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spwrozek posted:Prana Zion Stretch are sweet climbing pants (and wear all the time pants, they are awesome pants). I tried them on, something about the poly feel wasn't doing it for me so I ended up getting a pair of the Bronson's. they're like mostly cotton but a little bit of stretch and something I could see wearing more casually on days I know I'll be climbing.
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Dec 23, 2014 21:13
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Hi all. Lately I've been trying to find something that gets me out of my apartment and which isn't work or grad school, and I think I would enjoy getting into climbing. Granted, I'm a little intimidated after having read through this thread, but I haven't been scared off (yet). So I'm looking for a place to give it a try. Here's my question for anyone in NYC: what's your opinion of MPHC's climbing gym? I live in Harlem, so the other places I've seen mentioned (The Cliffs at LIC, Brooklyn Boulders) are a lot farther away. I'd like to be able to go after work and not face a 45 minute to an hour commute home when I get done.
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Dec 28, 2014 22:26
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Johnny Longtorso posted:Hi all. Lately I've been trying to find something that gets me out of my apartment and which isn't work or grad school, and I think I would enjoy getting into climbing. Granted, I'm a little intimidated after having read through this thread, but I haven't been scared off (yet). So I'm looking for a place to give it a try. Here's my question for anyone in NYC: what's your opinion of MPHC's climbing gym? I live in Harlem, so the other places I've seen mentioned (The Cliffs at LIC, Brooklyn Boulders) are a lot farther away. I'd like to be able to go after work and not face a 45 minute to an hour commute home when I get done. Ah, my home gym. It's small and very crimpy and the top rope routes are very short. The problems are set very underrated (V2 and V3 are easily V4 and V5 elsewhere) and everyone goes there because it's convenient and fits the bill. The crowd that works there is great and it's got a very homely environment, but honestly the stuff gets old really fast if you go regularly (2+ times a week). They're supposed to set routes every week but lately it's been every 2 weeks, and ever since the Cliffs and Steep Rock opened the crowd's really thinned. It sounds really bad but for a place that's close to work for most folks, being able to get in an hour or two of climbing on the way home is much more beneficial than climbing only on the weekends. Do go and check them out though. I also suggest checking out Steep Rock Bouldering, it's a short bike ride away from Harlem and everyone I've taken there has loved it, and you may find the crowd more catering towards beginners. They don't, however, offer top roping. Are you a student at Columbia? If you're still there in the fall, the rock climbing club there offers discounted memberships to the major gyms in the area. Suicide Watch fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Dec 29, 2014 |
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Dec 29, 2014 03:40
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Suicide Watch posted:Ah, my home gym. It's small and very crimpy and the top rope routes are very short. The problems are set very underrated (V2 and V3 are easily V4 and V5 elsewhere) and everyone goes there because it's convenient and fits the bill. The crowd that works there is great and it's got a very homely environment, but honestly the stuff gets old really fast if you go regularly (2+ times a week). They're supposed to set routes every week but lately it's been every 2 weeks, and ever since the Cliffs and Steep Rock opened the crowd's really thinned. It sounds really bad but for a place that's close to work for most folks, being able to get in an hour or two of climbing on the way home is much more beneficial than climbing only on the weekends. Thanks for your insight. Based on what I've read, I think I'm more interested in top roping than bouldering, but I certainly want to try everything out and see what I like best. I can't imagine, as a beginner, I'll get bored that easily, and I'll probably only be able to go twice a week once school starts (drat endless evening classes). It looks like I can do MPHC for a month with gear for $100, which should be enough time to decide whether or not to stick with them. No, I'm not
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Dec 29, 2014 13:03
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For anyone thinking about bishop this week temps are currently cold but good.
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Dec 31, 2014 20:08
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I bet Popeye would be a really good climber
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Jan 3, 2015 01:22
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I bet he'd be waxed after pulling over two pitches. Climb with your feet, Popeye!
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Jan 3, 2015 20:47
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Drove through Joshua Tree NP yesterday. No time to climb on this trip but it was certainly inspiring.
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Jan 4, 2015 03:49
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I started climbing at a gym again after a year and a half break. Some guy said "nice" several times at my moves while I was traversing, and two girls who were bouldering 5.6s asked for help. Once I got over the "Seriously? Me?" in my head, it was pretty cool.
