sam addington

i have two camelbaks,one with this valve and one with the standard. and i will say i FAR prefer this one, the standard leaks all the time (often into my armpit making me wonder why im sweating on the right but not the left!) but the lock on this one solves that problem ALMOST compleatly, i find if you lock it first then suck out the rest of the water in the rubber bite part you wont have any dribbles at all. i am frustrated though that the yellow locking mechanism on mine is starting to pop out, each time worse than the last and draining a good portion of my water out and onto me. but its worth saying that mine is many years old and for the couple bucks it takes, ill just get a new one.

i love this harness! with it i can (and have) hung for forty five minuets at a time with almost no discomfort at all. what im noticing alot of harness companies doing is adding tons of mushy padding when really the belt and leg loops need to be wide in order to have it be comfortable. and this one hits that mark! just the right width to keep it from cutting into you and enough padding to help with movement and keep things soft next to skin. pus the fabric on the outside of the belt and legs is surprisingly durable, i thought when i got this harness it was so lightweight id have to be careful about scraping on rock or anything else, but that just isnt the case. and definitely the closest youll get to a fashion statement with a harness

everything about this pack rocks! the rpm beats every pack ive ever used, seen or borrowed. its a true minimalist pack so if your looking for nit-picky organization, this might not be for you. its nice and skinny along your back so you wont get that irritating elbow rubbing all day. one massive main compartment that will easily gobble up most anyones rack, plus a few small pockets get for a wallet, keys, clif bar whatever. the thing that scared me about this pack (and maybe some of you too) is the hip belt, or lack of one.well let me say you WONT miss it! the shoulder straps are great and wide and hold the load in a way that you wont be miserable and besides, who wants a big padded hipbelt to get in the way when you also have a harness on? another thing i love is the compression system shrinks the back from a decent size trad back down to a tiny hydration pack. one thing i would suggest is buying one of osprey's new bladders for this pack so you dont feel the budge of a camelback on your back all day. but it really is an amazing pack and its the first time ive gotten complemented on a backpack. ive had it for several months and its been on many, many climbs with me so please people use it for its intended purpose and you wont have a single complaint either!

this may be sorta typical of people who have just bought their first piece of arc'teryx clothing but WOW. these are the best shorts for climbing I've ever put on! the feel of them with a harness is a defiant upgrade from my last clothes and the material is obviously better, the quality of the stitching is fantastic not a loose thread on the whole pair. and they really made sure to get some of the best zippers and buttons. i will defiantly be getting more from arc'teryx and would recommend them to anyone
(and the dark blue looks real cool)

very very nice watch with nice styling, the things i love are the the face shape, the hands are really cool and make it so you can see the day/ date through them, and i was lucky enough to get my hands on one of the limited edition sunrise ones where the face goes from dark orange to silver, and the leather they put on them is super soft and high quality. just be sure to get used to the thickness of it, its not bad but i wasn't used to it and i almost slammed it into some walls from moving my arm while walking

this watch is AMAZING. i use it swimming hiking climbing its really good in the water and is SUPER comfy I've slept in it and it didn't drive me crazy, in the shower, to bed, everything-plus im getting a pretty serious time teller shaped tan. i know its not exactly the most "outdoorsy" watch but ive used it on many outings where weve been out for anywhere from days to weeks with no other way to tell time except watches (cellphones get left back with the car). so if you need something that keeps impeccable time and you never have to worry about taking off i highly recommend this plus it has so many colors im sure theres on youll like, i have the red blue and yellow one and nixon makes a fantastic watch so buy with confidence this baby keeps time like magic

update: since ive wrote this review ive bought two more of these. the lime green and the blue, navy, green one. so a word of caution, these can be addicting!

great harness and has been catching falls hard and well especially when my buddy talks me into dynos two meters away, its comfy and adjusts well (I'm a big fan of buckles on legs) but beware if your in between sizes on this harness the loops will get off center but its not gonna kill you and defiantly not for the price and I've found it packs down nice if you end up running out of backpack space a lot like me. and its durable as hell, I've worn this all day doing short hikes to my next rappel or climb and walk through many a scratchy bush and butt-scraped across many a boulder on this thing and hardly any sign of wear yet

and to be honest the design on the backs alittle ugly but not too many harnesses are fashion statements anyway

