Gear review section?

[firedawgUSAF]

Just wondering if anyone else thinks it might be a good idea to have a gear and/or korean climbing shop review section on the site. Might be a good place for people getting into climbing to find out what specific types of gear we find most useful.

Yats

To qualify for rescue work, you have to pass our test. The doctor holds a flashlight to your ear. If he can see light coming out the other one, you qualify

[Ricky]

Okay. Here's an entry for gear reviews.

I'm sure there are many other shops closer to where everyone is. But if anyone happens to be in Mokpo or the surrounding regions, and needs gear, there are a couple places you can go.

Low Alpine is across from E-mart. This place carries climbing shoes, harnesses, helmets, quickdraws, locking beaners, ropes, figure eights, gri-gri's and I'm pretty sure they have some trad...what...cams? They also have chalk (in case your at Kokiri and you run out). The guy always cuts me a deal because I'm a member of a local climbing club. I don't even ask him, he just does it.

Another place is called Terkstar or K2 camp. It's near the Hadang police station. Just down the street. They have few, but some shoes and harnesess. Lowe Alpine is better, but this is also where you rent snowboards in the winter and catch the bus to Muju.

So here it is. And will anyone ever find this review useful? Probably not, since I'm the only foreign climber here. I'm soooo lonely :(

[ricardo]

here are two places to search for gear reviews or to post questions you can't find answers for. the reader base is huge and you will probably find both the useless smartass comments along with the uber-geek super-technical responses.

rockclimbing.com (http://www.rockclimbing.com/forum/gear_heads)
cascadeclimbers.com (http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/postlist.php/Cat/0/Board/UBB9)

edit: good idea on the shop reviews!

[skinsk]

Good point. There are so many climbing shops in Korea, but it's always good to know which ones carry the gear and sizes we need, or come with recommendations for all the reasons we would recommend a shop back home. It's a shame that all of this information is buried in threads. Sure, you are THE Mokpo climber now, but it would be nice if the next guy/girl would be able to find this info easily whenever s/he arrives. . . and benefit from the information that you've found out over time (or that other people have for their cities). Maybe a "Shopping Guide" is the next order of the day (a forum?. . .directory?).

[Eric]

Maybe a "Shopping Guide" is the next order of the day (a forum?. . .directory?).
let me think about the organization of that...

Something like:

Shopping Guide
>>Seoul
>>>> [thread]store one
>>>> [thread]store two
>>>> [thread]store three
>>Busan
>>>> [thread]store one
etc...

opinions?

[Pedro de Pacas]

I'll throw in some threads for my favorite auto parts. I know of some great places to get a fan belt.

[firedawgUSAF]

Eric that sounds good I was thinking of a place to review any products we have and recommend to others. i.e I purchased a pair of korean climbing shoes and really like them. I am sure others have also purchased gear here in the ROK. It would be nice to know what other climbers think of gear before purchesing especially when communicating with the store owners can be difficult due to the language barrier. Pedro I think rick could have used that info about 2 weeks ago :D
Yats

[mp31bravo]

Gear is way to expensive here in Korea. Pick what you want from Acme, pagan, Mntools, Rei or whatever and another KOTR members can order it for you.

[shanja]

After the Meet and Greet where we got in a fair whack of multi-pitching, I'd really like to say the "REVERSO" is such a great belay tool.
Works sweet as a 'off the harness' belay for either L or R handed folk, has a BIG attachment loop that gives heaps of room for tying of a belay (mule hitch etc) and is easy to feed with either single or double/twin ropes (even iced up ropes are pretty OK (try that in your gri-gri!).
By flipping the REVERSO upside down you can get a more positive lock-off, which again could be a nice feature with icy ropes, heavy load or on single rope rappels.
The sweetest feature though is that it can work as a self-locking tool (like a gri-gri or Trango CINCH) when rigged in Top-Belay mode.This requires you to belay off the anchor and used an extra locking crab (biner). Although I strongly advise against taking your hand off ANY brake strand, with ANY tool, you can do so with this set up. This lets the top belayer adjust things, take photos, rest etc. Just don't make it a bad habit to always do so. Taking in with the tool off the anchor (hence up in front of you usually) and self locking (a relatively soft lock off, not a metal on rope mechanical pinch) frees one/ both hands to:
1-stack that taken in slack rope neatly across the daisy chain etc
2-pull on the take strand with both hands (heavy 2nd or haul bag etc)
3-belay two (2) seconding climbers (have a super bomber anchor please!) simultaneously
4-take pictures, adjust the anchor, deal with tangles etc