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Jan 4, 2015 06:14
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MMD3 posted:Drove through Joshua Tree NP yesterday. No time to climb on this trip but it was certainly inspiring. I've only been once but I've climbed half the routes on that rock. I love that place.
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Jan 6, 2015 09:07
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I just switched from my home gym PG SF of four years to Dogpatch/Mission Cliffs because my climbing partner changed and all my coworkers go there. At first I was upset but the place owns to be honest. Features everywhere, taller walls and all sorts of interesting stuff to play on.
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Jan 6, 2015 09:11
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New gym news: Mesa Rim in San Diego is opening a second location about 10 miles south, nearer downtown at the old Bally Total Fitness location (next to TGI Fridays lol). Right by the 163/8 freeway junction. I will probably only make it there on weekends since it's not near my work, but nice nonetheless. Ideally it lessens the crowding at the main gym. Looks like parking could be an issue but too early to tell. This comes right after The Grotto opened about 5 days ago. Small bouldering gym but they have nice walls, if lackluster setting til they figure things out. Also off the 8 freeway buy farther east by SDSU.
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Jan 7, 2015 08:31
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Opinions on the La Sportiva Oxygyms? Climbing like V4
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Jan 8, 2015 06:27
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They have a dumb name
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Jan 8, 2015 08:30
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At least from the pictures they don't look very aggressive and I think at V4 and higher you'd definitely see the benefits by going for a more aggressive shoe. I've also heard of the strapping system breaking on the Solution and those have a similar system though the band looks thicker.
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Jan 8, 2015 13:52
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asur posted:At least from the pictures they don't look very aggressive and I think at V4 and higher you'd definitely see the benefits by going for a more aggressive shoe. I've also heard of the strapping system breaking on the Solution and those have a similar system though the band looks thicker. I had a pair of Solutions I was quite happy with. The strap on one of the shoes broke after the second resoling, but I stitched it back together with a little length of thin webbing and it held up fine after that. The problem with the strapping is that after a long time, the steel eyelets that the strap runs through abrade the strap enough that it can snap. It took a few years on mine though, and was easily fixed. If you like the shoe and aren't afraid of a needle and thread, I wouldn't let that dissuade you. The straps on these look almost twice as thick, so they may be fine anyway. That all said, I haven't climbed with these, just with the Solutions. Edit: I should add that the day my shoe strap broke, I was climbing at the gym. I keep a roll of tape on my chalk bag belt and I literally wrapped my mid-foot in tape to keep the shoe on. I climbed like that for the rest of the day. If I had been on a multi-day trip to a nice climbing destination, I would have been pretty pissed about it. (Although I always bring two pairs of shoes on such a trip, so maybe not.) Since it broke at the gym though I just went home and stitched it back together. armorer fucked around with this message at 14:21 on Jan 8, 2015 |
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Jan 8, 2015 14:13
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Those oxygyms look like they might be good wall shoes for a sweaty gently caress like me. I'd spend thousands on sportiva shoes if money was no object.
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Jan 8, 2015 16:27
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Would Miuras work better than Solutions then, due to their strap system?
