CU Belay Glasses Review

Sport climbing is generally all about, well, climbing. You’re not worried about gear, or runouts (mostly), you simply focus on the moves and have fun. As such, there are a variety of items that make their way into my pack while sport climbing that could be considered luxuries in other situations: Gri Gri, belay gloves, stick clip, flip flops, and now…belay glasses.

Some good friends that climbed with us at City of Rocks in June had spent the spring in Kalymnos, and came back with a pair of these magical glasses. They raved about how great they were, how you could see straight up while looking straight ahead. I put them on to give my friend a top rope belay and was instantly sold. I could watch her the entire time without bending my neck once. I used them a couple more times throughout the day and knew we had to add a pair to our bag of tricks.

I have used them regularly for the last month, and they are now, without question, an indispensable part of our climbing gear. I’ve had some shoulder/neck issues in the past, and it’s incredible to belay someone for a full pitch, watching them the entire time, and not be left with a sore neck at the end. As a bonus, while you are standing there looking straight ahead, you can actually focus on maintaining good posture as well, which we as climbers generally suck at.

Now, some folks don’t pay attention while belaying, for whatever reasons, but I want the person whose rope I’m holding to know I’m with them the whole way. Holds break, angry armies of bees sting and things happen, so I pay attention. And these glasses give you one less excuse not to be the most vigilant belayer the world has ever seen. As a plus, they are a great conversation starter with other climbers, and most will want to check them out. Also, like any glasses they tend to make you look smarter, which we could all use help with, I’m sure.

As a disclaimer before you go out and buy a pair, some people get a little disoriented while using them the first time, and others can just put them on and are good to go. One tip to help with this is to not use them until the climber has gotten past the second bolt on a standard sport route. Above  fifteen feet or so you should have minimal distortion and your eyes will have an easier time adjusting. The other weird thing is that they make routes look slabby which takes some getting used to, but again, I’ve had no issues with it.

The glasses retail for $150, which some think is a little steep, but that easily pays for itself with the two massages or chiropractor visits you wont need, and I think they are well worth the cost. If you’ve got any shoulder/neck issues, these should be a no brainer, and I think everyone else will probably enjoy them as well.

You can get more information, including ordering info, on their website.