Climbing Gear
- Climbing Shoes (7)
- Climbing Harnesses (5)
- Belay and Rappel Devices (5)
- Climbing Ropes (6)
- Climbing Slings (9)
- Crampons (7)
- Packs (3)
- Ice Axes (5)
- Pitons (5)
Which Rock Shoes Should I Wear?
You're just learning how to climb and want to buy a new pair of rock climbing shoes. Learn the essentials here about what kind of shoes to buy and how they should fit your foot.
10 Tips to Place Better Nuts
Nuts, pieces of metal wedged into cracks, are an essential piece of climbing gear that protect you while leading a route or creating belay anchors. While nuts are easy to place, you need to learn to find the right crack, evaluate the placement, and set the nut by jerking it. Learn how to place great nuts by following these 10 important nut tips.
Your Climbing Harness
A climbing harness is a key piece of your personal climbing equipment. Your harness, with a waist belt and leg loops constructed of sewn webbing, connects you to your climbing rope with a knot. Learn here about the evolution and types of harnesses.
Portable Solar Chargers for Mobile Devices
Climbers like most outdoor enthusiasts take their mobile devices, including phones, GPS units, and tablets, out to cliffs and climbing areas. The biggest problem is keeping your devices charged and ready to work. The solution is found by buying an affordable portable solar chargers that you can take climbing and keep your phone working.
Essential Ice Climbing Equipment
You want to go ice climbing this winter, but what equipment do you need? Here is a list of all the climbing equipment you need to go ice climbing and stay warm outside in the winter, including a helmet, boots, harness, crampons, ice tools, headlamp, belay device, and warm clothes.
Using a Daisy Chain
A daisy chain, used in rock climbing, is a length of webbing with variable-length sewn links which can be clipped into anchors with a carabiner. Learn here about daisy chains and how to properly use them.
Essential Sport Climbing Gear
Here's the equipment you need to go sport climbing, including rope, quickdraws, locking carabiners, and personal gear.
BlueWater Titan Loop Chain
The BlueWater Titan Loop Chain is one of the best, lightest, and strongest personal anchor tethers available for rock climbers to clip themselves into anchors. Read this review for the BlueWater Titan Loop Chain, an important piece of guide-recommended climbing equipment.
Ascenders: Essential Climbing Equipment
Ascenders, mechanical devices used to ascend a fixed rope, are an essential piece of equipment used for climbing big walls and followoing aid routes. Learn all about ascenders, which ascenders you need for rock climbing, and important safety tips to follow when you are using ascenders.
Which Clothes Should You Wear Climbing?
"What should I wear rock climbing?" is a popular question. The short answer is: Anything that is comfortable, loose-fitting, and doesn't restrict movement. Find out more about what kind of clothes you should wear rock climbing, what a good summer outfit is, and why you should dress in layers in cool weather.
All About Climbing Packs
You're going to need a pack whenever you go climbing, whether it's sport climbing at your local cliff or scaling a big mountain in the Rockies. Find out what are the five types of climbing packs you need to carry everything for your adventure and which pack is right for you.
Locking Carabiners
Locking carabiners are essential climbing equipment that keep you safe on the rocks. Learn all about locking carabiners, auto-locking carabiners,...
Drink Liquids for Climbing Performance
It's important to stay properly hydrated when you're rock climbing, especially when it's hot outside. Learn how much you need to drink to stay hydrated and how to determine how much water to bring for a day of rock climbing.
Slings for Climbing -- All About Climbing Slings
Climbing slings, simply lengths of webbing that are tied or sewn into closed loops, are an essential piece of rock climbing equipment. Learn all about slings, how climbers use slings, the different materials used to make slings, and the differences between sewn and tied slings.
Resling Your Climbing Cams
The slings on your cams wear out and need to be replaced. Find out why you should replace cam slings, how often they need replacement, and who can do the replacement job for you.
Climbing Helmets Wear Out
Climbing helmets wear out from regular use and from exposure to UV light. Learn when you should retire your helmet and buy a new one, and how to take care of your helmet to make it last longer.
