A Climbers Christmas IV

Four years of recommendations for that climber in your life, and we are still going strong!!!  To catch you up if you are new to the theme, here is the rundown…each year theDIHEDRAL team gets together and offers some holiday gift recommendations for those who have a climber in their life and aren’t sure what to buy them.  We try to limit our recommendations to three a piece, but sometimes Carrot cheats.

Carrot

Since the first “Climber’s Christmas” I have been recommending stocking stuffers, the stocking is the most underrated part of Christmas.  I don’t even celebrate Christmas and I can still recognize the nobility, the tranquility, and the stability of the stocking.  I wanted to try and recommend gifts that could help out small businesses this year as COVID-19 continues to rampage and disrupt us all.  I figure the small businesses might need a boost a little more than the big guys.

1. I found this Key-Holder for Climbers from a company on Etsy called Best Boulders out of Karlsruhe Germany.  It comes in a one and a three key version.  A key-holder may not be the most sought after piece of climbing gear, but now that climber in your life will always have a place for their keys, and a spot to practice placing gear.  That is a win!
2. I Hate Climbing.  I love this small company for it’s fearlessness in printing irony on an eco-friendly t-shirt.  Independent and environmentally conscious not only fit my goals for this year’s Climber’s Christmas, but it also fits nicely into the heel of a stocking.  I call that a Win Win Win!
3. Local Climbing Gyms and Local Gear Shops are suffering, as we all are.  If these spots are going to survive they will need our continued support where possible.  So my final recommendation if you can afford it, is rather than ordering the big ticket items from big on-line retailers and companies, buy a gift card from your local gear shop or climbing gym.  Your climber will appreciate it, the shop will appreciate it, and that is what I call a win win!
   • I’d like to add that I don’t cheat!  I mean I didn’t try to sneak in that every climber should be using Chalk Cartel chalk 100% of the time, and that The Quarter fits perfectly into any stocking.  I didn’t mention that the WIld Country Session biners and draws might be the sexiest gear on the market, and I didn’t mention that The Worst Journey in The World is my 2020 adventure book recommendation for all adrenaline junkies.  We are only supposed to recommend three items, and you can clearly see 1,2 and 3!!!

High-Clip

You guys probably remember my motto, “you don’t get what you don’t ask for.” But I am going to make those big asks for the climber in your life so they don’t have to tremble and stutter over their wishes…brace yourself…

1. 9mm HTP Static Rope ($130.95 sterlingrope.com) No one really talks about it, but I know every climber, deep, deep in their heart, wishes they had a static rope. There are actual practical uses for static lines, like hauling, rescue, access lines, etc., but I’m definitely suggesting this one for climbers like me that could live without it. This 9mm is small and light enough to casually bring with me to the crag for setting up a line to take photos on and to set up a top-rope anchor without fixed gear.
2. WindMaster Stove with 4Flex ($64.95 sotooutdoors.com) They may tell you that they’re fine with bars and trail mix at the crag, but they’re not. With this little (3oz) stove, they can warm up some real (enough) food to get the power for their next send. Never underestimate the power of a toasty cheese quesadilla. Not to mention this stove is going to change their backpacking game.
3. 10mm Sterling Dyneema Sling ($10.95 sterlingrope.com) Listen, I know I have a little bit of an obsession with Sterling, but hear me out. Normal draws are great and everything, but even the newest sport climbers have to admit that they want to make some alpine draws. They may justify it with cost or rope drag or versatility…really a number of reasons that vary in their validity with each climber’s climbing habits. Regardless, they’re going to feel really cool when they build some alpine extensions with these, and they’re going to be one step closer to their dream of being the omniscient trad dad (note that trad dad is used as a gender neutral term here). Plus, it’s the cheapest and most versatile option I recommended.

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Happy Holidays!!!