The Greatest Gear for Girls (and some for Boys too)
CLIMBING|GEAR?
Tonight at the climbing gym, I made a new friend named Bryan. He’s been climbing for many years now and we got onto the topic of gear selection. My feet were tired after wearing my purposely tight climbing shoes so I had taken them off. Bryan suggested I might want to try the Five Ten Anasazi VCS Women’s Climbing Shoe
Five Ten Anasazi Women's Climbing Shoe
A lot of climbing gear choice exists nowadays with some equipment made specifically for females (w00t!). Many climbers go through quite a bit of gear to find the perfect combination, which helps them perform at their best for any given climb. As I was getting into climbing, I tried to figure out just what worked well for me, being a newbie-intermediate female indoor/outdoor climber. Unfortunately, I didn’t know many female climbers who could provide me with some welcome recommendations.
Being a bit of a product junkie and having an openness to try new stuff, I’ve invested through several sets of essential climbing gear, naturally with a female focus. Here, I’d like to share and evangelize some of my great finds…the gear exists not only in my gear closet but on my body when I’m out there attacking the crux of any given climb :). I hope it helps all those females out there trying to find their geared-up climbing way and enable them to focus on the climbing fun. ps: I’m always looking for new stuff to try so please let me know what you recommend.
OMG Shoes!
I know it’s a little cliché but I have to start with (omg) shoes. I’m a big fan of having really comfortable, high-performance footwear and after a bit of trial and error, I decided that the La Sportiva line of shoes has just what I need (and, no, they do not sponsor me *sigh*). I should note that for climbing shoes, I’ve tried some Evolves too. Since the Evolves are made of synthetic material, they tend to trap ungodly foot odor much more than leather types (a big peeve of mine). Thus, the shoes I wear and swear by are:
La Sportiva Mythos Women’s Rock Climbing Shoe
La Sportiva Mythos Women's Climbing Shoe
Awesomeness Factor: I wear these shoes for just about all my outdoor (all types) and indoor (crack) climbing adventures. They are extremely comfortable and can be worn for extended hours as opposed to some of my other shoes. The Mythos is truly a high performance shoe that performs with precision.
Success Tidbit: I wore these on Yankee Clipper, a fairly long multi-pitch climb in El Potrero Chico, Mexico. After 12 pitches, I was still feeling pretty chipper. Another girl climbed up after me complaining relentlessly about her aching feet, where she had to take off her Evolve shoes (too tight/technical for the climb) almost every time she was belaying her partner…after that she was more than ready to get a pair of Mythos.
La Sportiva Miura Women’s Rock Climbing Shoe
La Sportiva Miura Women's Climbing Shoe
Awesomeness Tidbit: A very versatile technical shoe with a powerful toe box and padded heel makes this shoe the ones I like on trickier routes involving small foot holds. I don’t wear them for over an hour at a time since they are a little snug but they are work brilliantly during the climb.
Success Story: I wore these on my first ever 12a lead climb in the gym! I also used them projecting challenging boulder problems. I have never climbed so hard in any other shoe.
La Sportiva Trango Mountaineering Boots
Awesomeness Tidbit: All-Around the best mountaineering boot on the market. They are ultra lightweight, need no ‘wear in’ time, and work perfectly as a dry mountaineering boot and ice mountaineering boot with /without crampons.
Success Story (or not): One day Gabe and I decided to try to hike Mt. Shasta in a day. We rented mountaineering boots at the local sports store. Those basic plastic boots did a decent job keeping me warm but my feet were completely soaked by the time I got near the top. It was getting late / windy after 13,000 feet up so we retreated and my feet were aching prunes by the time we got back to the car. One month later, I bought the Trango’s along with my own crampons and have been happily mountaineering ever since!
note: since they are a little pricey, I bought mine using my annual 20% off coupon from REI.
Evolve Update: I’m not entirely hating on other brands of climbing shoes such as the Evolves. I just bought the Evolve Talon Rock Climbing Shoe and am currently deciding if I like them…
Harnesses
After several short term relationships with various harnesses made by Black Diamond, Petzl, and Mammut, it has come down to just one.
