Gear Geek - Arc'teryx R-275 LT and S-220 LT

 By Aubrey Wingo

We love to bring new products to Aiguille, but in this case, it's also a new brand!  Aiguille is proud to announce that now carry two Arc'teryx harnesses: the R-275 LT and the S-220 LT.  I'm sure you're reading this saying those are the lamest names on the planet, but in actuality they are very resourceful!

Gear Geek - Petzl Sama and Luna Harnesses

By Aubrey Wingo

Petzl is known for its sleek and innovative design, especially in its harnesses. The Petzl Sama (built for men) and Luna (built for women) have become iconic staples in the climbing community, worn by athletes such as Sasha DiGiulian, Chris Sharma, and Dave Graham. The great aspect of Petzl’s company is that each year, you don’t have new models of new items that you have to read all about; Petzl makes their current product even better.

Gear Geek - The Blank Slate Hangboard

By Aubrey Wingo

Aiguille is proud to carry the next best way to get your home workout on! Hangboards are great, but the biggest problem that potential owners might have is the inability to bolt or screw into their walls in order to replicate our favorite climbing “hangout” and holds at home. Blank Slate Climbing has acknowledged this concern and created the solution.

The Best of the Best Articles of 2012

By The Crimp Chronicles Staff

We at The Crimp Chronicles are proud to have been serving you with amazing articles for over a year now. And just in case you missed some of them in 2012, or would like to revisit some, we have collected the most popular articles for each of our columns below. Thank you for being such loyal readers and we can't wait to write for you in 2013!

Gear Geek - Organic Simple Pad Crash Pad

By Kreg Dobzinski

About two years ago on a crisp autumn afternoon I was wandering the Rumbling Bald boulder-field with just my Organic Pad on my back and the need to see a dime. A ten-cent piece wedged in the back of a crack. They call it the Dime Crack. It seemed within my ability level and it got me curious when I read about it in the guidebook. I had only owned my pad for a few months and it had not seen much use - suffice it to say that I had no real idea of how far a fall could be taken and still had more than a bit to learn about pad placement.

Gear Geek - Women of Climbing Calendar

By Kayla Baker

Can you believe that we are less than two months away from the New Year? I don’t know about you guys, but 2012 felt like it happened in the blink of an eye. Now, I know the year isn’t over yet, and I’m sure many of you climbers still have plans to make the rest of the year memorable with outdoor trips, but we must be prepared for the year 2013!

Gear Geek - Rocktown Guidebook & an October Sale!

By Aubrey Wingo

Fall is approaching which means so is the climbing season!  While you are cleaning out the car, counting out your draws, and dusting off your crash pad, make sure to get the newest guidebook for the Southeast on the market: the Rocktown Bouldering Guidebook.  Written by Sean Kearney and Zak Roper, this guidebook is well overdue but now highly celebrated as many climbers, including myself, have wandered aimlessly through Rocktown around boulders looking for our new projects.

The Futura is Now

By Kreg Dobzinski

Specs
I don't take a climbing shoe purchase lightly. It's usually a long, annoying process that requires me to research the crap out of it. I read through all the user comments and size comparisons on the various online retailers, scroll through all the different views, and grill any current owners for information. Heck, I even tried these Futuras on more than four times over the course of two weeks before actually committing. So I guess I want to save you guys some of the unrealistically stressful experience I usually curse myself with.

Gear Geek - Aiguille Trucker Hats, Organic Crash Pad, Chalk Bags, and Chalk Buckets

By Aubrey Wingo

In this issue of Gear Geek, we are happy to present you with four brand new Aiguille retail products: Organic’s Chalk Bags, Lunch Bag Chalk Buckets, Simple Pad Crash Pad and Aiguille’s very own Trucker Hat!

Black Diamond's Camalot X4 Series

Coming Spring 2013, Black Diamond presents its new Camalot X4 series.

Gear Geek - Metolius Project Hangboard

By Lauren Day

The Metolius Project hangboard is a smaller, more compact version of the ever popular Metolius Simulator 3D. At around $60, it is as easy on the wallet as it is to install. With all of the hardware and a training guide included, it has everything you need to get started.

Gear Geek - Flash 2.0's

By Lauren Day

Long revered as the classic beginner’s shoe, the MadRock Flash is back and bolder than ever with a few new updates. The new Flash still rocks that classic orange color that everyone is familiar with, however this time, they have gone orange crazy!

Gear Geek - Carabiners

By Lauren Day / Dean Pflaumer

Have you ever looked at a wall loaded with a million varieties of carabiners in awe and confusion? Well this little blurb should sort everything out and hopefully make your next carabiner buying extravaganza a little less stressful.

Gear Geek – La Sportiva Futura

By Lauren Day

The moment all of you have been waiting for has arrived…the release of the La Sportiva Futura. For those of you who are diehard fans of the Solutions, Sportiva’s most popular and best selling shoe, you may take quite a liking to this new kid on the block too.

Gear Geek - Black Diamond ATC XP

By Lauren Day

I'm sure everyone has noticed the new Black Diamond ATC XP in the retail area. With its eye catching neon accents it's tough not to. But there is much more to the new and improved device.

Gear Geek - February 2012 V3 Hangboard

By Lauren Day

Do you dream of latching your fingers onto that tiny crimp? How about controlling that obnoxious sloper that keeps you from sending that V4? Well, Detroit Rock Climbing Company has made your dreams come true with new hangboard. The V3.

Gear Geek - Black Diamond Primrose Harness

By Lauren Day

The Black Diamond Primrose Harness is a women's specific fit harness with ample padding to keep you comfy after a long day climbing.

Gear Geek - Gregory Z55

by Lauren Day

This is an exciting new tidbit where we are going to be giving all of you lovely readers a little review on new, innovative, well built gear we just think you guys should know about. Sometimes we may stray away from the climbing world and venture into the realm of backpacking. These things do go hand in hand after all! Since this is a new column, we would really love your suggestions and comments! Let us know of any gear you want to see reviewed!

This month I’ll be doing a review on the Gregory Z55 hiking backpack.

Grigri 2

Petzl will soon be releasing a new and improved Grigri, which is 20% lighter, 25% smaller, and works on ropes between 8.9 and 11 mm in diameter compared to the originals 9.8 to 10.3 mm.

Pick yours up at Aiguille in the near future.