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Jan 8, 2015 21:12
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PRADA SLUT posted:Would Miuras work better than Solutions then, due to their strap system? I got a pair of Miura VS after my Solutions. The Solutions are a lot more flexible in the midfoot than the Miura VS, because they have a split sole. From an on-the-rock climbing perspective though I've found that they climb pretty much the same. I still have both pairs, I'll add some pictures here in a minute, including the damage and repair to the strap. I'll have to retire the Solutions soon because I've had them resolved too many times and finally tore a hole in the toe. Edit: Pics! My Miura VS are half a size smaller than my Solutions. I got them later and I guess I wanted a tighter fit? I don't remember really, it's been a while Soles compared: Keep in mind these have both been resoled at least once, but the shape is still essentially the same. The sole on the Solutions is two parts and it will flex a lot in the middle. In practice I never found that to be relevant though. The heel looks like a more structured cup than the Miura VS heel, but they feel similar in that they both tightly cup the heel. If anything the Miura VS heel is tighter. The overall shape and "aggressiveness" of the shoes are very similar. The Solutions might be more comfortable, but I am not sure really since my Miura VS are smaller.  Top shot: The Solutions have a much larger rubber area on the top of the toe. I don't find myself toe hooking enough stuff for that to matter really though.  Damage / Repair to Solutions: It is hard to see, but I actually overlapped the strap by about a cm onto itself, and stitched it back together. I thought I had stitched it to some webbing but I guess I stitched it to itself. You can see that the grommet got a little rusty over time from sweat, which probably it rough enough to wear through the strap.  Bonus shots This is the toe damage that I will retire my Solutions for. I could probably get them repaired again and have Rock & Resole replace the toe caps, but this hole will open up again long before I wear through the new rubber so it's not really worth it. I've gotten more than enough out of these shoes already anyway.  These Miura VS have not been climbed in since I had them resoled last, so this is what new rubber from Rock & Resole looks like. This is a half-sole and toe cap. I forget exactly but I almost certainly requested the 5mm XS Edge rubber. I have no affiliation with them whatsoever, but they have resoled my shoes many times now and I've always been satisfied.  Double Edit: Since I put all this shoe info here, I may as well put out my shoe progression in case it helps anyone. My first pair of shoes were Scarpa Technos. They were way, way better shoes than I needed as a beginner climber. I basically abused the rubber on them learning to climb properly, and after a year or so sent them in to get resoled. At that point I figured I should get more aggressive shoes, since the Technos weren't aggressive at all. I bought the Solutions while waiting for the Technos to come back, and went back and forth between them for a while. I wore through the Solutions before a big climbing trip and wanted aggressive shoes with me, and I had already broken and repaired the Solutions strap, so I bought the Miuras VS. (Shoes are expensive, sigh). This was over several years mind you, so the costs were spread out. On that trip or some other one around the same time, I managed to lose ONE Techno. I had them on a non-locking biner and one must have popped off when I sat down on a boulder to drink some water hiking out, because when I got to the car there was only one there. I bought some Mythos to replace the Technos, because I wanted comfy shoes. Currently I am mostly gym climbing on the Mythos. When summer rolls around again, I'll be going back and forth between the Miura VS and the Mythos depending on where / what I am climbing. armorer fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Jan 8, 2015 |
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Jan 8, 2015 21:35
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Shoe chat: i have a pair of the Miura VS, but when I was trying on slightly larger solutions I think the Solutions were much more comfortable due to the neoprene sock. For reference my Miura VS are downsized around 1.5 sizes from street (8/8.5-7). With regards to shoes, there are a lot of complaints that the metal buckles the Miura's straps go through will cut through the strap if you're not careful about the buckles hitting the rock. I have Morton's toe and slightly wider low volume feet however, and I can't really walk in my Miuras without a lot of pain in my toes because of how the aggressive asymmetrical shape squishes them together. I might be looking for more comfortable yet still down turned shoes next payday - looking at the Tenaya Tarifas, but I'm leery of buying shoes without trying them on in person before parting with cash after my experience with the Miuras. chami fucked around with this message at 22:48 on Jan 8, 2015 |
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Jan 8, 2015 22:42
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quote:With regards to shoes, there are a lot of complaints that the metal buckles the Miura's straps go through will cut through the strap if you're not careful about the buckles hitting the rock. This has started to happen with my pair of Miura VS. If I had better footwork it probably wouldn't be a problem, but I guess I don't. Last week I got a pair of Velcro Katanas from STP, on sale for about $80. I plan to use them most of the time to preserve the Miuras. I got the a full size larger than the Miura so they're a lot more comfortable too. The Miuras put a lot of pressure on my big toe and I can't wear them for extended periods.
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Jan 8, 2015 22:59
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Crabby Abby posted:This has started to happen with my pair of Miura VS. If I had better footwork it probably wouldn't be a problem, but I guess I don't. Interesting. I hadn't heard about that but I just looked at mine and sure enough there is damage there. More damage to the fabric holding the steel buckle part on than to the strap, but that would actually be harder to fix if it snapped.  I will have to keep an eye on that. I hadn't really examined them closely there before. These have seen a lot of use and been resoled, and I am confident that they'll last through at least another resoling before that becomes an issue though. The damage on mine is only on the last buckle. There is some minor wear to the other straps, but nothing that would cause a problem. (The shoe will wear out elsewhere before those straps break.) Edit: I don't really think I could have avoided this with better footwork. Sometimes your instep really needs to be right up against the wall like that for tiny feet and the shoe is just going to rub no matter what you do.