On the down side, it is heavier than a standard tube tool (but only just), and a bit more expensive. Also the easy feed mouth where you put in the ropes doesn't work as well as a standard tube tool at prussik tending on haul/rescue system anchors (when used in normal mode-like off the harness set up). Prussiks can get sucked in to the tool a bit. Using it in self lock mode would solve this problem (no need for the prussik!) but all haul and rescue systems should be reversible (releasable under load) which isn't easy with the REVERSO in self-lock mode.
I'm on my second REVERSO now (1st is at bottom of a crevasse near Mount Cook), and a newer model is out with minor changes to the feeding/braking edges. Usually retails in Korea for abour 50,000won and well worth it I reckon. Any comments or queries?

[ricardo]

I second the reverso recommendation! I've had mine since spring and I love it! I think it's a little wider than most ATC's so fatter ropes don't feel as 'catchy' going through the device.
I have an open ended offer to anyone on this site to order gear from an American company so you can get lower prices and low (if any) shipping costs. For example; Backcountry.com (http://www.backcountry.com) has reverso's for $26 and usually ships in a week. [pm for requests]

[shanja]

OK folks we have recently got a fair number of new to climbing members some with little or no gear, but lots of enthusiasm. I've pm-ed answers individually in the past but why don't we post some advice publicly here on the following topic:
What shoes to buy for a beginner?
Sizing debate, the style choices, models and brands as well as pricing etc. I'm sure we would all have appreciated better beta on gear we've purchased in the past...so share your thoughts and help out each other!

[shanja]

the shoes issue...although it is really a personal preference thing. The "normal" view is that the tighter the shoes the harder you can climb, because the are more sensitive, you have less foot slippage (in the shoe) and so on. This has some truth and a lot of top climbers do wear really tight shoes. Rock shoes also stretch a bit over time so buying a bit tight can mean shoes 'fit better' for longer....BUT top climbers and the rest of us are different. The scrunching pain they tolerate is way beyond what most of us would bear...they are getting paid, they have well developed foot muscles and mental control etc.
To be honest, shoes should be tight but not painful. Especially if you are just getting into climbing or thinking about doing multi-pitch routes, or a lot of endurance training (low level-long time bouldering training etc) YOUR SHOES SHOULD NOT CAUSE MUCH IF ANY DISCOMFOT. Climbing is about focus and freedom of movement in some ways, if you know what I mean. If all you can think about is how painful your feet feel, it's gonna distract you from focussing on your movements, form and problem solving (where's the next hold, what's the best body shift, how nice is this rock! etc). Also it will do nothing to encourage you to train regularly if it's painful. Forget the shop-talk hype about super tight shoes is my advice. Size 7.5 sounds like it'd be masochism...if your street shoe is a US 10, you might go a rock shoe 9, maybe an 8.5...
Also try on as many different models and brands as you can. The difference in comfort can be huge. Because different brands suit different foot shapes better or worse. It's really individual, and all brands are of similar quality...for example my feet are pretty wide and a little flat. I usually fit into La Sportiva (expensive Italian) and Trango (cheap Korean) shoes really well, but haven't found any 5.10 (Five Ten) or Boreal shoes I can bear. Other mates love the shoes I hate and vise versa.
Differences in model and design are also important, depending on what you wanna do. If you just wanna boulder and climb short routes a "slipper"(no laces, just elastic/ velcro) shoe (Sport Climbing Shoe) is a good option. Easy on and off to relieve the scrunch. These usually have a drooping toe shape, like a downward banana. This is a bonus for steep rock, overhangs and pockets etc BUT is not so good if you ae going to be smearing a slippery slab (Inubong etc in Seoul!!), crack climbing or face climbing.
All rounder shoes are just that. They give good performance on most types of climb and have a flatter sole shape. Most beginners and experienced multi-pitch climbers use these. They can be stiff-ish (if they are board lasted - either full sole or half is reinforced with a stiffening shank) or soft (no last). The stiffer shoes are a bonus on face climbs coz they take some strain of the feet muscles...and the stiffness can help edging on small features. Softer shoes wear and stretch a bit faster apparently but offer a bit more sensititivity so you can feel those little bumps and nubbins you wanna stand on. Choices, choices, eh?
As a final point I'd say it's a good idea to try and test the shoes climbing feel before you buy. Many shops in Seoul have a small test wall where you can see how the shoes fit and feel when you put some weight/pressure on them. Even if it is only a single hold or edge of a chair etc it can be revealing.
Buying new is a bit pricey here in KOrea, but you can get a good pair from 80,000won-120,000won...maybe cheaper if you are lucky. Trango, Mad Rock, Hot Chilli, Five Ten, La Sportiva and others all make some good all rounder styles...shop around.

