin, but wide, so its a really comfortable harness to hang in if your working a project or climbing a long multi-pitch route with bad belay stances or hanging belays. At 460 grams it’s fairly lightweight. The low weight is nice, but it..." go to full review
The Evolv Maverick Crash Pad is really a great medium/large size pad. Perfect for keeping weight down on long bushwhacking approaches. The features are all things we’ve wished for or appreciated on other pads. And Evolv has added in their own great design features like the colors, gear pocket, and folding design. At the downright reasonable price of $195 this may be the perfect crash pad…go to full review
Our testers absolutely loved the Metolius Offset Master Cams. Using and placing the cams is really easy and confidence inspiring. If you’ve never used a Master Cam you will really dig the color coded dots along the outer edge of the larger sizes. Green against the rock – good, yellow – iffy, red – better put in a bigger cam, or get another piece in as soon as you can find another placement. Although no one likes to fall on gear, falling on a well placed Offset Master Cam really keeps your..." go to full review
The elastic leg loops on the Wiz Kid do not adjust or disconnect. BD seems to have found a happy medium for the length. Truthfully they could use some adjustment as most kids found them to be a little long. Nothing too bad, but it was noticed. One design feature that Black Diamond has introduced is the trakFIT adjustment on the leg loops themselves. Its a no buckle system that allows you to slide the opening more tight or loose without having to pull slack in or out. Built in elastic kept..." go to full review