A Beginner's Guide to Climbing Gear

If you’re brand new to the world climbing, shopping for gear can begin to feel like an overwhelming task. Not only is there an endless range of gear- from brands, to styles, to different types of equipment, but also a hefty price tag attached.

The good news is, we’re experts at this whole thing, so we’re here tell you exactly what you need to start, and what you can hold off on.
Let’s break things down in a simple way:

Stage One: The Necessities

• Climbing Shoes

We don’t need to complicate things here. All you really need to start climbing is a solid pair of climbing shoes. Paired with a membership to in Indoor Climbing Gym, climbing shoes, a bouldering route, and the itch to boulder is all you need to get up the wall. 

When starting, you’ll want for a versatile, less aggressive climbing shoe. This will provide you some flexibility in different environments and routes.

WOMENS:

SCARPA Women’s Origin Shoe

LA SPORTIVA Women's Mythos Shoe

MENS:

LA SPORTIVA Men's Finale Shoe

Stage Two: Your New Best Friends

• Chalk

Chalk and climbing go together like Salt and Pepper. Chalk increases the friction between your hands and the holds by removing sweat from your hands, making it easier to hold onto those tricky holds.

There are a few different types of chalk: block chalk, loose chalk, eco chalk, and liquid chalk. 

• Chalk Bag

This is the fun part- think of it as your way to accessorize a little bit! There are few differences from one chalk bag to the next, so choose whichever one is most eye- catching to you!

• Climbing Harness

A climbing harness is necessary if you have plan on doing any sort of rope climbing. Many times, climbing gyms offer harnesses for rental, so you can see if roping is your jam!

WOMENS:

PETZL Women's Luna Harness

MENS:

BLACK DIAMOND EQUIPMENT Men's Momentum Harness 

• Belay Device

An ATC is a great choice for a belay device. Not only is it great for beginner belayers, but it’s quite affordable as well!

BLACK DIAMOND EQUIPMENT Atc-Guide

• Carabiners

A Carabiner locks you, your rope, and your harness into your ATC device. A good carabiner is important to assure your safety.

Oval Key Lock Screw Gate

Stage 3: The Passion Grows (and so does your gear collection)

As time progresses, you will slowly build up your climbing gear. There is no need to go buy everything at once. Climbing is something that you're going to want to invest in slowly but surely overtime.

We will warn you... climbing is addicting! Once you get in the swing of things, we have no doubt that you’ll fall in love with a feeling you only experience from being on the rock.