We pull into the Supercrack parking lot in a rusty, mud smothered Subaru, named Shelly. The lot is dotted with similar vehicles, their windows all dusted by relentless desert sand, (some of which have been decorated by a climber’s tough calloused finger). Shelly the Subie has been with my friend Amy and I since we…
A combined-gender review: both men’s and women’s versions If you’re a woman, I imagine you might be frustrated by the pervasive lack reviews for female-specific gear. At The Climbing Zine we feel it’s important to provide objective information to everyone, so I partnered with Lilly Hancock to test both the men’s and women’s versions of…
My second book, The Great American Dirtbags is now available in the printed form, and as an e-book. by Luke Mehall, publisher of The Climbing Zine This book, which I am proud of, is a collection of eighteen stories and a couple poems, and the pieces range from my depressed teenage years to my current…
I woke up before dawn in the parking lot of an apartment complex. My girlfriend and I had been living on the road for two years, and the tiny trailer we called home was furnished with a memory foam mattress atop a plywood bed frame I’d installed in its previously empty interior. For us, Walmart parking…
Scarpa redesigned their most popular shoes this year, with a new model to cover each style of climbing. I had the chance to try out their super-downturned bouldering and steep sport shoe (Instinct VS) and their slightly downturned, sensitive performance shoe (Vapor V). This time I round out the trilogy with a review of their flat-lasted…
True climbing encourages bravery and induces suffering. It’s at the heart of the endeavor, and all seasoned climbers recognize this. For most of us it creates a foundation of who we are, builds our character and gives us life philosophies. For most of time climbing was never mainstream. Then, starting with sport climbing, gyms, and…
This was my first time wearing a pair of Tenayas. I felt like flatlanders must on their first visit to the Rockies. Sure I had heard of them and I had seen them in pictures, but damn, why had I waited so long to try them for myself? Reviewed by Shaun Matusewicz Retail: $165 The Tenaya Tarifa’s are…
UPDATE: Sometimes initial impressions of a piece of gear change after months of use. After all, that’s what we do with climbing gear, right? Beat it up, and see if we like it. After six months of use and abuse, Shaun Matusewicz has a different perception of the Penta helmet. I am six months into using…