Which Ice Axe Do You Need?
An ice axe is an essential piece of climbing equipment used in mountaineering from traveling across snow and ice. There are lots of different kinds of ice axes and ice tools available. Which ice axe do you need? Find out here how to determine which ice axe is best for your climbing adventures.
All About Crampons
Crampons are essential climbing equipment for climbing hard snow, ice falls, and mountains. Crampons, spikes attached to the bottom of your boots, allow you to climb all kinds of wild terrain. Learn more about crampons, the history of crampons, and the basic types of crampons.
Worn Carabiners Cut Climbing Ropes
Carabiners that are worn and sharpened by a climbing rope passing over them are extremely dangerous, especially for sport climbers who fall on them. Many accidents and even some fatalities have occurred after a lead climber fell, cutting his rope on the sharpened edge and hitting the ground. Read how to avoid using worn carabiners and the results of tests by Black Diamond on the strength of worn and damaged carabiners.
4 Types of Climbing Chalk
Climbers use chalk to dry sweaty hands and to enhance their grip on handholds. Find out here about the four types of climbing chalk that you can buy and use on the rock.
10 Tips to Place Cams
Spring-loaded camming devices or SLCDs are an important part of your rack of climbing gear. While cams are easy to place, they are only safe and secure if you place them correctly. Learn how to place camming units; which cracks are best for cams; why you use quickdraws on cams; why cams aren't great for top-rope anchors; and how to remove stuck...
Use Colored Chalk to Leave No Trace
White climbing chalk leaves unsightly blotches on the surface of cliffs and boulders, as well as damages the rock surface. Many climbing areas, including most national parks, require climbers to use colored chalk which matches the color of the rock. Find out more about colored chalk and how to Leave No Trace of your passage when you're climbing.
Review of GoLite Cady 2477 Jacket
The GoLite Cady 2477 Jacket is a warm, lightweight, and affordable insulated jacket with recycled synthetic fill. It offers great features at a low price and wears well at the crag.
Racking Gear for Trad Routes
Once you've decided what climbing equipment you're going to carry on a route, you need to organize it so that the gear is easy to reach and in a systematic order. Learn here how to properly rack climbing gear on a gear sling for trad climbing.
Your Personal Trad Climbing Gear
Here's all the personal equipment that you need to go trad climbing with a buddy, including rock shoes, climbing harness, belay device, locking carabiners, personal anchor system, and a climbing helmet. Also shop and buy all the guide-recommended climbing gear you need.
Your Basic Trad Gear Rack
What do you need to buy to build a basic rack of equipment for traditional climbing? Here are my suggestions for starting to build your trad rack, including cams, nuts, slings, and carabiners.
All About Spring-Loaded Camming Devices
Spring-loaded camming devices (SLCDs) are essential pieces of climbing equipment for your rock adventures. Cams are placed in cracks for protection while you're leading or for belay anchors. Find out more about cams, what they are, how they work, why they're easy to place, and which ones you should buy.
Rack Cams & Carabiners to Save Weight
How you rack your cams on your gear sling depends on the type of route you're climbing. Learn here if you should rack cams on their own carabiners or double them up and how to save weight on big racks of cams by using ultralight carabiners. Go light or go on a diet!
All About Aiders
Aiders are the most important piece of gear for aid climbing. Aiders, taking the place of footholds, allow you to ascend blank faces by stepping up these ladders made of webbing. Read more about aiders, the 3 types of aiders, and what to know before you buy aiders.
Climbing Chalk
Climbers use chalk or magnesium carbonate as a drying agent on their hands and fingers to decrease moisture, reduce slippage, and increase performance. What is climbing chalk and how does it work? Does it actually help you climb harder? Find out all about climbing chalk and the answers to these questions.
All About Chalk Bags
Chalk bags are simply small fabric sacks that are filled with climbing chalk and carried on a belt around a climber's waist. Learn more about chalk bags, their different sizes and shapes, how to buy a chalk bag, and how to carry a chalk bag.
