The stereotype of a rock climber is someone laden down with coils of rope, pickaxe and a helmet, with carabiners, clips, and other shapes of metal hanging everywhere. Fortunately, the reality is much lighter – on both our shoulders and our pocketbooks. All climbers really need is climbing shoes and a harness, both of which are affordable when compared to the specialized equipment required in other sports.
Climbing Shoes
No other equipment is as vital to a great climbing experience as climbing shoes. Climbing in running shoes is possible, and lots of climbers get started that way, but switching to climbing shoes will dramatically increase your abilities. Climbing shoes feature a soft grippy rubber, and a tight close fit that lets the foot squeeze onto and stick to small features. Climbs that seem impossible in regular shoes become effortless with climbing shoes.
Proper fit from the go is critical, as shoes that are too small will stay painful and discourage climbing. Shoes should be snug with toes touching the end and locked together. Shoes range from $90 to $200, but you should focus more on fit than price when picking a pair. Each brand and model fits a bit different.
The Junction has been adding more and more brands to its pro-shop, including Mad Rock, Evolv, Boreal and Butora. If you’re interested, you can try the shoes when climbing at the Junction.
Harnesses
No item is as important to a climber as their harness. It is their connection to safety through the rope. All harnesses are built to the same strength specifications – a low cost harness will be as strong as the most expensive one. As with shoes, comfort is the most important feature in a harness. Higher priced harnesses will feature lighter materials or extra adjustability that may or may not be necessary.
The Junction sells harnesses from Mad Rock, Petzl and Beal at prices ranging from $60 to $140. One of the benefits of purchasing harnesses at the Junction is that you can try the gear on a real rock wall to determine which fits best.
If you’d rather not commit to buying gear, we have rentals available at very reasonable prices. For more information on the gear that we carry, as well as other gear like belay devices, rope and chalk bags, check out our pro shop or ask our friendly staff.
Submitted by Junction Clumbing Centre
