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Climbing, Adventure, Gear & Choss
Gear Reviews
Winter Outdoor Retailer 2020 Climbing Report
I made a quick trip down to the Winter OR + Snow show in Denver for its last day. I hadn’t been to the Winter Show in a couple of years, and one thing became immediately apparent: there are very few climbing brands attending this show anymore. It always used to be more focused on […]
La Sportiva Summer 2019 Clothing Review
I’ve been a big fan of La Sportiva for a long time. Maybe it’s because of the iconic purple high-top Mariacher rock boots from 1982. Maybe it’s because this ninety-one year old business whose first products were sturdy leather boots for farmers and lumberjacks remains family-owned and based in a small valley tucked in the […]
Scarpa Mago Review
As a new dad, I now have a different perspective on time. A good friend once told me that when I had a child, I’d realize how much time I was currently wasting, and even before our daughter was born, I would have moments sitting on the couch when I would think, you know, I […]
Scarpa Furia S Review
While I’m naturally a much better redpoint climber, I’ve spent the last couple years working to improve my onsight ability. This has been fun, but it also meant the hardest route I’ve climbed I did in a handful of tries, and going into the fall I was eager to push myself and get a sense […]
2018 Gear of the Year
Things have been quiet around here at SplitterChoss, but only because life has been busy with work, climbing and everything else that takes up our days. With the wet weather that started off October, I was finally able to sit down and go through my favorite pieces of new gear that I’ve been using this […]
The Best Climbing Gear at Summer Outdoor Retailer 2018
For several years, I would try to see all of the climbing stuff at every OR show. These days, my schedule usually only allows me to sneak away for a single day, so I focus now on the brands that I think are the most worthwhile. This is a personal opinion, and your mileage may […]
Black Diamond Technician Harness Review
The Black Diamond Solution is the most comfortable harness I’ve ever worn. The Petzl Sitta is a close second, but for me and my bony, skinny hips, the Solution is king. Given that, I was excited about the Technician, which was billed as a more trad/ice focused harness that was based on the same Fusion […]
Gregory Alpinisto Pack Review
The original Gregory Alpinisto was my go-to ice climbing pack for several years, so I was excited when I saw a redesigned version was coming out. I eagerly got one in the fall, thinking I’d have plenty of time to use it this winter. Alas, we had one of the worst “winters” in recent […]
Scarpa Chimera Review
I don’t climb much in Rifle these days, but there were a couple of years when I got really into it. It’s humbling at first, as you start out projecting the climbs all the locals regularly warm up on. Eventually you start to get things dialed and what was once a project becomes your own […]
La Sportiva Skwama Review
Last spring, you started seeing these shoes everywhere. All the pros had them and they were all over Instagram. Which apparently worked it’s marketing magic, because for several months they were really hard to get. So when I finally got a pair in November, I was eager to see what the fuss was all about. […]
Five Ten Guide Tennie Review
5.10’s Guide Tennie approach shoe has been around in one form or another for about twenty years and I fondly remember approaching summer alpine climbs in an early version soon after I started climbing. So when the chance to try out the 2018 model presented itself, I eagerly accepted. During my first outing in […]
Black Diamond ATC Pilot Review
There have been a variety of assisted braking devices to hit the market in the last couple of years, most with the goal of being a lightweight and simpler alternative to the GriGri. The ATC Pilot is Black Diamond’s offering, and for those who prefer this style of belay device, it may be the […]
Top 5 Reasons You Don’t Want a GriGri +
By now you’ve probably read multiple reviews about why the GriGri+ is so great. Well, I’m here to tell you it’s not all roses, people, and below are five reasons why you might not want to get a GriGri+. You like dropping people Perhaps the most interesting new feature of the device is the anti-panic […]
La Sportiva Kataki Review
Before this summer, it had been several years since my last visit to City of Rocks. And even though it had been awhile, I can still vividly remember how much my feet hurt on that trip. At that time all my shoes were sized for steep sport climbing, which was totally fine for the crags […]
Adidas Summer Apparel Spotlight
When most people think of Adidas, images of soccer cleats, running shoes or hip street kicks pop into their awareness. But, thanks to an excellent clothing and approach shoe offering, strong sponsorship of North American rock climbers, and the 2012 purchase of climbing shoe company 5.10, attitudes are slowly starting to change. My first exposure to […]
Bulldog Creek Dog Walk (IV WI 4+)
Hayden Carpenter and Tom Bohanon recently repeated an obscure ice climb on the south side of Mt Sopris. Given a brief mention in Jack Robert’s ice guide, Bulldog Creek Walk is described as being 100 meters of WI 4. What they found was seven pitches of ice in a remote setting that makes for one […]
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