Fixe recently came out with the newest rendition of the Alien cam, the Revolution (not to be confused with the 2015 Evolution model). It seems the idea behind the redesign of the updated cam was to address a few of the flaws or issues that they’d been experiencing. Namely the trigger wires fraying and the trigger sleeve detaching. A more detailed description and some photos of these … Continue reading Review Update: Alien Revolution Cam
The Beal Opera 8.5 is not only the lightest and thinnest single rope on the market, with the inclusion of Beal’s UNICORE technology, it’s also a very safe rope. While it didn’t hit the market in North America with much fanfare this rope, and the Unicore tech in general, is a game changer! One of the biggest dangers in climbing is damaging or cutting a rope: sharp … Continue reading Beal Opera 8.5mm Single Rope Review
I’ve been really impressed with all the amazing new (or redesigned) products coming from Petzl lately and the new Ride axe is no exception. While it was designed as a compact and lightweight ski mountaineering axe the Ride is also a very functional summer mountaineering tool. It works great on mountaineering and alpine objectives where portability and weight are critical regardless of the season. Features: Length: 45cm Weight: 280g … Continue reading Petzl RIDE Axe Review
La Sportiva’s Trango lineup has undergone a progressive renewal over the past few years and at the time of this post includes the Trango Cube GTX, Ice Cube GTX (light ice climbing boot), Trek (hiking boot) and the new Tower GTX (basically an updated Evo). This lineup of boots is really focused on lightweight performance. Now the Trango Cube GTX fits squarely in the middle between the winter focused Ice Cube and … Continue reading Review: La Sportiva Trango Cube GTX
Black Diamond really nailed it with the Creek 50. The haul bag inspired cragging pack is well thought out, nicely featured and fits all the gear you’ll ever need for a day on the rock and more. If you’re in the market for a new cragging pack the Creek 50 should be on your radar. Features: Top-loading, stand-up design Haul bag style main compartment with … Continue reading Black Diamond Creek 50 – Crag Bag Bliss
Black Diamond really set the bar for lightweight and packable trekking poles when they came out with the Ultra Distance Carbon Z. Now while those original poles are no longer available the new Distance Carbon Z poles have improved upon the design of their predecessor resulting in a very functional, ergonomic and packable trekking pole. Ideal for trips where the poles have to be stashed … Continue reading Review: Black Diamond Carbon Z Trekking Poles
Move over Starbucks, there’s a new kid on the block when it comes to instant coffee: Alpine Start. Since the Starbucks Via came on the market it’s become a staple of fast-and-light adventures everywhere. And like cigarettes in a jail house, these little packets of caffeine are the currency of the backcountry. However, much of the popularity of the Via stemmed from the fact that … Continue reading Review: Alpine Start Instant Coffee
Five Ten updated the Quantum last year and the result is a well-designed, featured and finished shoe that’s hard to miss in bright blue suede. The breathable tongue and lined interior give the shoe a soft feel and soak up the sweat on long days while the always reliable C4 Stealth rubber provides secure footing on the rock. A versatile shoe that’s good for everything but the … Continue reading Review: Five Ten Quantum Rock Climbing Shoe
Easily the most surprising shoe I’ve reviewed, the Arc’teryx Acrux SL is an incredibly versatile technical approach shoe. While light enough to live up to the SL (super light) name it’s still burly enough to be a great shoe for longer approaches and scrambles. With sticky rubber, a great tread pattern and a comfortable fit it‘s become my go-to when I want a light shoe … Continue reading Review: Arc’teryx Acrux SL Approach Shoe
It seems like all the various climbing hardware companies decided that this was the year to come out with new or updated cams: BD has the Camalot Ultralights, Metolius the Ultralight Mastercams (actually these came out in late 2015), WildCountry the new Friends, etc. And while most of these companies have chosen to focus on making their cams lighter, DMM decided to buck this trend and focus … Continue reading Review: DMM Dragon Cams