Rack Equipment on Harness Gear Loops
It's easier to rack your climbing equipment, including cams, nuts, and quickdraws, on the gear loops on your harness rather than on a gear sling carried over your shoulder. Learn here why it's easier much of the time to rack gear loops and how to efficiently rack your cams and nuts so you can quickly grab the right piece when lead climbing.
All About Nuts, Chocks, Wired Nuts, and Micro Nuts
Nuts, also called wired nuts, chocks, artificial chockstones, and micro nuts, are essential pieces of climbing equipment. Nuts are simply small pieces of metal that are wedged and slotted into cracks. A climber then attaches a rope or a knot to the nut with a carabiner, creating a solid and secure anchor. Find out all about nuts, what they are,...
Caving Equipment
You want to go underground and crawl around in caves? Here's all the essential equipment that you need to get out caving, including helmet, headlamp, oversuit, and personal gear.
How to Check Climbing Gear for Wear and Tear
Climbing equipment gets used and abused. We take our gear out in extreme environments so it can be easily damaged. Learn how to check and evaluate your important climbing gear--rope, harness, slings, helmet, and carabiners--so that you can retire old equipment before it breaks.
Climbing Shoe Design and Lasts
Before you buy a pair of rock shoes, find out about the different types of rock shoes, how they are made, what a climbing shoe last is, the differences between board-lasted and slip-lasted shoes, and rock shoe construction.
Your Personal Aid Climbing Gear
Aid climbing requires lots of equipment. You can start off using your regular gear but later you'll want to get a beefier harness and stiff rock shoes. Here's what you need for aid climbing, along with suggestions and tips for all your personal aid gear.
How to Buy a Crash Pad
Bouldering crash pads are an essential part of your bouldering equipment. Learn here about bouldering pad construction, what are the important structural elements and frills on bouldering pads, and tips on buying a bouldering pad.
How to Remove Stuck Camming Devices
Spring-loaded camming devices or cams are expensive pieces of climbing gear that can get stuck in cracks on routes. Learn tips and tricks and how to remove stuck cams, including using a nut tool and wired nuts, how to analyze the cam placement, and the reasons that cams get stuck in cracks.
All About Climbing Bolts
Bolts, metal shafts placed in predrilled holes in the rock, are used by rock climbers for anchors and protection. Learn about the three main types of bolts used in climbing; the two types of bolt strengths that are important to climbers; and why thicker bolts are better than thin bolts.
Keep Your Hands Warm
If you're ice climbing or mountaineering in the winter, it's easy to get cold hands and even frostbite. It's important to keep your hands warm. Find out more about how to keep your hands toasty and protect your digits from frostbite.
Wear Climbing Shorts in Summer
Shorts are the best article of clothing to wear for warm weather rock climbing in the summer. Find out all about climbing shorts, how long they should be, what kind of fabric is best, why a gusset is important, and what kind of pockets your shorts should have.
Basic Bouldering Equipment
The beauty of bouldering is not just doing hard moves but also its minimalism. You don’t need to spend lots of money on equipment to have fun on the boulders. Here are the 3 essential pieces of climbing equipment that you need to go bouldering.
The Best Mountaineering Glove System
When you're ice climbing or climbing high mountains, your hands are going to get cold. What's the best glove system to use to keep your hands and fingers toasty warm and free from the risk of frostbite? Learn from mountaineer Susan Paul how to create a glove system for winter climbing.
Seven Tips to Help You Buy the Right Harness
You want to buy a new harness? Here are seven tips on how to fit and buy a climbing harness. If you've never owned a harness before, it's best to shop at a store rather than buying one on-line so that you can try on different harnesses and find the best fit for your body type.
Angle Pitons
Definition of Angle Pitons, climbing equipment words for metal pitons or spikes that are hammered into cracks for climbing protection and anchors.
Take Night Sky & Star Photos
It's surprisingly easy to make stunning photographs at night of star trails and the stars when you're outside on a climbing trip. All you need is a digital camera, tripod, and some basic exposure and composition information and you'll be wowing the audiences at your climbing slideshow.