In the past I would buy a battery once in country for my expeditions. When I was in Pakistan, our porter wasn't informed that the battery was in his pack and it got tipped over and battery acid went everywhere. This is a much simpler, more elegant and less volatile solution to your power storage solution on expeditions or anywhere that you depend on solar to power your electronics.

How do I love you Sling...let me count the ways.
You've always been there for me over the days
You catch my falls
And extend so well
When I don't have big balls
I use you to bail.
Some call you a runner
I call you a friend
I use you to cut rope drag
When I climb round a bend.
You're the perfect combination
Of Light and Strong
You improve my belay station
With you I can't go wrong!
I love you sling...
Marry me
We will sing
With Joy and Glee!
Over the shoulder
or as a quickdraw
Youre the best sling
That I ever saw.

If you are a bit clumsy with your electronics like me...this could save you an expensive mistake...great little laptop sleeve with some extra pockets for extra shtuff!!! YEAHYAHH.

O.K....it's just a flip flop but the egg crate foam is uber comfortable and these things last forever....These are the bombdiggity to use a technical term!

These shoes are exceptionally comfy and I think pretty styley as well. Also..I've had a pair for about a year and they are holding up well. Great clubbing, cruising the streets chillin with the homies shoe.

I took this to Rio and it kept me amazingly warm on the white sandy beaches. Also it is a great fashion statement...seriously though...if you are wearing this you probably are thinking about how much oxygen to bring! This is like a four season sleeping bag with arms and legs...the gold standard...from what I've heard.!

If you are going to be hiking in inclement conditions these are a great pant. If you are going to be climbing in them size them a little bigger.

I wore a pair of these up Raphael in Patagonia this year with a pair of medium weight wool long underwear and they fit the bill perfectly. As a stand a lone pant they are great for hiking, bouldering, or bigwalling in Yosemite. These pants are super light....dry out amazingly fast if soaked and repel water up to a certain point. Great do it all pants for the climber, trekker, or traveler.

This a great do it all harness...from sport to to trad to multi-pitch affairs...this harness will do you proud. The gear loops are quite clippable...you have a full strength tag line loop in the back, and thanks to the the new single piece construction this is very well may be the most comfortable harness for it's weight...EVER. The bottom line is this harness is bad ass!!!

If you are going to own one pad...this should be it. For the highball addict this is your ankle insurance, and confidence booster. With twice the thickness and area of a normal pad this means less chance of breaking a leg or ankle by taking a huge fall or missing the pad. While it's not exactly fast and light and you have to be careful not to sprain an ankle on the tall edges of the pad, for a Highballer or person who boulders without spotters, this is worth it's weight in ankle bones It also makes an excellent bed!!!

This like the bread and butter for your sending meal....you could get something almost as good for a little cheaper...but why??? Love at first onsight!! WOOHOO!

This head lamp is so bright you can see the future, and burn holes in brick walls.... Seriously though..I used and abused one of these for several months in South America and it's still ticking....even got it super soaked in a rainstorm and it managed to survive...a solid design....and potentially a life saver!!! Woohoo!!

I really love this biner for the bottom end of quickdraws...this combined with a dynotron on the bolt end equals the best quickdraw I have ever used. The perfect mix of lightweight and easy clipping goodness and from an aesthetic standpoint...the green looks bad ass! The rope practically jumps in the draw...WOO HOO buy a gaggle!!!

When you are sport climbing...these aren't just quickdraws...sometimes they are handles. Often they are the biggest hold on the route. You don't want those skinny draws when you are dogging a route...they make lousy handles, and wear out a lot quicker.

If you are into first ascents, or aid climbing, or want to make it back to the ground safely on a big alpine climb, there is no arguing the value of the good old fashioned piton. When I'm heading up a big first ascent in the mountains I like to have a few blades, a few arrows and most importantly a handful of baby angles on the rack. I can't say enough about how useful baby angles are for creating solid rappel anchors, or establishing a bomber piece of whipper catching pro in a funky crack where a solid cam is next to impossible to place. If you need these things....you really need them. If you are doing nail ups on el cap....you really need them...if it is a knife blade crack...you really need them...If you have ever pounded in a pin and heard the pinging singing of a bomber placement placed to the hilt, you know the primal joy of nailing.

Layering is the way in the mountains, where temperatures can span the range from broiling to freezing in the course of a few hours. The Mclean has been an essential part of my layering system for the mountains. Here is what I wear. First a lightweight vaporwick t-shirt for the roaster sunny moments, followed by a lightweight half zip lightweight underwear piece followed by the McLean. For most of the day the McLean will Stay on, and the Hood is great!! It can be worn under or over the helmet due to it's stretchy but sleek cut. Sometimes I would start up a climb with the helmet over the hood, and then as things heated up, I would yard the hood out from under my helmet without having to take it off...nifty trick I do say! One small pocket on the arm where it doesn't get in the way...nice place for the belay knife and maybe a bar. This is one of my favorite pieces that TNF currently makes and in my opinion is one of the best lightweight fleece rigs on the market. This is the sweater that you will live in. On the scale of one to BOmb-diggity, I give it BOMB DIGGITY.

