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James Simmons

Climber // Camper/Hiker

James Simmons

  • Backcountry.com Employee Backcountry.com Employee

12 Reviews:

Helpful?
7 Yes

2 Questions:

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0 Yes

1 Answers:

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1 Yes

9 Photos:

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4 Yes

0 Videos:

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0 Yes

0 Comments:

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0 Yes

0 Wishlists:

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0 Yes

0 Field Tests:

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  • Stomping Grounds:

    I LOVE Joe's Valley in central UT, AF Canyon, RMNP, and good ol LCC. Southern Utah is the bomb! I am currently located in American Fork UT.
  • Bio:

    So I am 18 years old and climbing is my life. It is my religion. I love music and dancing, good laughs with friends and Travel. I can't stand being in the same place for to long and if I do some day put a nest down for myself... Well we'll see what happens... For now I am perfectly content to be a traveling part-time climber, soon to b a full time climber.

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The Dragon is the answer...

The Dragon is the answer...

Five Ten Dragon Lace-up Climbing Shoe - Men's

April 2, 2009

I was wearing the V10's by FiveTen on my first two attempts on this V9 in Moab UT and my heal kept peeling off of a high heal hook used at the start making progression very difficult. I had just bought the Dragons and this was the first problem I ever wore them on. I sent the problem 3rd go using them. AMAZING SHOE!!!

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes

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The Winds Below Joe's Valley

The Winds Below Joe's Valley

Five Ten Dragon Lace-up Climbing Shoe - Men's

April 2, 2009

Sporting dragons on The Winds Below in Joe's. The amazing heel and super aggressive toe made all the difference for the send.

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes

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Hardest 12c in the world!!!

Hardest 12c in the world!!!

Petzl Sama Harness - Men's

April 2, 2009

Haha okay probably not, but I did five 5.13a's before I sent this route! The petzl sama was an extremely comfortable catch for all the times I fell when I shouldn't of.

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes

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Onsighting 5.12c

Onsighting 5.12c

Petzl Hirundos Harness - Men's

April 2, 2009

Another shot of a rampage day climbing. This photo compressed weird and made my arms, legs, and feet look smaller... strange.

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes

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Onsighting 5.12a

Onsighting 5.12a

Petzl Hirundos Harness - Men's

April 2, 2009

This was the second time I ever wore this harness and I onsighted four 5.12a's, three 5.12b's, and one 5.12c in a day without ever taking it off. After that I took it off to drive to a different crag where I redpointed a 5.13a in 3 goes.

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes

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Susuki V9

Susuki V9

Black Diamond Drop Zone Crash Pad

April 2, 2009

RMNP Classic compression boulder.

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes

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Unamed V9 in Joe's

Unamed V9 in Joe's

Black Diamond Drop Zone Crash Pad

April 2, 2009

Fantastic body tension boulder in Joe's Valley UT.

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes

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Great Investment for ANY experience level

Petzl Sama Harness - Men's

Petzl Sama Harness - Men's

Rating for this product: 5 April 2, 2009

If your just getting into climbing and your looking for a great harness at an affordable price you came to the right place. If your not use to how a climbing harness feels, the Sama is a very comfortable break in to the climbing world. If you are a seasoned climber looking for something comfy to sit in while your working your project or while bolting something new the Sama is extremely comfortable and can definitely keep you hanging comfy while workin out a crux sequence. I use this harness for working projects and redpoint in the super light Petzl Hirundos. Sizing on this harness runs pretty true to size, however if your bordering the sizing chart you can size up or down depending on preference. For example, I have size 28 waist but I where a size medium in this harness because I am not looking for an aggressive fit, even though the sizing says I could fit as low as an XS. Hope this was helpful.

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes

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Best Steep Climbing Shoe. Period.

Five Ten Dragon Lace-up Climbing Shoe - Men's

Five Ten Dragon Lace-up Climbing Shoe - Men's

Rating for this product: 5 April 2, 2009

This shoe is amazing. Perfect camber for steep routes or boulder problems, and unlike some of my other steep climbing shoes, the lace up allows me to size this shoe more comfortably than a moccasin or velcro shoe. I have a wider foot which made break in a little uncomfortable, but after some extended use, this has become one of my most comfortable shoes, and is my highest performing. I will continue to buy this shoe as long as it is in existence. I also own the Jet 7 and the V10 by FiveTen, the La Sportiva Solution, The Evolv Pontas, the Scarpa Booster, and the Mad Rock Super Loco. This shoe kicks the crap out of all of them with the Jet 7 coming in a close 2nd. I haven't used the FiveTen Project yet but this shoe is still amazing! Between the Dragon and the FiveTen Anasazi I will never need another shoe.

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes

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Sweet Action

Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 Ultra Light Tent: 3-Person 3-Season

Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 Ultra Light Tent: 3-Person 3-Season

Rating for this product: 5 March 25, 2009

So I camped in this tent for a week and I loved it. It's super easy to set up and take down and it's small packing size makes it convenient for already cramped camping trips. It has plenty of interior room for a two man tent and is pretty comfortable for chillin in. The only down side i can think of is that one of the two poles required to set up this tent runs directly over the exits making it a little awkward to exit the tent. On the whole though I would definitely rec this tent to anyone looking for a comfortable lightweight, easy setup, easy packing tent.