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Jan 8, 2015 23:07
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To add a different perspective on shoes to the mix (as I've owned 5 pairs of solutions, 4 pairs of Miura VS and countless other pairs of shoes), there is definitely a difference in performance between the two. The Miura is made to be a high-performance edging shoe, meaning it's sharply downturned, uses XS Edge rubber and more of it, and has a much stiffer midsole than the solution. The solution's flexibility makes it a better smearing shoe and its overall shape makes small footholds on steep terrain more accessible. The Miura VS, however versatile it may be, pales in comparison on steep terrain. Overall, when in doubt I defer to the solution, but on vertical or slightly less than vertical terrain the VS is excellent.
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Jan 8, 2015 23:25
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ConspicuousEvil posted:To add a different perspective on shoes to the mix (as I've owned 5 pairs of solutions, 4 pairs of Miura VS and countless other pairs of shoes), there is definitely a difference in performance between the two. The Miura is made to be a high-performance edging shoe, meaning it's sharply downturned, uses XS Edge rubber and more of it, and has a much stiffer midsole than the solution. The solution's flexibility makes it a better smearing shoe and its overall shape makes small footholds on steep terrain more accessible. The Miura VS, however versatile it may be, pales in comparison on steep terrain. Overall, when in doubt I defer to the solution, but on vertical or slightly less than vertical terrain the VS is excellent. That makes sense. You have had way more shoes than I have, and I'll happily defer to your experience on that alone. When I want a shoe for technical face climbing, smearing, or tiny feet, I would go to the Technos. Whenever I wear out my Mythos I will probably get a pair of the Techno X ones they are making now if they feel similar. Obviously La Sportiva makes the two different shoes for a reason. Given three shoes though: Technos (or Mythos), Miura VS, and Solutions, the Miura and Solutions filled the same role for me.
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Jan 8, 2015 23:31
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Trip Report: Red Rocks is amazing, 30 ish foot lead falls (Yaak Crack is amazingly fun) are scary as gently caress, highballing (Perfect Poser in cold weather = you can't feel the holds!) is scary as gently caress.
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Jan 9, 2015 03:07
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Buy futuras, suck less
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Jan 9, 2015 06:29
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magicalmako posted:Trip Report: Red Rocks is amazing, 30 ish foot lead falls (Yaak Crack is amazingly fun) are scary as gently caress, highballing (Perfect Poser in cold weather = you can't feel the holds!) is scary as gently caress. you might want to have a chat with your belayer if you're taking 30 ft whippers off any point of yaak crack
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Jan 9, 2015 06:40
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I'm probably over estimating the fall length but it felt pretty far. edit: Was also pulling slack when my grip failed. magicalmako fucked around with this message at 08:01 on Jan 9, 2015 |
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Jan 9, 2015 06:52
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I just bouldered at Red Rocks for the first time last weekend too. The rock is great. Perfect Poser looks so easy and I feel like I can totally do it but I'm too much of a pussy. I notice the ratings on easy stuff is softer than at Bishop. Lots of problems rated V1/V2, which would definitely be V0's at Bishop. Interesting how that happens
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Jan 9, 2015 08:04
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Man I suck at climbing and am super weak at the moment. Went bouldering indoors yesterday and I hurt so much today. Does anyone live in SW England and know about decent bouldering near Bristol? I moved down here recently and as far as I can see other than trad in Avon Gorge there's not a lot about; Dartmoor seems like the closest proper venue.
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Jan 9, 2015 14:59
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big scary monsters posted:Man I suck at climbing and am super weak at the moment. Went bouldering indoors yesterday and I hurt so much today. Dartmoor's fantastic for climbing! I'm taking a week holiday there in April for it. Haven't climbed in Bristol, but spoke about it with my cousin just a couple of weeks ago - he used to climb a lot and said there's at least 4 climbing gyms, he boulders specifically. Not sure where though, sorry. Otherwise, you're not too far from Wales for the odd big day out...
