Reviews

review by Tony Lourens For quite some time I have seen climbers at crags climbing in jeans. My thoughts were always, looks cool, but must be quite uncomfortable and restrictive, surely. I mean, from the super slinky and highly functional lycras of the ’80s and ’90s, which allowed absolute fluid movement with no impingement of …

review by Tony Lourens There are two major factors that can hugely enrich your experience when out in the mountains, whether on a traverse across the Cederberg or Drakensberg, a trip into the wild Hex, or even an overnight jaunt to your favourite climbing area. One is, you want to carry as light as possible. …

Review by Tony Lourens Oh great, a new headlamp from Petzl to review for the next issue of SA Mountain. I know. I’ll take it with me to Norway. What better way to test a piece of gear than on a five-week climbing trip? Brilliant idea! NOT! What I hadn’t factored in was that during …

Review by Tony Lourens 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 …

Review by Tony Lourens I’m not a particularly brave climber, therefore I keep a lot more than chalk in my chalk bag. I keep my heart and courage in there as well. So I am often found digging deep in my trusty old chalk bag when faced with a particularly tricky or daunting bit of …

Review by Tony Lourens Beal’s Be Quick locking carabiner is designed specifically to go with the Birdie belay device. Not only does it come in the three different colours to match the same colours of the Birdie (very stylish!). But the carabiner is ultra light, has a flat design to easily fit through the opening …

Review by Tony Lourens Actively camming assisted-braking belay devices have been around for about a quarter of a century and the majority of sport climbers and trad climbers (climbing on a single rope), will have one in their arsenal. Let’s not beat about the bush here. The GriGri has been around for yonks and as …

Review by Kai Fitchen I’m an all-around climber. Well, at least I try to be. I sport-climb mainly, dabble in long multi-pitch routes and am somewhat of a reluctant boulderer. On rest days I hike and dig steep wild scrambles. I generally go for one shoe to do it all. Saying that, it has to …

Review by Patsy Lourens Thule gets it right again with their mid-range packs! In my opinion the hardest packs to ‘get right’ are the mid-range sizes. The big daddies – from 50 to 100 litres, built for trekking and the like, come with all the bells and whistles, which make them robust, stable and comfy, …

Review by Tony Lourens Anyone who has read my review of the Capstone packs in SA Mountain Magazine two years ago will know I am a big fan of this pack already. Now Thule has brought out the new edition with some great improvements and nifty new features. Although not a technical pack that lends …