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes

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Best Pad Investment Ever

Black Diamond Drop Zone Crash Pad

Black Diamond Drop Zone Crash Pad

Rating for this product: 5 January 30, 2009

This Pad is my all around favorite pad. It Fits great into the back of any car and provides a soft catch for that climber that "almost stuck it!" Unlike the mad pad, or metolius fat and cheap bastard pads, this pad does not have a crease in the middle that can bite you ankle if you fall off your highball project and land dead center on it. The taco design of this pad provides a solid landing with no risk of ankle tweakage. The side and bottom flaps make for awesome storage for that climber who always wants to have his gear ready to go at a moments notice. It is soft enough that you can sleep fairly comfortably on it if you had to and firm enough that, unless your trying to repeat Jason Kehl projects, you can fall of pretty much anything and get a safe catch. For highballs I would suggest combining this with the Black Diamond Mondo for perfect protection. All around this is my favorite pad of 6 different pad models I own.

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes

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Black Diamond Drop Zone Crash Pad

January 29, 2009

I guess, but it's explicit purpose is to be laid in the dirt and jumped on by dirty climbers with their black shoes and their chalk dust (It's okay, I can say that, I'm one of them). It'd be like washing your doormat. Kind of pointless....washable, maybe. But it is made of 3.5 inches of foam. Foam holds water pretty good so it would be hard to dry it out properly. When we use ours, we just wipe off big bits of dirt, and slap the dusty spots a few times. This seems to release the dust/chalk nicely. It gets them clean enough to put in the back seat of our cars. At least that has been my experience. (I've never puked on one. etc.) For some reason these just don't stay dirty.

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes

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Petzl Spirit Express Quickdraw

January 16, 2009

Will backcountry be restocking on these anytime soon? I don't want to climb on anything else!

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes

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If you like climbing...

prAna Stretch Zion Pant - Men's

prAna Stretch Zion Pant - Men's

Rating for this product: 5 January 16, 2009

So I've owned three pairs of these pants now and I have loved all of them. They are very light weight and very comfortable. They are hefty enough to climb long enduro style sport and multi-pitch, but light and comfy enough to boulder in. The inseam is a little short, but that is because these are climbing pants, and nobody wants their pants around there climbing shoe when they are trying to place that desperate heel hook, or establish on that micro edge. I climb 6-7 days a week and I am never complaining when I wear these pants.

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes

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Light and Comfy

ExOfficio ExO Dri T-Shirt - Long-Sleeve - Men's DO NOT USE

ExOfficio ExO Dri T-Shirt - Long-Sleeve - Men's DO NOT USE

Rating for this product: 4 December 29, 2008

I love this shirt, I wear it climbing all the time and it is very light and very comfortable, don't be deceived by the picture, this is not a sweater it is a long sleeve shirt

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes

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Small and Mighty

Petzl e+LITE Emergency Headlamp

Petzl e+LITE Emergency Headlamp

Rating for this product: 5 November 3, 2008

So I won this head lamp at a climbing comp and used it all the time. I liked it so much that after it was stolen from my campsite I bought two more. This thing is SO light and super bright, (considering the size), and it's a must for camping. It works well for night bouldering and you don't even notice it's there. bottom line... I LOVE THIS HEADLAMP!

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes

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Pretty Darn Dandy

Black Diamond Gizmo Headlamp

Black Diamond Gizmo Headlamp

Rating for this product: 4 October 25, 2008

So i have used ALOT of head lamps and and I would have to say that the Black Diamond Gizmo is definitely up there as far as quality convenience goes. It puts off alot of light for such a light weight headlamp and it is pretty comfortable. So whether your going out for a midnight bouldering session, hike, or your just looking for lost keys in the car, the Gizmo is a great choice headlamp.

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes

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Small and Mighty

MSR Pocket Rocket Stove

MSR Pocket Rocket Stove

Rating for this product: 5 October 25, 2008

So if you are looking to pack light and still retain big boy stove status look no further! This stove is super small and easy to pack but man o man does it put out! This thing is great for anyone trying to pack light or even just trying to save room in their pack. I would definitely rec this to anyone looking for conveniently sized and effective stoves. Boil time can be effected by wind but it's not very hard to shelter this thing, it's tiny.

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes

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Pretty Dece

Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 Ultra Light Tent: 2-Person 3-Season

Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 Ultra Light Tent: 2-Person 3-Season

Rating for this product: 5 October 25, 2008

So I camped in this tent for a week and I loved it. It's super easy to set up and take down and it's small packing size makes it convenient for already cramped camping trips. It has plenty of interior room for a two man tent and is pretty comfortable for chillin in. The only down side i can think of is that one of the two poles required to set up this tent runs directly over the exits making it a little awkward to exit the tent. On the whole though I would definitely rec this tent to anyone looking for a comfortable lightweight, easy setup, easy packing tent.

Helpful Votes: 2 Yes

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No Comparison... Period.

Petzl Spirit Express Quickdraw

Petzl Spirit Express Quickdraw

Rating for this product: 5 October 10, 2008

This draw is easily the best draw I have ever used. Whether you are working an overhanging project or just starting your climbing career the Petzl Spirit is the draw for you. The notchless key lock gates and thick webbing make this draw perfect for any project. Yeah it's nice to have a lightweight draw, but, generally speaking the super light weight draws have really thin webbing that allows the draw to twist easily which can lead to back clipping and potentially fatal situations. This will never be a problem with the spirit... EVER! If you are looking to buy your first draw don't let the dollar sign scare you, you are paying for top quality for any situation. Just remember when it comes to protecting your self on the wall, "Good enough, isn't" I promise you won't regret buying this quickdraw, but you might regret short changing yourself with something else. enjoy

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes

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