Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25179
+- BELAY IDIEVIC S Testing Ground: Big Rock. CA In the late 1960s and early 1970s. pioneering climbers perfected their climbing techniques and gear at Big Rock. With the crag's rich history in mind. we pitted the latest belay devices against the legendary rocks. Belay devices serve a simple. lifesaving purpose: to help the belayer stop the rope when a climber falls. When a device is connected to a cara- biner and the climber's rope is run through. it adds fridion to the rope. working opposite to a pulley. That fridion enables a 130-pound belayer to stop a 200- pound climber from crashing to the ground. Today. some newer devices use a system ROPES Testing Ground: Forest Falls. CA Cleveland National Forest offers a range of climbing for all abilities. And with a few rope-grabbing cracks and fridion-friendly ledges. it was a perfect place to test the durability of our ropes. Climbers need a rope that can handle being stepped on. thrown in the dirt and tangled into unmanageable knots. There are no firm guidelines for a rope's useful life. but a well-cared-for rope should last at least three seasons of top-roping. Most ropes are tested to withstand a certain number of climber falls. Good ropes are rated for eight or more falls. but that generally doesn't apply to top-roping. as this type of climbing puts less stress on the rope. Ropes vary greatly when it comes to durability. weight. stretch. ease of use. features and width (for top-roping. a good width is in the 10.3 mm to 10.5 mm range). While climbing the Falls. we tested each rope for how easily it slid through the belay device. whether it twisted and tangled and how much it stretched during a fall (undesirable for top-roping but good for most other types of climbing). We also looked at how their sheaths withstood a hard day of climbing and how waterproof they were. OBLUEPICKO Mammut Flash 10.5 mm The Flash is a lightweight, high-strength rope with great shock-absorbing properties, which saved some of the climbers from head-jarring jolts without stretching too much. Mammut packed this rope with special features, like its S&Z core, which resists twisting and tangling. It also has a clear- ly marked midpoint, at which the rope changes its pattern. The Flash is a great rope for beginners as well as aspiring big-wall climbers. MAMMUT, 69 GRAMS/METER, WWW.ADVEN- TUREl6.COM, 619-283-6314, $184 Sterling Marathon 10.6 mm Sterling designed the Marathon to take all the punishment enthusiastic craggers can throw at it. Its sheath withstood hours of being dragged through narrow cracks and scraped over gnarly ledges. At the end of the day it was the same as when it came out of the plastic bag. The rope was meaty enough to add friction during belays but svelte enough to be pulled easily through an ATC. STERLING, 75 GRAMS/METER, WWW.STERLlNG- ROPE.COM, 207-885-0330, $178 Blue Water Un-named 10.3 mm dry rope We put Blue Water's newest rope (it has yet to be named) to the test before anyone even tied in when an errant throw put the rope dead center in a natural pool. A moment after retriev- ing it, the rope was dry and ready to climb. It slid through the belay device with ease but stretched a lot on falls. This rope is a good choice for the new climber who will someday climb 5.10 pitches-or has grand illusions of doing so. BLUE WATER, 72 GRAMS/MEiTER, WWW.BLUEWA- TERR0PES.COM, 770-834-7515, $181 63 of cams (rotating. toothed wheels) that automatically pinch the rope. stopping a falling climber without any response from the belayer. We used Big Rock's demanding climbs to test how easily and quickly our belay devices stopped the rope when a climber slipped. how smoothly rope slid through and the sim- plicity of their design. o BLUE PICK 0 Black Diamond ATC The ATC was the lightest. cheapest device tested and the easiest to use. Ropes slid smoothly through the ATC and it is proficient at stopping the rope when a climber falls. With no bells and whistles, the ATC is time-tested and will be a sta- ple for years to come. It has a basic tube design that accom- modates two ropes (two-rope belaying is sometimes used in lead climbing to reduce rope drag). It also works well as a rappel device. BLACK DIAMOND, 50 GRAMS, WWW.BLACKDIAMOND- EQUIPMENT.COM, 801-278-5533, $16.95 Trango Jaws The Jaws has a design similar to the ATC, but incorporates V- shaped notches on its edges. The notches increase the con- tact area between rope and device, reducing the force a belayer has to exert when stopping the rope. Like the ATC, the Jaws can also be used as a rappel device or to belay two ropes at the same time. While the V-notches make stopping the rope easier on the Jaws than the ATCs, they hinder feed- ing the rope, creating jerky belays and rappels. TRANGO, 68 GRAMS, WWW.TRANGO.COM. 800-860- 3653,$20 Petzl Grigri The Grigri has an auto-stopping and arm-release system that automatically stops the rope when a climber falls. The piece is so dependable that many rock gyms have banned all other devices. The Grigri is also great for situations when a climber needs to take a break in the middle of a climb, since it will hold the rope without any pressure from the belayer. On the down- side, it is heavy (nearly five times the weight of the ATC), bulky, pricey and cannot be used for rappelling. Also, don't confuse automatic with easy to use. The Grigri is a complex device, and it takes time to become proficient using it-overkill when it comes to top-roping. PETZL, 225 GRAMS, WWW.PETZL.COM. 801·327· 3805,$70 SHOES Testing Ground: Joshua Tree National Monument. CA J-Tree offers more than 5.000 climbing routes. and nearly every one of them requires dexterous foot movement to negotiate the slight cracks and towering chimneys. Comfortable. tight-fitting shoes are a necessity. Over the last few years. climbing shoes have become specialized: there are shoes for big-wall climbing. gym climbing and low-angle climbing and shoes that handle all types of rock conditions-the type we focused on. With specialization. manufactur- ers can concentrate on the important features. name- ly. shoes that are supportive. responsive and stick to the rock for Spiderman-like moves. We tested the shoes for those qualities. looked for how easily one could get into and out of the shoes. and paid close attention to how comfortable the shoes were. o BLUE PICK 0 La Sportiva Mythos La Sportiva's sorcery has created a shoe that is unmatched in its combination of comfort and stability (the oil and water of climbing shoe design). You can even make heel hooks in comfort. Several women climbers said the shoe fil better than any others they tested. The Vibram Formula XSV 4.0 mm sole was firm enough for a full day of scampering up cracks but was not as sticky on faces as Five Ten's Anasazi or Boreal's Ballet. LA SPORTlVA, WWW.SPORTIVA.COM. 303·443- 8710, $138 Five Ten Women's Zlipper Five Ten claims to have designed the first sport climbing shoe just for women. Judging by the difficulty we had getting the shoes back from the women testers, they did a good job. The pointy toe, C4 sole and secure fit (atypical of most slip- pers) make the Zlipper a solid shoe that handled well both on faces and in the cracks. The locking zipper makes it ultra- fast to put on and take off. FIVE TEN, WWW.FIVETEN.COM. 909-798-4222, $110 Boreal Ballet Gold This is one shoe that handles whatever you throw at it. The Ballet's precise toe and accentuated arch allow excellent foot manipulation for technical edging, hooking or jamming--all very necessary moves at J-Tree. The mid-high uppers protect climbers' ankles when they're rooting around for the perfect foothold. The high heel, however, rested painfully against the Achilles' of several climbers. BOREAL, WWW.BOREALUSA.C0M, 949-498-1011, $150