Solid constructed ice axe that's light enough to be forgotten until you need it. And when you need an ice axe..you really need it. The 55cm is a a solid third tool. For those alpine rock routes where you are only going to need an ice axe for bits of the approach and summit...this is the perfect rig. Simple and effective.

So I've had a touchstone for three years and it's been half way to hell and back with me and is still hanging tough...this is a durable set up...built for uber-abuse. The suspension system is excellent for a Haul bag, which means less suffering (yes you will still suffer it's not an anti gravity haul bag.) If you are someone who has trouble fitting their rack rope and say drill or pitons for first ascent cragging this could be a good choice. When I was putting up some of my Indian Creek FAs last year this was the perfect bag to get everything and the kitchen sink to the base. This is the perfect second or third bag depending on your stay on the wall. WHen you carry loads down or up...the heavy stuff goes in this and the rest goes in the big pig so weights are distributed evently. While this haulbag will not make you walk on water or help you read the minds of your enemies...it will get you to the base of your dream proj. with everything you will need to send HUGE!

TNF killed it with these shoes. For a casual, comfortable, cool looking shoe, these are at the top of their game. I like the wide foot bed, giving your toes plenty of room to spread out, and for me the yellow laces on the shroom brown suede looks P.I.M.P. It's also good to support a shoe that is making a "step" in the right direction by using bamboo and cork to minimize the petroleum based nature of everything outdoors apparel these days!! The cork also makes for a shoe that breaks in to the intricacies of you feet. Also these shoes hold up really well, so it's a pretty solid package all around!

This is my go to climbing shoe for 80 percent of the climbs I do. So many highlights of my climbing life have been in the Velcros...from a El Cap free in a day, to the single pitch gnar in Indian Creek to huge alpine rock routes in Alaska and Pakistan these have been my babies. Great mix of edging and smearing performance, an improved heal...super sticky and durable onyx rubber...You will not be bummed on these shoes.

If you are like me and constantly pushing the baggage limits, why use luggage that weighs more than it has too. Not only does the lightweight nature of this bag mean you can bring more before the dreaded overage fee is reached, but these are uber bomber durable and water resistant. When it's time to shuttle loads, you can even wear this thing as a backpack. This is the best expedition duffle money can buy, and trust me it will last forever.

These are probably the best stoppers out there and the colored coding system makes finding the right one a lot easier which you will appreciate next time you are pumping out in a finger lock trying to slot in a bomber nut. If you are into first ascents and alpine style stuff you can never have enough of these for leaving as anchors...etc. The judges votes are in and these doggies are best in show!

I frigging love these shoes, and for edging think they are unbeatable. After climbing in just about every shoe under the sun, these are some of my favorites for face climbing where the feet are small and technical. Once they are broken in the shoes smear really well too and this is when the shoe really starts to shine as a dominator of all things rock. Low profile heel sinks into heal hooks like pirana teeth, and the rubber is five ten which means it's the stickiest rubber know to man.. you can walk on ceilings and scale vertical glass surfaces...ok not really, but you definitely can stand on a cross-section of a dime.

This is a versatile pack that doesn't suffer from the the "too many bells and whistles" direction a lot of packs are going, and is a perfect crag, or alpine pack. This pack was designed for the alpinist who is carrying everything they need to survive on their back. The gear loops are great for spreading out the rack. While this is designed for alpine climbing etc, I've used it as a carry on, and a picnic supply transporter. Great light, well supported pack.

I just got back from a four month trip Patagonia and Brazil and I literally lived in this jacket. The Redpoint Hybrid is an awesome second layer for several reasons, and in Patagonia I found it to be the perfect do it all layer. Having your arms free and less insulated is great for climbing....you keep your core warm but have your arms free for more dexterity, and if you are groveling in offwidths and fist cracks, you don't tear up the insulation. Also I like the look of this jacket and think it is a great example of the way The North Face continues to experiment and come up with original and functional designs year after year. I've worn this jacket biking, hiking, and to the bar and think it's one of the best mid weight layers out there. Finally, any jacket that attempts to minimize impact is great and insulation in this jacket is from 50 percent recycled materials which I think is something we all can be psyched on.

These sandals break in really well, thanks to the layer of cork, and layer of cotton between you and the eva sole. I found these to be some of the most comfortable flip flops I've ever worn....they break in like a pair of birkenstocks! I wore a pair of these for over a year and they were still hanging tough, and I'm the kind of guy who hikes three miles up hill to the crag in flip flops! The fact that TNF source out eco-friendly materials to make this flip flop is a major plus and I think they look pretty cool on your feet...so win win win!!

What makes B.D. C4s the Best cams on the market? First and foremost...range. Camalots have a wider range than any other cam on the market save the gimmicky link cams and those weird one lobe bigger than the other rigs that have hit the market in recent years, which I find, heavy, sketchy and in no way an improvement on the tried and true Camalot. Even the old school camalots were bad ass but the new ones are sleek, stream lined and sexy, and best of all lighter than yesteryears. Basically it's a no brainer...they get stuck less, they are easier to place , cover a wider range then friends or metolius cams, and you'll find them on virtually every el cap climbers rack. My favorite sizes are the purple and green juniors because this is the size of crack that makes you want to cry for mommy, and the golds because you slam one of those in the anchor and you'd feel good hanging your loved ones off of it. Can't say enough things about The BD C4....That is why they ROCK.