All blogs

Every full length (longer than 60 seconds) video and accompanying blog post

Climbing Gear, Technical Climbing Gear Jason Kolaczkowski Climbing Gear, Technical Climbing Gear Jason Kolaczkowski

My Crampons Don't Fit! Small Boots Make Crampon Toes Loose but We Have Options

I’m not a big man. I’m 5’ 6” or a little less than 1.5 meters tall. I weigh about 140 pounds or less than 65 kilograms. While that is good for not having to take a lot of bulk up alpine objectives, it does mean that fitting into equipment can be hard. The most troubling, for me, was getting my small boots to lock in at the toe of my crampons without having room to slide around from side to side. Here is a deeper dive into crampon toe attachment options for people with smaller boots.

Read More
Climbing Gear, Technical Climbing Gear Jason Kolaczkowski Climbing Gear, Technical Climbing Gear Jason Kolaczkowski

What Type of Crampon's Do I Need? A Guide to Front Points for New Winter Climbers

Each new climbing season brings with it a group of climbers who are new to climbing in that season. And now it is winter. It's always someone's first time peak bagging through the snow drifts after years of dry-weather hiking. It's always someone's first time on ice. It's always someone's climb up that choss-filled gully that is now covered in an inviting blanket of consolidated snow. These new winter climbers probably have equipment questions, and the one I get the most is about why the different front-point styles for crampons? Well, let's get into it.

Read More
How-To (05), Climbing Gear, Technical Climbing Gear Jason Kolaczkowski How-To (05), Climbing Gear, Technical Climbing Gear Jason Kolaczkowski

Wrapping Ice Tools with 3M Gripping Material: the Ideal Tool Wrap for Ice Climbing?

An obscure material was developed by 3M, with an unusually high friction coefficient when two strips of it come into contact. It is purported to perform well when both wet and cold. It is available with an adhesive backing and also on a glove. So, could wearing the glove and wrapping an ice tool with the adhesive prove to provide superior grip when ice climbing? Today we talk about the material I am going to try out for this ice climbing season.

Read More
How-To (04), Climbing Gear, Technical Climbing Gear Jason Kolaczkowski How-To (04), Climbing Gear, Technical Climbing Gear Jason Kolaczkowski

What is a Semi-Rigid, Extended Quickdraw? How and Why a Rock Climber Might Build and Use One

A semi-rigid, extended quickdraw is sometimes called a "cheater stick" for rock climbing, but it can be a good tool when we find ourselves on a sport route that has critical bolts placed just beyond our reach. It does introduce new risks that need to be managed, however. This video shares what this tool is, how we can use it safely, and how we can either buy or build one of our own.

Read More

Reviewing the Ocun Webee Kids' Climbing Harness

Our twin boys have diversified their climbing disciplines, moving from top rope to multi-pitch climbing, ice climbing, and even sport climbing on lead. As they've moved into climbs that demand gear management, we needed a new harness that had gear loops but still fit their small frames. That harness is the Ocun Webee Kids' version. Check out the review.

Read More
Climbing Gear, Technical Climbing Gear, How-To (04) Jason Kolaczkowski Climbing Gear, Technical Climbing Gear, How-To (04) Jason Kolaczkowski

Tailored Quickdraws for Rock Climbing Kids: Considerations to Make Secure Clipping Easier

Maybe you have kids and this will help, or maybe just thinking through carabiners more rigorously will help you think through if you want to make changes to your own rack. My twin boys are starting to take on multi-pitch rock climbing and single-pitch sport climbing leads. Both require that they handle quickdraws. In order to make sure they had as easy of time as possible with managing the rope, managing climbing, and managing the gear, I searched for specific carabiner choices for their draws. Here's the criteria we used and the carabiners we've selected.

Read More
Technical Climbing Gear, Climbing Gear Jason Kolaczkowski Technical Climbing Gear, Climbing Gear Jason Kolaczkowski

Which Climbing Carabiner Gate Styles Resist Jamming with Snow and Freezing Best?

If you've ever had a carabiner freeze shut or freeze open, you know how troubling or potentially dangerous it can be. While we always want to try to find the right carabiner for the job, when we add in snow, ice, and cold we need to also consider how resistant our carabiner styles are to freezing. I ran a little experiment to compare how well (or not well) different gate styles stood up to harsh, cold conditions.

Read More

How I Made Kids' Crampons that Fit Small Feet and are Truly Climbing-Worth

Ice climbing. Snow couloir climbing. Even mixed climbing. My kids want to do it all, but off-the-shelf crampons can't fit on their small feet. Here's how I took advantage of the new trend in modular crampon manufacturing to make some crampons that I'd be willing to wear but fit on my kids and work with their limited boot options.

Read More

What's on In My Climbing Rack? Climbing Gear that I Take on Every Climb

While the choice about taking ice screws or nuts or cams or pickets will always depend on route conditions and the route, itself, there are a few items that I take climbing on every trip, whether dry rock, snow, or ice, whether at the crag, in the alpine, or on a glacier. This gear helps me deal with any eventuality from standard climbing needs to terrain beyond my free climbing ability, to rescues.

Read More

Blue Ice Choucas Pro Harness Review for Alpine Climbing, Alpine Scrambles, and Multi-Pitch Climbing

Blue Ice produces some excellent minimalist and ultralight gear for alpine climbing and ski mountaineering. This video reviews the Choucas Pro harness and discusses the pros and cons as well as some climbing genres where the harness may excel.

Read More

Reviewing the La Sportiva Aequilibrium Top Boot: Backpacking, Mountaineering, and Climbing Trips

La Sportiva created three versions of the Aequilibrium boot to help alpinists lose the weight of needing multiple shoes for trips that contained dry approaches with backpacking, snow filled mountaineering, and technical climbing. Can the boot accommodate all of those disparate needs? We provide a full review.

Read More

I Only Use Trekking Poles that Can Fold Up Into My Pack. Here's Why

I use trekking poles to help reduce the impact on my surgically repaired knee from my hiking, backpacking, climbing, and camping... anything that requires a pack and an approach. But I now only use the style of trekking poles that fold up just like tent poles. For me, it's a safety issue. This video describes the safety problem as well as discusses some of the trade-offs I must accept by using this style of pole.

Read More

Why Our Kids Wear the Petzl Picchu Helmet for Climbing and Cycling

Climbing and cycling helmets are different. They are built to respond to different types of forces and have different safety standards. The Petzl Picchu helmet meets both sets of standards, giving your kids one helmet that can safely cover both activities.

Read More