Gear

Manufacturers add them only because, while few of us can grasp the real magic that locks a cam into place (the constant angle), we know from experience that teeth bite.

I was getting ready for summer up here in Canada, and noticed that I had burned through three pairs of shoes last season. My shoes delaminated on the inside toe and wore through at the toe rand. I want to salvage these shoes and protect new ones from premature death.

First you tell us to wash our ropes in Ivory Flakes. Now, in the last issue, you said Ivory Flakes are good for washing down as well. Dude! Ivory Flakes were discontinued over 10 years ago! Any alternative suggestions for suitable soaps?

Field test results for the Vaude 35 superlight climbing pack.

Know that even in the best circumstances, rappelling is never safe and is the number four killer of climbers, experienced and novice alike. Of course, it is conceivable that you can rappel on a static and dynamic cord and survive, but you must know a thing or two about those ropes.

Can I use a 9mm half (double) rope for a three-man rope team for glacier travel? What is the best way for the middleman to tie in? With an eight on a bight, bowline on a bight or butterfly with two lockers?

On paper, the PMI Arete is a perfect rope for me: thin, light (62.6 grams/meter), strong (8 falls) and a few bucks less than ropes of similar size.

This new kick from Five Ten is one of the best all-day all-around all-performance climbing shoes I've worn recently and by a mile (ho ho). The VMile is built to go the distance on cracks, slabs, steeps -- and whatever else America's great multi-pitch areas toss your way.

I've always figured that making do with less meant hardship. Less money meant less fun. Less time off meant more work.

The new Arc'Teryx harnesses are snazzy, thin, sleek and, at just 11.4 ounces, unbelievably light. I tested the R-320, the all-around, four-gear-loop, fixed-leg-loop model.

Price | $368 www.valandre.com/us 4 starsDUCKS CAN'T GET a break. From birth we are taught that they are inferior to their rival, geese. There's the goos...

I heard that ice screws should be angled slightly down to maximize the strength of the threads. If this is true, why don't the threads run the full le...