Best of Summer Outdoor Retailer 2010

I had good intentions. All of my appointments would be in the morning and early afternoon, leaving the evenings free for some climbing. Somehow the OR Show just has a way o f taking over, however, and climbing didn’t happen. We did get to check out a lot of the latest and greatest coming out next year, and here’s a look at our top picks. There’s a ton of gear at these shows, but this was the stuff that made us say, yeah, that’s cool, I want one.

Five Ten

It seems like these guys crank out new shoes year after year. They had quite a few offerings this show, but a few really stood out from the rest. Most climbers spend their time on vertical to slightly overhanging terrain, and the Quantum was designed with these folks in mind. It resembles a downturned version of the Anasazi pinks. Of all the Five Ten shoes I’ve had, the pinks are still my favorite, so throw in an aggressive toe and it sounds like a winner to me. It also features Stealth Mystique rubber, an S-lacing system, and a low volume heel cup.

The Supermocc is a beefed up version of the tried and true Moccasym. The key feature is the split toe rand, designed to give you more power from your toes. It’s also got a better heel cup, and they’re white, the most stylish climbing shoe color around. We have a tried and true Moccasym fan on our staff, so it’ll be interesting to see how these stack up.

Petzl

Yeah, yeah, the Gri Gri 2 is rad, but so are the new CORE batteries for their Tikka 2 and Zipka 2 headlamps. This is a rechargeable battery that will save an estimated 900 batteries from going into a landfill over the course of it’s lifetime. And if that wasn’t cool enough, you can program it to your desired output. Say you are doing an endurance race and want steady light for 7 hours. No problem, just connect it to your computer, change the settings via their simple software and you are good to go. Definitely a little dorky for most, but I think some folks are going to find this super useful.

And then there is the Gri Gri 2. It’s everything you could have wanted improved on the old Gri Gri. It’s smaller and lighter, which will probably prompt more folks to take it on multipitch routes. It lowers better, so they say, and gives you even more fine control over how much rope you are letting through the device. And of course, my favorite, it’s now certified to work on single ropes down to an 8.9mm. While many have been using ropes under 9.8mm with the old Gri Gri for years now, you definitely felt like you were maybe getting away with something. Now you can rest easy knowing it’ll clamp down on the skinniest of ropes as your partner lobs off their project…again.

Mammut

Gri Gri’s are an incredible tool, but they aren’t the right one for all applications. To that end, Mammut is introducing the Smart Alpine, which works just like a Reverso, but locks up in a fall both in normal and seconding belay modes. It’s not a certified autolocking device, as it actually allows some rope slippage to dissipate the fall forces on your gear. I got to play with it a little, and it seems to feed easy, and lock up well. It’s designed as a go anywhere, do anything device, and it’ll be fun to see how it works in the real world.

Rab

We love Rab. They are everything most clothing companies in the US aren’t. They build gear that works, and there is no lifestyle fluff. That being said, the new Boreas pullover is right off our dream list. You’re out cragging for the day and want a light pullover, with a hood, that you can throw on at belays, and that’ll keep you warm in a light wind and dry in a light rain. The Boreas does all that, as it’s got the functionality of a jacket but wears like a shirt. Very cool.

Camp

I love the trend of everything getting lighter, but I’m not so psyched on smaller. At some point it becomes hard to work with gear that is really small, especially under winter conditions. Enter the Camp Photon, a full size wiregate that weighs in at only 29 grams, which is about the same as the Black Diamond Oz, and the crewgate version that clocks in at a scant 42 grams. (By comparison the Petzl Attache 3D is 55g.)  Now that’s something I can get excited about.

Black Diamond

Climbers like to talk a lot about redundancy in our systems, but belaying is one place where we are relying on a single piece of gear. That being said, several companies have tried to address the matter of preventing a cross loaded belay ‘biner during a fall. BD’s solution is the Gridlock, which attaches to the belay loop on your harness via a unique system on the end of the carabiner, and it doesn’t involve any bulky plastic pieces.

An honorable mention on this list is a program that Beal has instituted with their ropes. Each cord has a unique code on it, which you can register on their site. It will then send you email reminders about the age of your rope, so you know when to replace it. No more wondering, did I get that last year or the year before?

There was a lot of other stuff out there, including new shoes from Sportiva, fun stuff from Metolius and much, much more. At the heart of it, though, are all the great folks that work in the industry, and friends that we’ve had for a long time. It’s these connections and the friendly faces that really keep us coming back year after year, and why we’d go even if there wasn’t any of this fun shiny stuff to look at.