[mil-mil]

thought i would bring this thread back to life. It seems to me that it would be a good idea for us to actually have a gear review/shop review section in the forums. All reasons have already been listed befor such as; Cheap places to by gear, place that have sales going surrently, gear purchased in korea, and of course general gear questions for new people to climbing. KOTR is much more excepting then any other climber sight i have everbeen to and i personally would feel more comfortable asking gear questions to people here then asking on rc.com for instense were they are more concerned with your spelling and pontuation then they are about your actual question.

[firepink]

... rc.com for instense were they are more concerned with your spelling and pontuation ...lol, that made me grimace

[mil-mil]

I dropped out of school in 9th grade so my grammer isn't up to snuff

[shanja]

Yeah I agree that the gear review section is a great concept here, especially as all online gear reviews (backcountry, consumerreview,trailspace,rei,etc) seem to be written by the manufacturer and aped by a few people with either admitted little experience or bias. KOTR is more personal and responsible, so lets share experiences!
Actually Eric and I have talked about getting a gear shop section up along the lines of the climbs/photo forums. Here you could search/post/update info (and pics) about gear shops in different cities. It just takes a bit of time and organization to figure out how to make it work, and Eric is just settling in to Canadia...but when he can I'm sure he'll update us on this possibility.
To wit:
Shoes review:
I love the new La Sportiva Tesstarosa rock shoes. They are the grippiest rubber and most extremely bent shoe I've ever worn. That said they are probably better suited to a 5.12 climber (given the hefty price tag -W180,000) than myself but I actually believe they let me climb harder than I did in my old shoes and feel more secure on small facey edges and pockets. They size way smaller than my other La Sportiva Cobras, and a still a very comfortable shoe. Not for slab or trad/ multi-pitch though. 5 Stars
The La Sportiva Cobra Slippers are also a great shoe and I've resoled mine 4 times. They do stretch a lot so buy 'em smallish. Again, despite the toe crunch shape they are pretty comfortable and make a great gym shoe. Like all La Sportiva shoes I've owned though, they leak dye considerably if you get sweaty feet. Again not a great choice for slab, crack stuff, but face, overhangs and gyms are their home turf. 4.5 Stars
Madrock Flash Velcro Slippers are a decent el cheapo shoe. The rubber seems a bit harder than La Sportiva's but otherwise it's fine. I use mine as a gym trash shoe, saving the Tesstarosas for outdoors. The heel is a bit big on me, but those ribs on madrock shoe heels seem to be a great concept when heel-hooking. Solid. They have only a minimal downward bend and so would be OK on slab etc. They aren't likely to stretch so much as they are synthetic and lined too, so size for your prefered comfort level. 3.5 Stars
OK well that is all for now children. Everyone else, keep posting in your opinions and comments on the gear that you are using/ have used or saw others using. The good, the bad and the ugly. All welcome, all useful. Thanks!

[Eric]

I've started a category all for gear:
http://www.koreaontherocks.com/forums/f19-gear.html

Read the forum descriptions. If you have any questions or suggestions, let me know.

Take care,
Eric