Evening Sends

Scarpa has continued to impress me with their ability to churn out high performance climbing shoes that fit really well, and walk that delicate line between sensitivity and support, performance and comfort. The Stix, the latest offering from Scarpa, builds upon that tradition once again. The Stix is similar to the Instinct S. In fact, it seems as if the Scarpa Boostic and the Instinc S had a baby it would be the Stix. Improvements include better sensitivity and a higher arch. This has become..." go to full review

I tested the Katana Lace on limestone and sandstone of all angles and slipperiness, and was pleased with its versatility as well as the Vibram XS Edge rubber’s stickiness. The asymmetric Katana Lace is slightly down-turned, which gave the sensation of a performance shoe but managed to retain the comfort of a flatter shoe without those performance features. La Sportiva’s proprietary randing system, the P3 (Permanent Power Platform), tensions the rubber and maintains this shape through the..." go to full review

I reviewed the Solutions a few years ago and thought they were great: I loved them for their comfortable fit and downturned, aggressive last and crazy precision. I originally noted that the shoe didn’t smear well, and it took a long time to break in. However, after a year of hard use, my opinion of this shoe has grown fonder, and I now regard the Solutions as one of the best high-end slippers on the market.go to full review

The Edelrid Mega Jul comes as close to being a do-it-all, one-stop-shop no-drop belay/rappel device as any I’ve ever seen. This multifunctional tube-style device is super light, feeds slack to a leader much more quickly than other devices in its category, and can be used in a number of different configurations that increase its braking power to a degree on par with mechanical auto-locking devices.go to full review

When the S240 came out in 2009, I was immediately impressed by its relative weightlessness and surprising back support considering it lacked the padding I’m accustomed to seeing in most harnesses. The latter feature owes to Arc’Teryx’s Warp Strength Technology, which takes the “warp,” or longitudinal, fibers of the swami’s webbing and fans them out, almost like a hammock, to be supportive at every point of the harness’ waist. My only complaint of the S240 was its leg loops, which..." go to full review