There is nothing quite like the sting of 45-degree water hitting your chest at 6 AM on a January morning. I have been there, shivering through my first paddle-out in a suit that was not up to the task. That experience sent me on a mission to find the best surf wetsuits for cold water … Read more
Trad climbing demands a rope you can trust with your life. Unlike sport climbing where bolts are placed close together, trad routes space protection further apart, which means your rope needs to absorb bigger falls, handle sharp edges around crack placements, and feed smoothly through belay devices while you manage gear at hanging stances. I … Read more
Few things in climbing matter more than the rope connecting you to your belayer. Whether you are working a proj at the local crag or logging gym sessions three days a week, choosing the right rope changes how you climb, how you fall, and how confident you feel on the wall. Our team spent months … Read more
When you are staring down a double-overhead set, the last thing you want to worry about is whether your leash is going to hold. I learned this the hard way during a winter session in Northern California when my stock leash snapped on a 10-foot wave and my board ended up wrapped around a jetty … Read more
I have spent the last five seasons hitting terrain parks across North America, and if there is one thing I have learned, it is that your bindings can make or break your park experience. The wrong pair leaves you fighting your gear on rails, absorbing nothing on landings, and struggling to tweak grabs. After testing … Read more
Finding the right climbing harness can make or break your day at the crag. As someone who has spent countless hours hanging in belays, cranking through multi-pitch routes, and pulling plastic at the gym, I know firsthand how much a properly fitting harness matters. Women’s climbing harnesses are designed with a longer rise between the … Read more
Freeriding demands bindings that can handle steep terrain, deep powder, and high-speed carving without folding under pressure. After spending an entire season testing 10 different models across resorts in Utah, Colorado, and British Columbia, our team narrowed down the field to the bindings that actually deliver when conditions get serious. The best snowboard bindings for … Read more
Finding the right trad climbing harness can make or break your day on a multi-pitch route. I have spent months climbing with different harnesses across crack systems, hanging belays, and long trad routes to figure out which ones actually hold up when you are carrying a double rack and hanging at a semi-hanging belay for … Read more
Finding the right bindings can make or break your freestyle game. I have spent three seasons testing different bindings across park laps, rail sessions, and backcountry kickers, and the difference between the right pair and the wrong one is night and day. The best snowboard bindings for freestyle give you the flex to tweak grabs, … Read more
Finding the right climbing harness when you are just starting out can feel overwhelming. There are dozens of options, each with different buckle systems, padding levels, and gear loop configurations. I remember buying my first harness and having no idea what actually mattered versus what was marketing fluff. After spending months testing harnesses at indoor … Read more