Recently, there has been a lot of media recently about Nutriclimb’s Pre Workout Supplement, as you may have seen it advertised at both 2019 Alberta and BC Open Boulder Provincials and some of our local athletes adding it to their training program. Nutriclimb’s Pre Workout is a caffeine-free supplement designed to benefit climbing through increasing power and energy. Because supplements are relatively new to the climbing world, we were curious as to how the stuff worked and really wanted to give it a fair shot to see if it improved our everyday climbing performance.

Full disclosure: In no way was Squamish Climbing Magazine paid to review Nutriclimb’s Climber Pre-workout Supplement. We received two canisters of the pre-workout to test. However, it should be noted that after testing, Squamish Climbing Magazine did enter into an agreement with Nutriclimb to host some affiliate advertising on the site where a portion of sales from Nutriclimb would go to the magazine.

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The Metolius Wood Grips II Compact Hangboard is the best-priced wooden hangboard on the market and a strong choice for beginner to advanced climbers wanting to get more out of their fingers. The Metolius Wood Grips II Compact Hangboard features a variety of holds placed in a symmetrical design and includes two warm up jugs plus a variety of pockets and slopers for training. We would highly recommend this board to anyone who wants the benefits of training finger strength on a wooden hangboard and for anyone who has a space restriction in their training area.

We had a chance to review the board over a three week period and here is what we thought.

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Hands down, one of our favourite items from 2018 was the Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody. The Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody is a versatile mid-layer that offers serious comfort while also providing enough durability to actually use it when climbing. With its stretch outer layer and warm inner layer, this jacket may be the best mid-layer for climbing currently on the market!

We had the chance to test the OR Ascendant Hoody over a six month period and here is what we thought.

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The Inferno II is a full-size quickdraw with two Inferno II carabiners joined by a 14 mm double-layered Monster Sling that provides extra durability to the lightweight (90 grams) quickdraw. Our first impressions of this draw were very positive. With good action on the wire gate and a narrow dog-bone that actually felt easy to grab, we were excited to give this draw a field test!

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Picking up the Petzl Grigri + and holding it in our hands, we were immediately reminded of first being introduced to the Grigri 2 from the original Grigri. Resistance to the new device was high across the the climbing community and even now, you will find a few die hards holding on to their big bulky original Grigri.

The changes made between the first and second model were not drastic, but the device felt different enough than the previous model; it was too smaller; it didn’t offer much more control, and initially, people simply didn’t like it. Over time, our feelings for the new device changed as we grew accustom to its new characteristics, deeming them substantially better than the original model. Looking back now, we could not imagine belaying on a regular basis with the original Grigri.

The parallels between the intruduction of the Grigri 2 and the Grigri + are much the same. Over our eight week testing period of the Grigri +, we went from not liking the new device, to tolerating its subtleties and then finally, strongly preferring it over the previous model.

We will be the first to tell you that the device has it’s flaws. However, the changes in rope control alone make the Grigri + worth a try!

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The Scarpa Chimera is a high performance climbing shoe that features a great heel cup, sensitive feel, and high quality production. We had a chance to review this shoe over a six month period and here is what we thought.

Editor’s note: This is the first gear review that we have released using our new video format. We hope that you found it informative and enjoyable. Please subscribe to our channel to stay up to date!

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