Category: Reviews

Lightweight Carabiner
Articles, Reviews, Rock & Ice

Comparison Review: Lightweight Snag-free Carabiners

It wasn’t all that long ago that climbers had to choose between a lightweight carabiner and a snag-free carabiner. However, with innovations in technology, material processing and manufacturing more and more companies are blending these two features. We’ve reached the point where most brands have their own version but the designs are all a bit different. So it seemed like a great time for a … Continue reading Comparison Review: Lightweight Snag-free Carabiners

Monte Johnston
Trango Tower Boots
Alpine & Mountaineering, Reviews

Review: La Sportiva Trango Tower Boots

The newest addition to La Sportiva’s Trango line is the Trango Tower.  A 3-season mountaineering boot that replaces the aging Trango S Evo, a long-time favorite of alpinists and mountaineers worldwide.  This new generation boot improves on the Evo by shedding weight while providing better grip and water resistance.  However, as it’s built on the same Trango last the fit is similar and should be … Continue reading Review: La Sportiva Trango Tower Boots

Monte Johnston
MSR WindBurner Stove
Alpine & Mountaineering, Reviews, Ski & Snowboard, Travel & Lifestyle

Long-Term Review: MSR WindBurner Stove

Sure the new MSR WindBurner Stove is compact, efficient and fast but its performance in strong winds is what sets it apart.  In creating the WindBurner, MSR blended some of the best design features of the iconic Reactor and the Jetboil to create a versatile stove system that’s practically windproof. The perfect stove for an alpine mission or just brewing coffee in the parking lot. Features of the MSR … Continue reading Long-Term Review: MSR WindBurner Stove

Monte Johnston
Petzl Altitude Harness
Alpine & Mountaineering, Reviews, Ski & Snowboard

Mountaineering / Ski Harness Review Part 3: Petzl Altitude

This is the third installment of a multi-part series covering light mountaineering and ski harnesses.  The first review covered the Mammut Zephyr Altitude followed by the Camp Alp Mountain and of course this one covers the Petzl Altitude.  I’ll continue the series if there’s a good response and I’m able to get some more test samples. Petzl Altitude At less than half the weight of a standard climbing harness, the … Continue reading Mountaineering / Ski Harness Review Part 3: Petzl Altitude

Monte Johnston
Camp Alp Mountain Harness
Alpine & Mountaineering, Reviews, Ski & Snowboard

Mountaineering / Ski Harness Review Part 2: Camp Alp Mountain

This is the second installment of a multi-part series covering light mountaineering and ski harnesses.  The first review covered the Mammut Zephyr Altitude, this one will look at the Camp Alp Mountain and will be followed by the Petzl Altitude.  I’ll continue the series if there’s a good response and I’m able to get some more test samples. Camp Alp Mountain The Alp Mountain harness from Camp is lightweight … Continue reading Mountaineering / Ski Harness Review Part 2: Camp Alp Mountain

Monte Johnston
Mammut Zephyr Altitude
Alpine & Mountaineering, Reviews, Ski & Snowboard

Mountaineering / Ski Harness Review Part 1: Mammut Zephyr Altitude

This is the first part of a series on light mountaineering and ski harnesses.  The plan is to cover the Mammut Zephyr Altitude in this review followed by the Camp Alp Mountain and the Petzl Altitude.  I’ll continue the series if there’s a good response and I’m able to get some more test samples.  I hope to get out a new review every 4-5 days and will add a link to … Continue reading Mountaineering / Ski Harness Review Part 1: Mammut Zephyr Altitude

Monte Johnston
Gregory Baltoro Pro Pack
Alpine & Mountaineering, Reviews

Review: Gregory Baltoro 95 Pro Backpack

Yes the Baltoro Pro is a massive 95L backpack, a serious gear hauler!  But if you’re going to buckle down and suffer packing all that crap around you might as well take a comfortable pack!  In truth it wasn’t that many years ago that I got rid of all my larger packs and vowed that if I couldn’t do the trip with a 55L bag I wasn’t … Continue reading Review: Gregory Baltoro 95 Pro Backpack

Monte Johnston
Alien Revolution Cam
Reviews, Rock & Ice

Review Update: Alien Revolution Cam

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

Monte Johnston
Beal Opera
Alpine & Mountaineering, Reviews, Rock & Ice

Beal Opera 8.5mm Single Rope Review

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

Monte Johnston
Petzl Ride
Alpine & Mountaineering, Reviews, Ski & Snowboard

Petzl RIDE Axe 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

Monte Johnston