Arc’Teryx R280 Harness Women’s - Tradition Climbing
Arc'Teryx R280 Women's Harness
Awesomeness Tidbit: What some may consider the Victoria Secret’s IPEX equivalent for harnesses! I recently bought this harness and have relinquished all my others. It moves perfectly with me and feels so feather-light invisible on. Yes, I’m still talking about the R280 harness and, trust me, there is no other comparison.
Success Story: I put all my other harnesses on craigslist. Arc’Teryx stuff: made in Canada = even more props!
Did I mention it pairs nicely with the Arc’Teryx C40 Chalk Bag
Arc'Teryx C40 Chalk Bag
What’s on the Harness?
For starters, get yourself a carabiner and belay device.
As far as carabiners go, I tend towards the self-locking kinds and like the ones that are color coded (red you’re dead), such as the Am’D Locking Carabiner - Screw Lock by Petzl
In terms of belay devices, I use either an ATC or a Gri-Gri.
Awesomeness Tidbit: the ATC ( Air Traffic Controller) is a belaying device made by Black Diamond. Comes in handy when you want to rappel off a climb, etc. I.e. very useful as a belay and repelling device.
Awesomeness Tidbit: An auto-locking belay device made by Petzl. I use this more than my ATC since I always belay people that are bigger than I am and in case there are any crazy lead falls, I feel slightly better knowing/hoping the auto-lock kicks in. It’s very useful for belaying, especially on multi-pitch routes where you may need to belay from above or belay multiple people who are simulclimbing, or hauling the ‘big pig’.
ATC
GriGri
Sport Climbing: Once you have the basic gear and climbing technique down, you may want to start sport lead climbing. As such, you’ll probably want to get some quickdraws and a rope to start leading on sport routes. Quickdraws are pretty easy to come by but the main things is to make sure they have a good size opening for quick release and smooth clipping. I recommend the ones with the wire-gate closure on one side, which tend to be lighter and easier to clip with its flat shape, such as these
Quickwire Quickdraw by Black Diamond
Traditional (Trad) Climbing: You may be into trad / traditional climbing too and if that’s the case, then you’ll want to begin by borrowing gear from friends so you learn how to place protection (cams, nuts, etc.). If you feel ready to make the trad climbing move, you’ll want to get a full rack (this is where the most expensive purchases will be made).
Here are some trad rack essentials (which you do NOT want to ever drop!):
Black Diamond Stopper Set Classic No. 5-11
There’s quite a bit more options such as Aliens, Offset nuts, Hooks, etc. and I’ll try to write more later on this as I get into buying them myself (currently in borrowing phase for special pieces).
Connect yourself in with a Metolius Personal Anchor System
Aid Climbing:
Check out my Intro to Aid Climbing posts and the Big Wall Rock Climbing Gear list.
Rope Up!
Once you have the basic climbing down, you may want to start lead climbing with your own rope. I suggest getting a bicolor / bipattern rope for quick and easy identification of the midpoint of the rope without affecting rope quality or performance. Getting a rope in 10.2mm width and under is ideal since they do the job with less the bulk/weight. I have one from Beal and one from PMI. Compared to the single colored ropes out there, I found that these bi-pattern ropes, which change pattern midway, have enabled me to improve my climbing judgement and general rope management skills.My favorite rope brands are Sterling, New England, Beal and PMI. I have one from Beal and one from PMI, although my friends have often raved about Sterling and New England ropes (they are just a little more pricey).
Climbing Clothes
My favorite athletic brands are: Arc’Teryx (outerwear), prAna (tops/bottoms), Patagonia (base layer, underwear), lululemon (tops/bottoms, great for Yoga too), Marmot (outerwear), plus some BeBe Sport (workout suits, non-branded ones), The North Face (jackets), and Nike (bottoms/tops). Since everyone’s shaped differently, I suggest anything that fits you well in these select brands because they make quality, technical apparel without making you look too ‘plaid/khaki’ goofy.
