The Best American Made Rock Climbing Gear
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Misty Mountain HarnessesMisty Mountain has a full range of bomber harnesses, from the very burly and heavily cushioned Titan to the lighter weight and versatile Intrepid, even lighter Bolt, and more. Misty Mountain's Cadillac harness is the most comfortable and highest quality harness I've used. The Cadillac has tons of gear loop real estate, and lots of cushioning. I trust my life with my Cadillac, enough said. It's available in both Men's and Women's versions.
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Five Ten Climbing ShoesFive Ten crafts many of the world's best climbing shoes. Take for example their moderately aggressive yet still comfortable Women's Anasazi LV and Men's Verdon VCS which utilize sticky Stealth C4 rubber. Their renowned Team 5.10 shoes are aggressive pro shoes with superbly soft and sticky Stealth Hf rubber.
Verdon VCS (Men's) Click for Current Pricing from Amazon Click for Current Pricing from Backcountry.com Click for Current Pricing from Moosejaw.com Click for Current Pricing from REI.com Anasazi LV (Women's) Click for Current Pricing from Amazon Click for Current Pricing from Backcountry.com Click for Current Pricing from Moosejaw.com Click for Current Pricing from REI.com |
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Sterling RopesSterling Ropes produces excellent dynamic and static ropes. Their Marathon Pro 10.1mm and Marathon Sport 10.4mm are super durable yet supple, provide a light impact catch, and can take plenty of ugly falls. The dry coated versions extend durability even further.
Marathon Pro 10.1mm Click for Current Pricing from Backcountry.com Click for Current Pricing from Moosejaw.com Click for Current Pricing from REI.com Marathon Sport 10.4mm Click for Current Pricing from Moosejaw.com |
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Black Diamond CamalotsAsk any experienced trad climber whose cams are the best and I bet you they'll say BD Camalot Cams. BD Camalots are light, reliable, easy to use, hold well, and take stress from falls in a variety of directions (unlike many competitors). One of the greatest cams of all time, the C4, got even lighter with the Camalot Ultralight. The Camalot Ultralight shaves approximately 25% of the weight from its similarly sized C4 cam counterpart by replacing the steel cable with a dyneema core stem.
Camalot Ultralight Click for Current Pricing from Amazon Click for Current Pricing from Backcountry.com Click for Current Pricing from Moosejaw.com Click for Current Pricing from REI.com |
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Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Ice BackpackThe HMG 3400 Ice Pack is constructed of waterproof Dyneema (formerly known as cuben fiber) fabric. Along with fully taped seams, this translates into HMG packs being impressively weatherproof, durable, and ultra lightweight. With a 55L capacity, and external attachment points for crampons and ice axes, the 3400 Ice Pack is ready for climbing big lines over long weekends. For those wanting less capacity there's a smaller 2400 version, and for those wanting more capacity there's the 4400 Ice Pack. HMG Ice Packs are packs for the pros, and with that comes a hefty price tag.
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BlueWater RopesBlueWater makes fantastic dynamic and static ropes. Their Eliminator 10.2mm Single Rope is a classic all-around hard use climbing rope with great handling characteristics. I highly recommend this rope for beginners and veterans alike.
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BlueWater Ropes Webbing & Sterling Rope WebbingBluewater and Sterling make strong 1" webbing with comparable specs. Both manufacturer's webbing has a tensile strength of 4000 lbf and come in various colors, 30' discs, and larger spools.
Bluewater Webbing Click for Current Pricing from Amazon Click for Current Pricing from REI.com Sterling Webbing Click for Current Pricing from Amazon Click for Current Pricing from Moosejaw.com |
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Black Diamond Vaporlock CarabinerBlack Diamond recently brought their carabiner and cam manufacturing back to the USA for quality improvement! As most veterans would know, BD's carabiners are top quality. The Vaporlock Screwgate is an extremely light 1.8 oz carabiner with a screw lock, perfect for alpine climbing and setting up anchors. Their top of line biner is the Vaporlock Magnetron which, as you might guess, uses magnets to automatically lock.
Vaporlock Screwgate Click for Current Pricing from Amazon Click for Current Pricing from Backcountry.com Click for Current Pricing from Moosejaw.com Click for Current Pricing from REI.com Vaporlock Magnetron Click for Current Pricing from Amazon Click for Current Pricing from Backcountry.com Click for Current Pricing from Moosejaw.com Click for Current Pricing from REI.com |
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Cilogear 45L WorkSack backpackThe 45L WorkSack is an incredibly versatile backpack which earns American Gear Guide's Editors' Choice. Check out my in depth review. The one downside, if you're impatient, is the waiting list since it's made to order from the Portland factory. I also like CiloGear's 30L Guide Service WorkSack for backcountry skiing and climbing.
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Omega Pacific Nuts &
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Omega Pacific SBGII Belay DeviceThe SBGII is an extremely versatile belay device that works as an ATC and a figure 8 device. This belay device handles both single and double rope rappels and can adjust friction to safely control a wide range of thin and thick rope diameters from 8mm - 11mm.
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Black Diamond QuickdrawsBlack Diamond Quickdraws are the draws by which others are judged. They're perfectly sized for easy clipping, light, and reliable. For great function, reliability, and affordability the BD PosiWire (pictured) and FreeWire Quickdraws are hard to beat.
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Organic Climbing Crash PadsOrganic Climbing is a fairly small company making some of the best pads in the business. They've achieved this status by combining extremely high quality foam and durable fabrics with no nonsense (looking at you Mad Rock R3) design.
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Organic Climbing Chalk BagsAll Organic Climbing chalk bags are unique since they're thoughtfully made of recycled 1000d cordura nylon cutting scraps leftover from their crash pad manufacturing. They have a stiff rim for easy access and a plush fleece liner.
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FrictionLabs ChalkFrictionlabs provides high performance chalk including Unicorn Dust (fine), Gorilla Grip (chunky), and Bam Bam (super chunky).
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