A few things from the OR show. No pics but there are some cool new things coming out next spring.
My Shit -
New GriGri is fucking badass. Lighter, smaller, works on all single ropes and easier to lower. We got to use them last week and paying out slack and lowering is noticeably easier. So good.
Petzl's rechargeable/programable battery is also badass. Fully customizable and regulated. Eggnuts, you can now get a headlamp for the kiddies so they can porter your pads for you. Then you can set it to the lowest setting and it'll last for 100 plus hours AND not blind you when they look at you to give you betas.
Hardwear has double wide sleeping bags now. Yessir. Sweaty...Nic...You guys are getting hitched now, it's time for a double wide.
Josh's Shit -
New shirts. New tanks. Insanely rad new beanies with pom poms. Obscenely awesome small packs that remind me of just how awesome 1991 was.
He also has a couple new pads on the way. Everything looks rad.
Nic's Shit -
Five Ten has some awesome new shoes coming out including a ladies downturned velcro, downturned anasazi lace up, super asymetric lasted lace up(think tweaked out dragon) and some badass approach shoes. All the colors are sick and the shoes look amazing.
Nic also shaped a new set of skippers. I love the little skippers and these area fucking awesome. Juggy. Huge. Fallic. Nice Work.
Other People's Shit -
Sportiva came out with a Team Shoe knock off. 3.5 mm rubbber. Softer Midsole. Extended toe cap. Single Velcro. It just doesn't look that nice. Scarpa didn't come out with anything new.
Asana copied Josh's messenger bag....with a screen print. Metolius continued copying Josh's chalkbags with reckless abandon. Josh ripped Mad Rock foam with a single squeeze.
Climb X was there. So was Mad Rock. They're multiplying. No one really knows why they're both in existence. It's confusing.
Things I Learned -
Epic Beers are amazing.
Tequila is the devil.
Nic is a dirty bastard and his new name is 'Railroad Spike'.
Josh is a saint, much like Luanne, and his new name is 'Teddy Bear'.
Both of them need fat people insoles.
Katie got a hedgehog while I was away and named it Commander Fluffykins.
Salt Lake is a fucking weird place. I could never live there.
LCC is kinda badass. We got to play around on a Granite Roof.
I miss my wifey.
Hello world!
8 months ago
Posts
I have been sorely disappointed with my old grigri, so I hope to mooch someone else's new one to try it out before shelling out... Umm how much again? Close to a hundred right? I guess I get a discount at Bent Gate but still... Nice post Steve. Josh REALLY needs to update his website with the new bags! (And the old ones, BTW, Josh in case you read this.) I love my bag and new pad. Repeated tall falls/jumps yesterday on Groth arete onto rocky ground, with nary a scratch. ce
ReplyDeleteYeah, it'll be 95 bucks next spring. what didn't you like about the old one? if i can ask. should be able to let you know if youll like the new one!!
ReplyDeletereally glad you like the pad!! they're so nice!!!!!
we had such a good day yesterday chris. starting to get more psyched for fall. seems like its in view now.....
Grigri is heavy, clunky, twists the rope, and is not nearly as easy to quickly pay slack out as an ATC. Plus with an ATC you have a ready-to-go lightweight rap device as well. It's possible I didn't give it enough time to learn the intricacies before abandoning it. Really I bought it for my wife after getting dropped, but I won't delve into that.
ReplyDeleteYeah yesterday was great. Went out to Qual Wall, there were actually a whole bunch of folks there, enjoying the routes and nice temps. Cleaned up 2 more climbs. One to go, the 12c just right of SAM (left line on the slabby wall). To be honest the line itself doesn't look that inspiring, and there is a fair amount of vegetation. But it's there, and we live in southern WI so I am guessing I'll get on it this fall. Also there are a few topropes that I haven't done, and Block Party looks interesting, so that might need some action as well. We'll see. Psyched for fall temps and to get on a few boulders at the lake as well.
Glad you guys got out. In September I'll have a lot more free time and hope to start heading to West bluff again.
ce
best post evar
ReplyDeletedo you have a link to photos of the new sportiva and 5.10 shoes? if so post it up to facebook plz
ReplyDeleteYo sockhands. I found a pick of the La Sport Python online. http://www.belclimb.net/section_home.asp?lgid=1&s=materiaalgids&id=9
ReplyDeleteTo me it looks like they took the Cobra and improved the main problem, the fact that it was an aggressive slipper that could pop off easily. I don't really see this as a Team 5.10 knockoff. Its just improving on an old design they had. The heel is a bit different from the Cobra, but you couldn't really do that with a slipper, so thats an improvement too. I haven't tried the shoe, but maybe they'll make it in a size that actually fits me, unlike the Team. 12 would fit right, if I could get my foot into it, but the cut of the shoe makes it hard to get on.
mark: i've been chattering on facebook all morning about it. the heel design seems to be the same they used on the speedster, which is way more durable than the cobra heel and since it is thinner, it does fit into more precise heel placements better. i used my speedsters on some insane technical and powerful heel hook moves over the last 10 months and feel that it is sportiva's best heel design for all types of heel hook moves... only issue is that the rubber is thin so sharp corners can be felt acutely. the durability comes down to the fact that the heel piece is wrapped under the tension rand. a very obvious and substantial improvement over the exposed heel rubber of the cobra/muira, which seems to get ripped down when doing intense heel hook moves.
ReplyDeletenext, the solution's toe hook rubber is the best i've used. now, the python has it! so good!
finally, the speedster suffered a bit on thin edges due to its sole being wrapped into a rand piece. this made the toe durable on the speedster, but did create room for improvement on power edging anything thinner than a half inch.
the more chiseled toe design as on all shoes except for the speedster will allow these puppies to toe in better than the speedsters.
SO PSYCHED