REI’s anniversary sale is a rare opportunity to score real deals on premium shoes and hardware.
The post There Are Some Seriously Amazing Gear Deals This Week. Here’s What We’re Buying. appeared first on Climbing.
Here’s a hard truth: climbing clothing is often on sale, but climbing gear (shoes, helmets, carabiners, cams) seem perpetually full price. If you do get lucky with a Black Friday sale, you’ll be blessed to get anything aluminum or Italian-made at 10 percent off.
That’s why I’m writing this listicle for you. Starting tomorrow, May 17, until May 27, REI is having a legit sale (in-store and online) that climbers should take advantage of. REI members receive an extra 20 percent off one full-priced item and an extra 20 percent off one REI Outlet item, using the coupon code ANNIV24 at checkout.
I’m not pushing capitalistic tendencies, but I want to acknowledge the unfortunate reality that I won’t be able to resole my TC Pros for an eighth time or take another upside-down whipper in my ultralight foam helmet. Just this winter, I bailed off of a dangerously loose mixed route and had to leave four pieces of pro (four!) in just one anchor to rappel safely. That expensive anchor hurt, but replacing it with Black Diamond hardware at 25 percent off will sting a little less. Even if you don’t venture onto unclimbed rock, or climb five days a week in the same pair of shoes, or wear down jackets in offwidths, at some point, climbing gear needs to be replaced. Take advantage when it goes on sale.
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Black Diamond’s C4 cams are arguably the most beloved cam in the climbing world. It’s hard to argue otherwise—the trigger is snappy and easy to grab when pumped, the lobes have a wide usable range, and, personally, my double rack of C4s has lasted me a very long time despite some overwhelmingly rough use. For folks building their first rack, or those headed to Indian Creek’s endless splitters, this is a great deal.
Black Diamond’s Technician Harness is one of the better all-around harnesses I’ve ever used because it finds the elusive balance between comfort, weight, plentiful features, and a reasonable price. That’s a tricky venn diagram to nail. But it’s true, and that’s why, when I’m finished gear-testing the latest and greatest, I return to the Technician like an old friend. The harness has four molded gear loops, one huge fifth loop, four ice-clipper slots, adjustable leg loops, and enough padding to endure hanging belays.
The Splitter Gloves were the first pair of crack-climbing gloves I ever owned and I cherished them deeply. At the time, my crack climbing technique was … less than perfect, and I appreciated saving my skin as I learned the nuances of the genre. Even now, as a more experienced climber (who owns no less than four pairs of crack gloves), I still return to the Splitter because it’s the thinnest pair I own. This attribute makes the Splitter less durable, but it provides a “second skin” feel when redpointing hard cracks. In fact, I recently wore the Splitter on a 5.13a sport pitch which featured some heinously painful jams. It made the experience much more fun.
The TC Pro is, in my opinion, the shoe for long and varied multi-pitch climbs. Depending on how you size the shoe, the TC Pro can power up dime edges, smear up slabs and corners, jam finger cracks with the best of them, and—if you have to—squirm up an offwidth. I’ve worn the shoe on 5.6 alpine romps, 5.10 chimneys, 5.11 splitters, and 5.12 slabs, and enjoyed each experience equally. (I own three different sizes of TC Pro—which is why this deal is so great.)
While hanging in El Chaltén, Patagonia, for five weeks this winter, I used two pairs of climbing shoes: the TC Pro in the mountains, and the Skwama Vegan for the world-class boulders in town. The latter is a down-turned slipper that has all the features of the beloved “regular” Skwama, but without the animal-sourced materials. The P3 rand system adds support and longevity to the downturned shape, the split sole construction softens the midsole while channeling weight into the big toe, the patterned swath of toe rubber performs well on toehooks and jams, and the justifiably popular S-Heel is at once sensitive and comfortable when side-heeling on sharp edges (those who have tried the wild heel-hook sequence of El Gato Negro (V9/10) will know what I’m talking about).
Some people hate helmets, others refuse to climb without one. Either way, all climbers should be looking for a helmet like the Vapor, which is remarkably light, durable, and comfortable. The medium/large Vapor, which I use, clocks in at just 177 grams and has 18 cutouts to encourage a ton of ventilation on hot days. Even so, the Vapor withstood moderate rock and ice fall this winter, with no cracks or dents to speak of.
The Katana Lace is a fantastic edging shoe: supremely stiff, comfortable, and generates a metric ton of power through the big toe. The shoe is also an absolute weapon in thin finger cracks due to its slim toe profile. If I’m bringing one shoe on a hard granite multi-pitch, it’s the Katana Lace. The shoe is available in two iterations, which are unfortunately called “men’s” and “women’s,” but either option is good for anyone. The yellow version is stiffer and has a harder rubber (Vibram XS Edge) for better edging performance, while the white version is less stiff and has a softer rubber compound (Vibram XS Grip 2, for better smearing).
Every multi-pitch rock climber needs a sun hoody for avoiding nasty sunburns up high, and I’ve been using the Echo Hoody for years. The fabric is light and airy and doesn’t stink up easily. It’s quick to dry, and surprisingly durable. After many years of use (read: way too many offwidths and fist cracks) I retired my tattered Echo and immediately bought another one. If only this sale had been on then!
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