Duane Raleigh

Field test results of one of the lightest climbing harnesses, by Arc'teryx.

Streamlined, light as a snowflake and functional, the Ozone is marketed as a sport harness, but I’m using it for all types of rock climbing from cragging to multipitch trad.

Asolo Comp XT ice climbing boot review.

Thanks to the machining wizadry of Rock Thompson, the Pirate’s screw-gate locking sleeve actually reinforces the gate, giving it an outward (minor axis) strength of a whopping 11 kN—nearly 900 pounds more than your average locker.

The XLC Nanotech is the first of what I suspect will be a new breed of composite crampons—the frame is 7075 aluminum, but the front points are stainless steel.

Field Test results for the Black Diamond Express Ice Screw.

Sporting an, over the ankle upper, the Lowa Ice Comp, which came out in 2005, is the most boot-like of the fruitboots I have tested. It’s practical, warm enough for winter days in Colorado (that is down to about 20 F) and is the model that Ines Papert rages in, which says enough right there.

The Ergo has a number of peculiar features, but I like the grip best, so let’s start there.

The X-All Mountain is the finest thin-ice tool I have used, and one of the top all-around ice tools.

When I saw that the new Vapor weighed just 6.6 ounces, or not that much more than my (official) Broncos ball cap, I figured that the helmet couldn’t possibly amount to much in the way of coverage and protection. Yet the Vapor offers as much head coverage as any helmet, including those of twice the weight.

The new Petzl Sirocco tips the scales at 5.2 ounces.

Black Diamond’s X4s are a big addition to small protection. Even boiled down, their nuts and bolts are a mouthful: The six sizes protect from .33 to 1.62 inches, have four cam lobes and a narrow head.