equipment | La Sportiva SOLUTION

Jan 25 2014 0Commentby christianhauth

equipment | La Sportiva SOLUTION

Posted in Climbing equipment, Climbing Shoes, La Sportiva | Solution

_Summary | the godfather of rock – pure performance and aggression

La Sportiva | Solution

La Sportiva | Solution | evaluation

The SOLUTION is my all time favourite for routes where I need to focus and go to my personal limit. I would definitely not recommend this shoe for beginners: too unfomfortable, too much tension, very aggressive heel design, relatively hard in comparison to the FUTURA. As with the FUTURA the SOLUTION is not extremely flexible regarding the lacing. the critical issue with this shoe is that it, at least for me is not a sock-like fit, especially the back of the shoe only sticks to the heel because of the massive tension across the shoe design and not because the heel snuggly encloses your heel.

Bottom line: either the shoe fits right away or you better stay away. If it does it is probably the best LaSportiva you can get.

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Nov 24 2013 0Commentby christianhauth

equipment | La Sportiva FUTURA

Posted in Climbing equipment, Climbing Shoes, La Sportiva | Futura

_Summary | the new classic with style and aggression

La Sportiva | Futura

La Sportiva | Futura | evaluation

The FUTURA is a new Classic in the LaSportiva lign up. Although relatively new, launched in 2012, just take a sneak peek at the hard-movers in your climbing gym and you will undoubtedly agree it’s extremely popular. After launching a new edge-less sole concept in 2009 with the SPEEDSTER, the FUTURA is the velcro version of that model. In theory at least. Reality shows they are 2 completely different shoes. What the SPEEDSTER lacks in stability, sensitivity and performance, the FUTURA does not. It’s also a much more agressive model. The hefty price tag and the ‘in your face’ design have not limited its popularity.

The feature set clearly shows the profile of a shoe for the harder stuff: limited comfort, high tension, strong heel and limited performance on slabs. The key differentiator is the new sole of the FUTURA, which has the same rounded edges as the SPEEDSTER.

Overall the FUTURA convinces during bouldering sessions with sharp ledges, hooks and pockets.

I would not recommend it for Fontainebleau or Castle Hill, rather for Bishop or the Swiss/Austrian bouldering areas. You wont have much fun on slabs or structureless rock.

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Mar 07 2013 0Commentby christianhauth

Bishop or “the one and only”

Posted in Bishop, Climbing Locations

For me Bishop is the best bouldering location in the western hemisphere, maybe only topped in the extreme east by the Grampians in Australia and Fontainebleau near Paris. There are tons of other bouldering areas, but none that combine thousands of problems, amazing quality rock, perfect accessiblity, nearly always perfect weather and all that within a range of a few miles.

USA Bishop | Happy Boulders | Upper Canyon

USA Bishop | Happy Boulders | Upper Canyon

The clustering of the boulders makes Bishop so unique. As soon as you arrive in one spot, you do not need to move more than a hundred meters the whole day because there are so many problems. And the other upside is: there is something for the hard- and soft-mover. Well, not the real soft mover, but if you climb grade 6a you should get by most of the beginners problems.

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Jan 17 2013 0Commentby christianhauth

Kalymnos or “how to climb the Aegean”

Posted in Climbing Locations, Kalymnos
Kastelli

Kastelli | View to Telendos from Kastelli climbing sector.

If you consider yourself a climber, no matter where on this planet, Kalymnos and its abundant high-quality climbs need to be visited at least once in your life. Perfect rocks, well protected routes, abundant sun, beaches and clear water… that and a lot more is Kalymnos/Telendos in the Greak Aegean, just off the coast of Turkey.

Here’s a little how to, from travelling there to what are the best spots…

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