I have been climbing lightly on this for 2 years now, lead sport and occasional top roping. I treat ropes very gently. This rope has never sat in dirt and is coiled in a rope bag 99% of the time when part is touching the ground. I have only had to wash this rope once; it is in great condition. The dry coat really helps it repel dirt and keeps it easy to handle in rain and sleet when everyone with a brain is indoors. Lead falls on it still feel spongier than falls on my friend's 9.8 ropes when following. This rope does carry a slight weight penalty for its highly dynamic nature. While researching similar ropes the only one more dynamic was a beal rope, so this rope adsorbs falls really well, but will stretch accordingly far. The mid and 6-meter-from-end marks are great for rapelling. This would make a great first rope, not so great for leading harder climbs because of its weight.

The standout feature of these for me is the basket design. My AT skis have BD Diamir freeride plus bindings on them and the basket on these poles is great for flipping the heel riser up and down. It really is a great take on the 3/4 powder basket, rigid with a slight lip on the top and bottom to grab onto the riser. While both of my other poles are lighter (including a Ti one) these are now the only pole I ride with on AT skis.

These are light, they have a heel elevator, they have mini steel crampons = they rock. I have the 30" I am 5'8" 155 lbs. Good float with a day pack on in dry fresh powder. The best thing about these is I barely notice they are there until the mountain gets steep and I flip up the televator and notice my friends are exerting themselves more for the same vertical gain. These really shine on icy hard pack and steep terrain. For flat land I'd get something cheaper.

Yes as everyone has pointed out, if you can't tie a basic knot stay the h&%% away from a vertical wall of rock. However, this is !NOT! regular 6mm cord: What is left out of the description is that these are made of SPECIAL CORD that has mini ridges of material built into it that is designed to safely lock onto rope better than any smooth sided cord could ever hope to, in theory making a stronger gripping prusik. That being said, these are more expensive and regular cord has been safely forming prusiks since rope was invented.

Let me start off by saying this iron is affordable and has a nice smooth base that is needed for properly waxing your skis. It's light and cheap. Downside is the temp is not what you set it at. Higher temps are in fact hotter, and lower colder but not necessarily what degrees they say they are. I tested this after noticing it had trouble keeping a steady melt pole with the high temp wax I use on my best skis.

Using a laser thermometer, I set the dial to 130. Once the light turned off indicating the proper temp was reached, I turned on the laser and bam, 120. Egh not to bad, but them the temperature started a dance that went to ~155 and down to ~105, without moving the dial. Granted this might be worse than it will hit when it is on the ski and covered in wax (more insulated on the ski), but it explains why it has trouble keeping a steady melt pool with high temp wax.

Bottom line: works for low temp wax pretty well, but tends to send off some smoke because your temp is jumping to high, and then not melt as well because it got to cold 10 sec later. If you don't care about carbon in your wax and your bases getting a little to hot occasionally, this this iron is a great way to save money on tune ups! (read: cheaper skis this thing is a good deal)

If you want an iron that keeps temp well you need one with a good thermostat and a thicker metal base. More metal = easier for the iron to keep its temp where it is set.

So far I have used this on a pair of Salomon 1080 Thrusters, and fitted it to my G3 Rapid Transits (91 mm waist). The thrusters want to pop out if you try to clamp the beveled edges, but by carefully clamping the binding they lock down like they were superglued to the vise. Rapid transits took some work to find the true minimum thickness in the waist, but vertical sidewalls clamped strong. I would not recommend trying to use these on any ski with a waist wider than 90 mm, since you will be on the last thread of the adjustment bolt. I agree with Toko that ~85 mm is probably as big as you will want to consistently use these without worrying about durability issues from over-stressing the last threads on the bolt. That said, this vise is built very solid and works flawlessly within the range it is designed for.

This is fitted a little loose, and made of a light weight fleece. Very soft and comfortable. It will will keep one warm down to ~35-40 degrees F if moving and there is no wind. Otherwise it is ok in the 40s to 50s depending on how warm you like to be. Not wind resistant.

Feels great to land on, no hurt feet for me. Great for 'regular' bouldering (maybe up to ~10 ft up if problem goes straight up). Slightly sketchy to try to hit from high up, 3 ft by 4 ft is a smaller target then you'd think. I'd definitely recommend a significantly larger (in all dimensions) pad and/or adding some friend's pads if you plan on getting to a height were you'd normally think about clipping into pro when climbing.

Gotta love the 25KN main axis rating of most BD biners. This is a good size for easy clips, I use cosmetic seconds of these on most of my alpine draws because I'm into well built cheap gear. Not the lightest, but definitely not a heavy weight.

(To clarify the "A Little Small" review) This is to run your rope and your sling(s) you are using as a rappelling anchor through so you don't burn your webbing with rope motion/ pulling the rope down. DO NOT use as a rappelling device, it can kill you!! Always read manufacturer's instructions and warnings!! "This device is NOT designed to be used as a rappel or belay device (e.g. ATC, SBGII, Figure-8 or any other friction device). It is intended solely as a hardware alternative to bail-out slings, webbing and cord." Omega Pacific