Beal has really been setting the standard for superlight and safe climbing ropes lately and the new(ish) Gully is no exception. Amazingly light and dry the Gully half/twin ropes excel at alpine and ice climbing. The biggest selling feature for me is the Unicore technology that bonds the sheath to the core and in doing so drastically increases safety (not to mention durability). After a … Continue reading First Look Review: Beal Gully Half/Twin Ropes
Mammut is replacing the very popular and successful Pulse and Element transceivers with the new Barryvox S & Barryvox. This review focuses on the Barryvox S, the more versatile but complex of the two options. And while the new Barryvox is basically a ground-up redesign it’s inherited a few similarities in programming from the Pulse. A welcome surprise as it gives it a familiar feel … Continue reading First Look Review: Barryvox S Transceiver
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
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
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
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
The VIA Carbon pole from G3 is exactly what a ski touring or mountaineering pole should be. And while G3 may not yet have the brand recognition of some of the larger companies, when it comes to backcountry ski touring and mountaineering they’re on the cutting edge! I’ve been testing a few of their products this year so you can expect to see several reviews … Continue reading G3 VIA Carbon Ski Pole
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
Designed as a technical mid-layer, Black Diamond’s new Deployment Hybrid Hoody utilizes a mixture of different materials and fabrics in different locations in an effort to provide warmth where it’s needed and breath-ability where it’s not. The result is a nice fitting mid-layer with some great features though it still has it’s flaws. The light green panels are insulated Shoeller and the dark green a thinner … Continue reading Review: Black Diamond Deployment Hybrid Hoodie
When Arc’teryx released the Lithic Comp pant (well actually they’re technically bibs) last fall I was a bit skeptical as I’m not a big fan of bibs; I find that they tend to be hot on the up-track. However the promise offered by the combination of hardshell and shoftshell fabrics drew me in. The idea behind the pants is simple, waterproof breathable fabric where you need … Continue reading Review: Arc’teryx Lithic Comp pant
