New to the climbing shoe scene, the Korean company Butora (BOO-TORE-AH) has come out with some great shoes and a unique fitting ideology that is sure to please climbers with hard-to-fit feet. While it would be fun to test the entire line-up we have to start somewhere and so chose the Butora Altura, a laced high-top like the TC Pro, to get us started. Features: High-top … Continue reading Review: Butora Altura Rock Shoe
Like much of life, a day of climbing is best kick started by a heavy dose of caffeine. The performance and mood enhancing effects of caffeine greatly increase success rates by supplying the necessary motivation for the climber to get up and then, once imbibed, lubricate synapses whereby headaches are avoided and speech becomes possible. After a few more cups, there is a buildup of … Continue reading Backcountry Coffee Brewer Face Off
Every climber needs a robust, all-round go-to rope that they can abuse at the crag. Something to use when working a project, top-roping or teaching a friend how to climb. While all these sleek new triple rated, by-patterned, dry certified, sub 9mm ropes on the market are great, they’re also quite specialized and not really meant for everyday cragging. For that type of service the Edelrid … Continue reading Edelrid Boa Eco (AKA Parrot) Climbing Rope Review
The GSI Outdoors Fairshare Mug has been a staple of back-country enthusiasts for over a decade. Basically a measuring cup with a screw on lid, it’s a favourite of alpinists, backpackers, climbers, skiers, etc. The reason: It works! It’s the perfect size to dupe an unsuspecting cook into giving you an extra scoop of grub, it’s easy to clean and it’s very multi-functional working as … Continue reading Review: GSI FairShare Mug II
Exped is known for making some of the best sleeping mats available anywhere. However, like many people I’ve only every tried their down fill mats, never a synthetic fill. To find out how their synthetic mats perform we decided to test out the SynMat Hyperlite. This tapered, 3-season mat is sold as the lightest mat for its warmth which I take to mean that it’s … Continue reading Exped Synmat Hyperlite Review
While camping spoons may not be as sexy as new ice tools or cams it’s still nice to have a well thought out and functional food delivery apparatus when you’re in the backcountry! So when I saw the new GSI Outdoors Essential Spoon (long version) at the Outdoor Retailer show last summer I was intrigued. Needless to say, when it hit store shelves I grabbed one to … Continue reading Quick Look: GSI Outdoors Essential Spoon
The Tycane line of sunglasses by Adidas Eyewear have been specifically designed for climbing, skiing and mountaineering as well as for watersports. And while not necessarily a household name in eyewear, Adidas boasts a wide range of high quality, sport-specific and casual sunglasses with top notch optics. If you’re looking for a pair of glasses that will work for ski touring, climbing, glacier travel, mountaineering, … Continue reading Review: Adidas Tycane Pro Outdoor Sunglasses
Last year Petzl released the RAD (Rescue And Decent) system which is basically a lightweight rope kit. The idea is that skiers and mountaineers can take it with them into mountains to deal potential issues such as rappelling cliff bands, undertaking crevasse or cliff rescue and for roping up when crossing glaciers. While light-weight kits of this nature have been available to Guides for some time Petzl … Continue reading Petzl RAD Kit Review
Patagonia’s Houdini Jacket is a simple, lightweight, weather resistant shell that almost disappears into its own pocket when it’s not being used. While advertised as a shell for runners on Patagonia’s website we tested it on some multi-pitch rock climbs where weight and bulk are the enemy. The Houdini worked very well as a wind resistant layer and kept me dry during a few short … Continue reading Review: Patagonia Houdini
This ingenious innovation from Mammut is always met with excitement from anyone I show it to and skepticism from anyone I describe it to… “it’s kinda like a rock climbers fanny pack, but really cool!”. All kidding aside, the multi-pitch chalk bag is a very functional piece of equipment that helps reduce harness clutter and fills the gap for multi-pitch climbs that are too long … Continue reading Review: Mammut Multi-Pitch Chalk Bag
