Climbing Reviews
All climbing gear reviews.
Totem Cam Review
The Blue 0.65 Totem Cam weighs 75 g and loads each lobe independently. It's a narrow-headed, flexible trad cam that holds in flared, awkward placements.
Wild Country Friend Review
Wild Country's double-axle Friend pairs the classic 13.75° cam angle with hollow axles and an extendable Dyneema sling. Here's how it climbs and who it suits.
Black Diamond Mondo Chalk Pot Review
A deep-dive on BD's flagship chalk bucket: a cavernous, magnet-sealed pot built for bouldering sessions and made from repurposed factory scraps.
Grivel Air Tech Evo Review
A classic-shafted, hot-forged steel head mountaineering axe that's been a guide-favorite workhorse for decades — still excellent, if not the lightest option out there.
Scarpa Drago XT Review
Scarpa's Drago XT adds structure and a locked-in heel to the famously soft Drago, trading a little sensitivity for more edging power and versatility.
Black Diamond Vapor Helmet Review
A deep dive into the ultralight 155g Black Diamond Vapor climbing helmet — comfort, ventilation, durability, and who should (and shouldn't) buy it.
Atomic Shift 13 MN Review
A hands-on look at the Atomic Shift 13 MN hybrid binding, weighing its alpine-grade downhill security against its touring compromises and reliability quirks.
Beal Escaper Review
A detachable anchor system for retrievable single-strand rappels — an intriguing backup tool for alpine and canyon retreats, but not a primary rappel system.
Petzl Ange S Review
A closer look at Petzl's ultralight MonoFil wiregate carabiner, weighed against its quirks in the field.
Edelrid Ohm II Review
A hands-on look at the Edelrid Ohm II assisted-braking resistor for mismatched climbing partners, covering real-world catch feel, setup quirks, and who actually needs one.
SCARPA Instinct VS Review
A deep dive into the SCARPA Instinct VS, the aggressive Vibram XS Edge shoe built for steep boulders and technical sport climbing.
Petzl Meteor Helmet Review
The Petzl Meteor is a 225-240g in-mold climbing helmet with excellent ventilation — here's how it performs on rock, ice, and ski tours.
Petzl GRIGRI Review
The Petzl GRIGRI is the gold-standard assisted-braking belay device for gym and crag, packing cam-assisted fall arrest into a 175g body compatible with ropes from 8.5–11mm.
Mammut Contact Sling 8.0 120cm Review
A 53g, 100% Dyneema sewn runner with a uniquely low-profile seam — consistently rated the best climbing sling for alpine draws and multipitch rack management.
Petzl SCORPIO VERTIGO Review
The Petzl SCORPIO VERTIGO is a lightweight 365g via ferrata Y-lanyard with elastic arms, VERTIGO WIRE-LOCK carabiners, and a progressive-tearing energy absorber.
Black Diamond MiniWire Carabiner Review
The Black Diamond MiniWire is BD's lightest fully functional carabiner at 23g — a purpose-built wiregate for trad and alpine climbers counting every gram.
Black Diamond Crag Gloves Review
The Black Diamond Crag Gloves are lightweight, CE-certified full-finger belay and via ferrata gloves with a breathable mesh back and synthetic leather palm.
Petzl RIDE Ice Axe Review
The Petzl RIDE is a 240g ultralight ice axe built for ski touring, freeriding, and alpine approaches — a capable, compact tool for non-technical snow and glacier terrain.
DMM Torque Nut Review
The DMM Torque Nut is a four-piece set of hexcentric passive protection offering wide crack coverage, a dual-mode camming design, and an extendable Dyneema sling — a smart rack addition for trad and winter climbers.
Osprey Mutant 38 Review
The Osprey Mutant 38 is a feature-rich, strippable alpine climbing pack built for mountaineering, ice climbing, and multi-pitch objectives in a 1213g package.
DMM Wallnut Review
The DMM Wallnut is a feature-rich wired nut that excels in textured rock, offering stable placements across 11 sizes — but its groove comes at a cleaning cost.