Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Category Archives: Gear Reviews

Every climber worth their chalk knows you can never have enough gear! Pros and cons of gear I’ve used, loved, and hated!

Athleta Allotments: Summer Threads Review

Athleta Allotments:  Summer Threads Review

With the weather heating up (seriously 100+ heat index before June?!?), I figured some of my female readers might be on the lookout for some summer threads that will keep you feeling (and looking) cool!  I’ve been putting my new Athleta gear to the test over the past few weeks, which culminated in a sandstone-filled sauna in Tennessee a few weekends ago.  I’m happy to report that most of it passed with flying colors!  Here’s a quick sum-up of the clothing items I received as well as my honest and un-biased thoughts about the summer collection.  Again, my apologies to…Read the rest of this entry →

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The Smoo(oooooo)th Quickdraw from TRANGO

The Smoo(oooooo)th Quickdraw from TRANGO

Trango has a new quickdraw called the “Smooth Quickdraw.”  To be honest, my initial thought was that their marketing department must not have been trying very hard. I mean, when you call something “smooth,” all you’re really saying is that said object has a continuous, even surface, free of bumps or ridges, right? If that’s our working definition, then every quickdraw I’ve ever owned would be considered “smooth.” It seemed like Trango’s naming system was similar to those people that name boulder problems based on some obvious, over-used characteristic (“The Arete,” “The Egg,”, or “Big Crack.”)  Descriptive, yes.  Creative, not so…Read the rest of this entry →

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Athleta Allotments: Spring Threads Review

Athleta Allotments:  Spring Threads Review

Part of my endorsement agreement with Athleta is that I will publish feedback on their products.  That’s pretty standard, but ya wanna know the cool thing about it?  They weren’t afraid to tell me to be brutally honest – no sugar coating, no last-minute editing by desk jockey executives, just the plain, hard truth.  I definitely respect a company with that much confidence in their brand quality.  I’ve participated in a few reviews online before on www.chatmeter.com and found it very easy to use and compare my opinions with others. Now,I’m at it again with spring well underway and summer…Read the rest of this entry →

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Local Company Spotlight: Sports Science

Local Company Spotlight:  Sports Science

A few of weeks ago I did a two-post feature on a local NC climbing company – both the man and the products behind Misty Mountain in Boone, NC.  This week I’d like to spotlight another local company – this one from South Carolina.  Sport Science is an active-wear clothing company based out of Mt. Pleasant, SC that has been around since 2005.  Their mission is to “create products that do more so yo ucan do more (or less) in style and comfort.”  The simple, no-frill design of their clothing aims to integrate performance, comfort, and versatility to result in a product…Read the rest of this entry →

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PETZL Helmet Campaign – Round 2!

PETZL Helmet Campaign – Round 2!

Those of you that have been loyal readers for a while now may remember a post I did last October about my stance on helmet usage, as part of a Helmet Campaign from Petzl and their marketing guys over at Pemba Serves.  It certainly got quite the response – 107 comments even!  While I’d like to assume it was my literary prowess and creative wordsmith-ery that compelled such a reaction, in truth I must admit that it probably had more to do with the fact that Petzl was giving away a free helmet to one lucky commenter.  Excerpts of my post were melted into…Read the rest of this entry →

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