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Jan 9, 2015 17:31
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Yeah, I've been to a couple of the bouldering venues, Bloc is pretty good and The Climbing Academy is alright although not as good as the one in Glasgow. I'm a big fan of Dartmoor, the granite there is where I first cut my teeth (and hands) climbing. Just seems to be a dearth of local crags I can nip down to for an after work boulder - I used to live in West Yorks and being able to get to Caley or Almscliff in 20 minutes has sort of spoiled me I think.
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Jan 9, 2015 17:45
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big scary monsters posted:Yeah, I've been to a couple of the bouldering venues, Bloc is pretty good and The Climbing Academy is alright although not as good as the one in Glasgow. I'm a big fan of Dartmoor, the granite there is where I first cut my teeth (and hands) climbing. Ahh yeah for outdoors you've a bit less choice. Same situation here - I'm about 45 minutes away from the nearest crag, and it's the Southern Sandstone so only available when it's not been raining (so about 4 months a year, and it's not great even then). I can sympathize!
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Jan 9, 2015 17:52
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I am interested in doing indoor rock climbing as a sport a friend has been hyping it up to me, so I have a couple of questions:- 1- is it a legit good way to burn calories? I'm currently running 3 miles four days a week and dieting, and I'm looking to add something that would work and burn my muscles as well, does this do the job? 2- will this cause numbness and pain to my hands/fingers beyond normal fatigue? I am an artist, and I had a bad experience with boxing where every time I would end the session my hands would shake uncontrollably for a few hours afterwards and I wouldn't be able to draw for half a day, does the same thing happen with rock climbing? I know these are simplistic questions I just haven't found good answers elsewhere. Thanks
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Jan 9, 2015 23:58
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Al-Saqr posted:I am interested in doing indoor rock climbing as a sport a friend has been hyping it up to me, so I have a couple of questions:- 1 - It's ok. The activity itself burns a lot of calories, more than running from estimates I've seen, however it's not efficient from a time perspective as you only climb between 25% to 50% of the time when you're in the gym. It's still not bad, but if you're trying to replace days of running then you'll need to spend at least 2x the time to do. As a note I haven't had any problems doing both. 2 - I don't think so. I've never boxed, but I've never had an issue with my hands shaking from climbing. You'll definitely feel your forearms get pumped, but it goes away pretty quickly.
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Jan 10, 2015 00:10
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1) I wouldn't approach it as some sort of weight loss miracle, look at John Dunne. I suspect just running more or doing weights would be more effective, climbing is pretty fun though! And you don't see many fat 8a climbers... 2) This should definitely not happen, if you experience numbness after climbing you are doing something seriously wrong. You might feel some upper body muscle soreness after a hard session and indoor climbing especially can be tough on your skin.
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Jan 10, 2015 00:11
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Al-Saqr posted:I am interested in doing indoor rock climbing as a sport a friend has been hyping it up to me, so I have a couple of questions:- 1. It's a great exercise, with the benefit that it's (in my opinion) way more fun than running or going to the gym! Meaning you're more likely to stick with it. 2. Shouldn't make your arms shake, however at the beginning, the day after a good climbing session your forearms will be very sore. This can be minimised with stretching before and after, and gets much better with time, I rarely get very sore these days.
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Jan 10, 2015 00:31
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Anyone been to Malaga for climbing? I'm looking for some place to go for spring break and southern Spain would be nicer if I could do some climbing.
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Jan 10, 2015 00:41
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Al-Saqr posted:2- will this cause numbness and pain to my hands/fingers beyond normal fatigue? I am an artist, and I had a bad experience with boxing where every time I would end the session my hands would shake uncontrollably for a few hours afterwards and I wouldn't be able to draw for half a day, does the same thing happen with rock climbing? Expect to destroy your grip the first few times you go - first time I went climbing I could barely squeeze the brake levers on my bike as I rode home. That stopped happening after a few sessions though.
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Jan 10, 2015 04:57
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In my expert opinion of having been twice, the first time (last weekend) killed my grip strength for the rest of the day and left my arms pretty sore. Second time (Thursday) was a lot better; I have a tiny bit of soreness in my shoulders but nothing aside from that. And this is coming from not exercising beyond living in New York and having to walk everywhere, which obviously wouldn't affect my upper body any.
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Jan 10, 2015 18:28
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