Here are a few indispensable pieces:
Arc’teryx Epsilon SV Jacket - Women’s
prAna Elisa Organic Capri Pant - Women’s
lululemon Origami Zip-up Jacket - Women’s
Patagonia Capilene Long Sleeve Crew - Women’s
Marmot Mist / Rain Jacket - Women’s
In the Bag
I put my gear in the following bags:
Gregory Women’s Jade 50 Backpack
Arc’Teryx Bora 75 Women’s Backpack (precessor of the: Briza 75 Backpack - Women’s by ARCTERYX
Snicky Snacky Time - Serious.
If you ever climb with you, you’ll soon realize I love to snack all day. My snack variety ranges from the über athlete to the ultra junk food…here is a short list of the snacks I stash in my pockets and daypack:
Nature Valley Chewy Granola Bars
Whenever we go on a weekend climbing jaunt, my friends and I always plan for at least one gourmet-style breakfast (think eggs, tomatoes, basil, English muffins, Canadian maple-flavoured bacon, Soy Chai and Yerba Mate). Of course, one the days when you just want to get going, try these Nature Valley bars with the yummy naturally flavored yogurt coating (blueberry and strawberry…mmm!).
Clif Shot Bloks Organic Energy Chews
These organic energy chews are irresistible…come to think of it, I crave one right now since you know, blogging is quite the workout 
But seriously, if you haven’t tried these, you don’t know what you’re missing. I love the cran-razz and strawberry flavors anytime and cola w/ caffeine when I wake up at 4am for one of those long multi-pitches!
I feel no shame in munching down a king size Snickers bar simply because it tastes incredible, especially after going through the standard assortment of nutritional bars. A major perk is that one king size Snickers provides just over 500 calories, which is actually perfect when you are on a multi-pitch climb and need energy fast!
Naturally, organic nuts, dried and fresh/juicy fruit go a long way. Fresh Fruits that work well on climbing trips include organic apples, pears, cherries, hard peaches, hard nectarines, and sometimes strawberries (but don’t try to pack these as they easily get smooshed).
Visual Memories
Here’s what I use to remember the memory:
Nikon D80 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body only)
Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens
Sanyo Xacti HD1010 4MP MPEG4 High Definition 1080i/1080p Camcorder
Apple MacBook MB404LL/A 13.3″ Laptop, Black
Check out my climbing media: here.
<will write more soon>
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Currently, I’m reading Lynn Hill’s Climbing Free: My Life in the Vertical World Lynn Hill: known for making the first free ascent of The Nose on El Capitan. A true inspiration to me, especially since she also happens to have a gymnastics background. Lynn on Tasmanian SpireInspirational (female) Climbers: Lynn Hill, Beverly Johnson, Beth Rodden
I’d like to share three great quotes from the book…
Remarks Brooke Sandahl as Lynn successfully free climbs what is considered the hardest pitch up the Nose on El Capitan:
That looks like a contortion only Houdini would make up.
Reflection by Lynn herself:
The spirit of free climbing is about adapting one’s personal capacities and dimensions to the natural features of the rock, not the other way around.
John Long’s take:
Mastery is admirable in any field. But when this mastery plays out by slaying gender stereotypes, embracing primal terrors (always a factor in climbing), having the vision and chops to do long-established things in novel ways, fighting through injuries, slim wages, and one’s own doubts and insecurities, and growing more modest in the process, a mere rock climb becomes a victory for the human spirit. Though choice or temperament, most of us are followers. Greatness, on the other hand, is almost always a path leading into the unknown and unproven. And Lynn walked that path like a giant…the biggest little hero I’ve ever known is Lynn Hill.
Beverly Johnson: true pioneer in rock climbing and mountaineering, with the first female solo accent of El Capitan’s Dihedral Wall. She’s also got a great book:
The View from the Edge: Life and Landscapes of Beverly Johnson
The View from the Edge: Life and Landscapes of Beverly Johnson
Beth Rodden: today’s top female climber who recently sent Meltdown, a 5.14 in Yosemite.
Rodden Fires Hardest Yet
If you want more info on female climbers, check out the wikipedia page.
