Neck soreness, hard falls, torn skin: does this sound familiar? If you are one of those climbers who leave super-motivated in the morning but end up worn out after a few hours, this article is for you! These accessories will level up your climbing experience and help you live a happy, stress-free life at the crag. Don’t be shy, and gear up!
Initially looked upon with skepticism by those who didn’t like to see their belayer facing the wall straight ahead instead of looking up, belay glasses are now widely spread. Word of mouth and great feedback convinced even the most dubious climbers to give them a try: the rest is history. The looks might be quirky, but they will really save your neck from terrible pain.
The weight difference between climbing partners may sometimes lead to unpleasant (and even dangerous) situations. When a climber weighs more than their belayer, the belayer could lift off the ground and bump into the wall in case of a fall. Of course, the risk of injuries depends on a series of factors, such as how hard the fall is or how high the first quickdraw is. These accidents are more frequent than you might think, as skinnier climbers can surely confirm! But there is an easy solution to the problem: clipping Edelrid’s Ohm on the first anchor. This device adds friction, reducing the fall impact. Easy to use and extremely functional, it should always be part of lighter climbers’ gear kit. Find out more about how to use an Ohm and climb stress-free, regardless of the situation.
Sometimes, the first bolt is quite hard to reach. You could hop on your partner’s back or attempt a rodeo clip– or maybe you could use a clipstick, the most efficient and safest pre-clipping tool. This will help you make safer attempts or even just have a closer look at the wall. The newest models are super extensible, lightweight, and compact. You can also use them to clip the rope into an already attached quickdraw or unclip quickdraws from the wall!
Similarly to clipsticks, stiffies are rigid, supported quickdraws that help extend your reach on the wall and climb more safely. To attempt difficult sections on the wall and reach tricky bolts, climbers used to make them by taping a quickdraw to a stick, but now there is a better solution. Generally speaking, climbers use stiffies (such as Kong’s Panic) to aid-climb or work a route safely before making their actual attempt. If you learned the meaning of “obligatory move” the hard way, whipping over your brand-new rope, a stiffie might help save your gear and nerves.
We will not go into detail about climbing ethics here, but let’s just say that if you don’t want to find yourself stuck on an extremely painful knee bar on limestone tufas, a knee pad is what you need. Nowadays, professional climbers often free new routes wearing knee pads or happen to down-grade older routes because they find easier knee bar betas. To us, who can only dream of reaching such a high level of difficulty, this can only mean one thing: knee pads can make our lives way easier.
