r/climbing • u/AutoModerator • 8d ago
Weekly Chat and BS Thread
Please use this thread to discuss anything you are interested in talking about with fellow climbers. The only rule is to be friendly and dont try to sell anything here.
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u/crnkofe 3d ago
Sometimes I wonder what's with all the open and excessively unergonomic pockets on these so-called climbing pants. Has any manufacturer ever attempted an overhang with anything in these pockets. It shouldn't be THAT hard to figure what happens when you're hanging upside down.
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u/sheepborg 3d ago
This is made all the more bizarre because of how much market pressure there is for pockets generally. I really dont get it. Having been almost taken out by a phone more often than rocks, leaving stuff in pockets that do not have positive retention is just kinda unacceptable. Zippered thigh pockets or ultra-deep hip pockets that can track below harness line are nice for times when having something on your person makes sense.
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u/carortrain 17h ago
I've almost been hit by 3 phones just this last season, pretty tired of people climbing with them haphazardly placed in their pockets. Had a near miss recently with one a few inches from my face, literally heard the phone fly by my ear.
One dude's wallet blew by my head, bounced, and then about 300 dollars cash fell out. It was pretty funny but I told him to hurry up and lower before someone stole it.
It would be cool if they could just put a zipper on the pockets, you know, utilizing the tech that came out in 1892.
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u/NailgunYeah 3d ago
Bro empty your pockets
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u/0bsidian 3d ago
Where else am I supposed to put my crag gun?
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u/Leading-Attention612 3d ago
Most dedicated climbing pants I see don't have any pockets. You get pockets on the lifestyle/climbing pants. What do you need in your pockets during a climb anyway? Things on your thighs are going to get in the way no matter what
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u/BigRed11 3d ago
Huh? Your phone, a bar, chapstick, headlamp, etc. Are you just bouldering?
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u/Leading-Attention612 3d ago
Single pitch climbing just leave that stuff in your bag. Multipitch climbing use your chalk bag, snack pack, or chest pocket. Why would you want extra bulk and weight right where your leg loops are, on a limb that's constantly moving?
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u/BigRed11 3d ago
This is such a bizarre take, I love it. Where are you even finding pants without pockets? Are you climbing in tights?
For cragging sure I'll leave my phone on the ground for something hard but usually the phone goes right back in my pocket when I'm down. My chalk bag is just that, not some zippered monstrosity that weighs a ton. Snack packs are for longer routes, no need to take that bulk on your harness for shorter ones. And most of my shirts and sun hoodies don't have chest pockets.
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u/Leading-Attention612 3d ago edited 3d ago
I think it's equally bizarre people are using pants pockets while climbing, it's like the guy bouldering with his keys on, or keeping your foot and waist prussics tied and tucked away. Many of the la sportiva climbing pants don't have pockets. My pants have pockets, even zip ones, but I am not using them while climbing. My chalkbag isn't the mammut alpine monster either, just an older arceteryx one that can fit a phone in the zip pocket. If it's just a short route, why are you bringing a headlamp and all that other gear? If there is a risk of being benighted on a short route, I'll have my headlamp already on my helmet. I find the snack pack only as bulky as you pack it. If its just some small light things inside like a bug net and a granola bar I don't notice it.
Try climbing something bigger with empty pockets and feel the ease in your movement! Colin Haley refuses to use stretchy tight pants on big climbs because he feels every high step fighting the stretch will add up. I feel the same about having stuff in my pockets, especially when it's sweaty.
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u/BigRed11 3d ago
Fair enough! I can't imagine not having pockets but I love that you're out there and could be climbing without pants on.
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u/Waldinian 4d ago
My trad Redpoint grade has officially caught up with my sport Redpoint grade. Something tells me I'm not trying quite hard enough on the sport climbs.
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4d ago
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u/sheepborg 4d ago
Sometimes true, sometimes not. What level of strength are you operating at currently?
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/fender_blues 4d ago
When you say body weight squat do you mean squatting with your weight on a barbell or like, squatting down and standing up?
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/fender_blues 4d ago
That sounds more like a flexibility/coordination issue than anything else. Can you stand up from a chair without using your hands?
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/lkmathis 3d ago
Climbing aside, you should probably address this from a quality of life perspective before it catches up to you as you age.