great harness and has been catching falls hard and well especially when my buddy talks me into dynos two meters away, its comfy and adjusts well (I'm a big fan of buckles on legs) but beware if your in between sizes on this harness the loops will get off center but its not gonna kill you and defiantly not for the price and I've found it packs down nice if you end up running out of backpack space a lot like me. and its durable as hell, I've worn this all day doing short hikes to my next rappel or climb and walk through many a scratchy bush and butt-scrape across many a boulder on this thing and hardly any sign of wear yet

and to be honest the design on the backs alittle ugly but not too many harnesses are fashion statements anyway

my go-to for belaying and making anchors. its big, bad, and tough as nails. just the fact its so big ads that a bit more friction we all like when belaying or rappelling and holds its own with a munter nicely, just saving up to upgrade all my screwlocks for twistlocks and itll be my perfect belay/ rappel biner

these are practically all i use all the time every climb, come to think of it i cant think of anything ive racked without a neutrino, colors are great keep things simple when it counts-when your clinging to the wall and searching for that right piece. perfect for racking but in sport climbing i dont see them having much place, just too small. but ive got tons of these little guys and i love them all like childeren.

best wiregate i think there is out there. the ribs on the back really gives a nice place for a finger when clipping and they're nice and big so really easy to grab (but i use a lot of neutrinos so maybe it just seems big to me) the top is budged out some so the gate clearance is phenomenal and cause of that taking this off rope or a bolt/ pro is a breeze. gate is super smooth and snappy just seems to gulp up whatever you put in it. the easiest clipping you've done i promise! black diamond really shows their sense for detail in this biner. i put pictures above if the website one doesn't really show you enough

im really am blown away by this pulley (well as a human can get about a pulley). down to business anyway, I've been a little rough on this pulley just to be honest, its been to utah scratched up and down sandstone and had sand blown around on it and all of my other gear and while i could hardly get the screwgate on a carabiner closed from the sand clogging it up the mini was still running smooth as a dream. and throwing a progress capture on it is a dream thanks to the straight bottoms of the side plates, just a prusik out of a little dynex runner keeps you from ever dropping a load again, i think theres illustrations on petzl's website of how to set up a progress capture and if not there is in the book that comes with the pulley in the box, very very very pleased (and plan to get the gemini, its like the mini but with two pulley wheels in it) to make more complex systems with both the pulleys

i see no reason to complain about these for the very minor problems I've had. by problems i mean the little snag on the gate you get if you go with anything but a keylock, but thats not what they are so who cares? little practice and its over. plus they're a fantastic draw, good wide gate for your thumb when your tired and cleaning the route and they come in a six pack! love that BD didn't make a six pack with their cheapest draws and chose these little beauties. and the dynex keeps things light and if you find yourself needing lighter, don't worry just get the six pack of basically these with a wire gate rope side

I've been using this belay device or one like it for as long as i can remember climbing. easy to use from the start and has decent friction and is hard to beat till you wanna belay a seconding climber but what do you expect right? not what its for. and does a pretty good rappel if you wanna give that a shot with it, id like some more friction but then again what do you expect, not its primary function but if your like me and don't have the money laying around for an atc guide it'll get the job done and if you build some muscle well thats not gonna hurt anyone right? all around it does its job fantastic and the only time i can think of getting rid of it is to upgrade cause it sure isn't breaking, even the cables made like a tank!

some of my favorite pro, having 3 ways of placing just one small [sideways], medium [other sideways] , huge [lengthwise] is awesome for me. having a full set of these can cover so many cracks plus they get GIANT. the largest size gets up to a fist crack easy, while the smallest overlaps with a set of smaller stoppers very nicely, if your as much of a passive pro freak as me. and i haven't had any problems with them walking out which kills the whole curve hex argument for me, a yank or two and watch them twist and set. and Mike Merrill's review helped me out with the sizes. heres the other ones not on his list
11.4/19 mm, 0.45/0.75 in (size 1)
14.2/20.8 mm, 0.55/0.82 in (size 2)
16.8/24.4 mm, 0.66/0.96 in (size 3)
65/89.2 mm, 2.56/3.51 in (size 11)
thanks Mike! helped me pick the right ones

these are my main shoes i use and i love them to death, the lacing system really helps (i have feet that dont like fitting in many shoes climbing or not) but these are great. they really do stretch so buy them small and then watch as your next couple gym trips stretch them into a shoe that feels like another skin. not downward facing or cupped like the sportiva solutions but then again thats not what theyre for, just worth mentioning, and i find they slide into a crack nicely, pretty good looking too