Tag: Beal

Alpine & Mountaineering, Reviews, Rock & Ice

Beal Joker 9.1 Climbing Rope Review: Soft and Regular

Climbing ropes have changed over the years. They’ve gone from 11mm ropes good for hip belays to ropes that meet single rope UIAA requirements. Ropes so skinny that belay devices had to be redesigned! Fat, old-school ropes are being left for top-roping school groups while skinny single lines are becoming lighter and more durable with better handling, all dramatically helping you to send that next … Continue reading Beal Joker 9.1 Climbing Rope Review: Soft and Regular

Nic Vissers
Articles, Reviews, Rock & Ice

Building the Ideal Ice Climbing Kit:

Most of us buy or acquire our climbing gear slowly over time. When you first get into the sport there’s a lot of expense associated with getting kitted out so gear is bought a little at a time. Once you’ve been climbing for a while, equipment is replaced as it gets worn out or newer, shinier and possibly better gear. Of course this leads to … Continue reading Building the Ideal Ice Climbing Kit:

Monte Johnston
Articles

Black Sheep’s Christmas Guide for Climbers 2018

The 2018 version of our Annual Christmas Guide for Climbers. For me Christmas is always a bit of a mixed blessing. I have to put up with hearing Christmas carols everywhere, and there’s the stress of spending time with family, finding gifts for everyone and often lots driving on icy roads. On the other hand it’s great to catch up with friends and family and … Continue reading Black Sheep’s Christmas Guide for Climbers 2018

Monte Johnston
Christmas Stocking
Christmas Specials, Features

Climber’s Gift Guide 2018: Stocking Stuffers

Christmas is just around the corner yet again. But don’t worry if you’ve no idea what to get that hard-to-shop-for climber in the family. We’ve got you covered! In this first installment of the 2018 guide we’ll look at 10 great ideas for smaller “stocking stuffer” type gifts. Basically, cool stuff that won’t cost too much. Click here if you want to look at some … Continue reading Climber’s Gift Guide 2018: Stocking Stuffers

Monte Johnston
Beal Escaper
Alpine & Mountaineering, Articles, Reviews, Rock & Ice

Review: Beal Escaper

The new Beal Escaper is unique, innovative a little terrifying until you get used to it. Designed to be a rappel release device it allows you to rappel on a single strand but still retrieve the rope from the bottom. Needless to say, I had a lot of questions when I first saw the device: How does the Escaper perform with different anchor set-ups and … Continue reading Review: Beal Escaper

Monte Johnston
Sub 9mm Climbing ropes
Alpine & Mountaineering, Reviews, Rock & Ice

Comparison Review: Sub 9mm Climbing Ropes

Sub 9mm Climbing Rope Comparison It wasn’t very long ago that people looked to 10mm beasts of a rope for an everyday workhorse and ropes under 9mm in diameter were few and far between. Well that’s no longer the case with 5 different options currently on the market and undoubtedly more to come. Companies like Sterling, Petzl and others already have 9.0mm ropes available and … Continue reading Comparison Review: Sub 9mm Climbing Ropes

Monte Johnston
Beal Crevasse Rescue
Features, Outdoor Retailer Reports

Summer OR 2018: Mountaineering & Alpine Equipment

This Outdoor Retailer Show Report focuses mainly on equipment for mountaineering and alpine climbing. However, it also has a bit of a hodge-podge of gear that could fit into several categories or none. It’s all great gear though! So in no particular order… Mammut Glacier Cord Dry: Much like Petzl’s Rad line, Mammut’s new Glacier Cord is a high-strength, low-stretch glacier travel and crevasse rescue … Continue reading Summer OR 2018: Mountaineering & Alpine Equipment

Monte Johnston
DMM Dragonfly Cams
Features, Outdoor Retailer Reports

Summer OR 2018: Climbing Gear

There was a wide variety of cool climbing equipment introduced at the Summer OR show this year. Some new and updated cams (always exciting!), belay devices, rope grabs and so on. Of course not all of it is truly new, there’s a little of the usual copycat or one-upmanship going on as well. If you’re interested in new helmets and harnesses they’ll be found in … Continue reading Summer OR 2018: Climbing Gear

Monte Johnston1 Comment
Alpine & Mountaineering, Reviews, Rock & Ice

Review: Beal 5mm Back Up Line

The Beal 5mm Back Up line (tag line) is one of the ultimate weapons and backup tools for any Alpine or Trad Climber. I could see this being a great piece of equipment for the guiding community as well. Being ultra-static and soft to handle this thin cord is my new favourite tag line! Features: Weight: 21g/m Length: 40m 50m 60m 70m (we tested 60m) … Continue reading Review: Beal 5mm Back Up Line

Nic Vissers
Edelrid Boa Eco
Articles, Tips & Tricks

From Gym to Crag Pt. 2: How to Pick a Climbing Rope

Selecting a climbing rope can be confusing given all the different types and features available. This article focuses on giving you the information you need to select the right rope to climb at your local crag. When it comes to buying your first cragging rope to go there are two main factors to consider: Diameter & Length. Simple right! You can ignore options such as … Continue reading From Gym to Crag Pt. 2: How to Pick a Climbing Rope

Monte Johnston