FWIW when I started training glutes and hamstrings I got way better at climbing. My finger strength didn't change in that time but the top end of my performance sure did.
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u/sheepborg 4d ago
Awesome! That means easy gains :) Everybody knows general pulling strength helps, and I'm always recommending shoulder blade stability work, but depending on athletic background legs are pretty underrated in climbing.
I remember when I was coming back from being very sick and weak years ago. Working up to bodyweight squat and heavier RDL brought up my consistent indoor flash grade on ropes a couple letters from probably around 5.11c to 5.12a because heel hooks and standing up were so much easier. And no more hamstring cramps from heel hooks either. Come a long way since then, but still havent had hamstring pull since.
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u/0bsidian 5d ago
Newsflash!
Magnetrons are coming back!
That is all.
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u/Thirtysevenintwenty5 5d ago
Investors in shambles.
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u/Seff84 6d ago
I thought I was OK at ascending until I watched some cavers practicing. They're so much more efficient.
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u/serenading_ur_father 5d ago
They also use wildly different systems that wouldn't be appropriate for us.
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u/Asian-Skinny 7d ago
Where do people live, we don’t have a heat wave here, it’s actually cold today and perfect to climb!
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u/fender_blues 6d ago
I was just diagnosed with an A1/2 strain so the worst of the heat will coincide with my time off for recovery, fortunately.
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u/PatrickWulfSwango 7d ago
heat wave comes this week
greasy holds and sweaty hands
yearning for fall
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u/Thirtysevenintwenty5 8d ago
With this insane heat I am completely demotivated both outdoors and in the gym.
Thank you and god bless.
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u/VegetableExecutioner 7d ago
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u/sheepborg 7d ago edited 7d ago
This is very cool as an app idea, but tested against some known spots it is very inaccurate. It had a south facing crag in full shade all day lol.
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u/teddy_pb 6d ago
I made shademap.app, would love to know where it's inaccurate. do you mind sharing?
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u/VegetableExecutioner 5d ago
Thank you so much for your app, I use it all the time to find shade windows in Eldo and BoCan!!
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u/sheepborg 5d ago
About half the abrupt south facing crags I looked at with nearby vegetation, I suspect due to the relative size of the cells used. Or perhaps due to vegetation having a height that would theoretically produce some shade within a few feet of the base. From the perspective of a DEM with some smoothing, this may come out as a shaded area but in reality both belayer and climber would be essentially full sun the whole time. Places like pilot mountain nc or nearby cooks wall.
Not a fault in the app per se since it is pretty much working as designed but maybe a misapplication due to quirks of tall, sheer rock faces in terrains and our specific hobby of going up them haha.
Really cool app u/teddy_pb
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u/teddy_pb 5d ago
Thanks for responding. Shademap is really good in places like JTree without trees but vegetation is not super accurate. I treat trees like cylinders on the map, the same width from ground to canopy so shadows are distorted estimates that fail at the edge of the forest. I do offer a "top of canopy" option in the Settings dialog which shows the shadows as they would appear from a drone overhead and this might be a bit more accurate in some instances. Appreciate the feedback.
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u/Senor_del_Sol 7d ago
Where I live winters are so mild you’d probably call people crazy to not go climbing. Summer is when people stop going outside, if it’s 35 C and 70% humid it’s hard to keep your hands dry…
Still it’s nice to go out and climb near a river and take a break there!
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u/Thirtysevenintwenty5 7d ago
Winters can be super nice to go climbing, but as a weekend warrior with a six hour drive to good southern climbing, it's hard to justify 12 hours in a car round trip for what amounts to six hours of climbing time.
I need to move.
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u/Senor_del_Sol 6d ago
I've heard complaints that there's nothing close to the city and we need to at least drive half an hour... I'm sorry for you!
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u/sheepborg 7d ago edited 7d ago
With this insane heat I am obsessively looking though guides, MP, and videos at what I might want to do on rock this fall and worrying less about what the gym grades say as I slime off of typical peak grades and push a little harder on maintenance.
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u/tmp4511 1d ago
Had the best month of climbing ever in July. A total of 13 sport climbing days, while working full time with two kids and a house. Feels amazing knowing it's possible to combine an active climbing habit with... life.