Gear

I must say, it gives me a certain pleasure when these Euros come to Africa in winter packing nothing but shorts and T-shirts, thinking that it surely can’t be anything but hot here. After all, it’s Africa! Only to find out that it is anything but hot, particularly if you venture into the hills. And …

I have always been a protagonist of the minimalist harness. Basically only one waist buckle, no leg loop adjustments, and a slim but comfortable fit. For me that is the ideal situation for fair weather climbing. Straight on and straight off, no fiddling with unnecessary bits and bobs. And indeed, that is just the ticket …

A little while ago I got handed two of Black Diamond’s new offerings to the headlamp family to review for SA Mountain. And two headlamps more different from each other would be hard to find. The Icon is burly, very bright, with lots of bells and whistles, while the Onsight is a slimmer, lighter model …

Not sure if it is just me, but from where I stand, it seems that helmets in general are becoming more and more popular. I see more people wearing them, even at sport crags. It makes a lot of sense, really. An important job of any helmet is to protect you from falling debris, but …

You would think that a simple, durable, lightweight, no-frills groundsheet is easy to find. Think again. I have been looking for quite a while now and nada! Until now of course. I was really pleasantly surprised when the very thing I was desperately looking for turned up on my desk for review. A backpacking groundsheet …

Aye, I remember well the days of the old blue condensed cell foam sleeping mats. Yes, those ones we all had. After a 4-hour walk up to Spout Cave, we’d dump our heaving backpacks on the stony ground and go climbing for the day. Returning to the cave just before sunset, we would make something …

When Petzl said they have a brand new headlamp and would I like to review it for SA Mountain, I thought to myself, another headlamp? How different can this one be from the previous ones? I mean, how much more can a headlamp be improved upon? Well, to be honest, I was not at all …

Petzl’s new bouldering chalk bag is cleverly designed and comes with some really cool features. The bag is fleece-lined and big enough to get both hands into comfortably, so you can get a good old rummage around to get that chalk over all the areas you need, and slap off the excess. And the liner …

As most of you know, my wife, Patsy, is a marvel at sport massage and does wonderful things to a tired and aching body. She is also always on the lookout for new and interesting creams, balms and lotions to use in her trade. So when a range of ClimbOn skincare products landed on my …

review by Tony Lourens Little did I know that when I was given the BD’s new Distance Carbon AR trekking poles to test, my very first foray with them would be a crotch-deep crossing of the Molenaars River at 7.30 on a chilly mid-winter’s morning. We tried in vain to find a shallow crossing, but …