Top Christmas Gifts for Climbers
If you're unsure what to buy for someone who's mad keen on climbing, but probably has all the gear already, here's a few slightly odd-ball choices that any climber would love to receive!
A really cool chalkbag
Y&Y Chalkstopper Chalkbag
The Y&Y Chalkstopper is the most exciting innovation in the world of climbing gear that we've seen in years! I'm not even joking here, look it's got magnets! The Chalkstopper chalkbag opens effortlessly when you push your hand through the flap, and snaps shut automatically when your hand is removed. No more spillage! Every climber has probably got a few chalkbags in their gear box already, but we can guarantee they'll love this! Available in a choice of colours, and even a funky Eagle or Shark design for the kids (or adults who refuse to grow up)
A very lightweight climbing harness
Blue Ice Addax Harness (£99 was £110)
The lightest "proper" harness in the world - it's just 129g and features a padded waist and leg loops, four gear loops and a belay loop. Not just for alpine warriors, the Blue Ice Addax is for anyone looking to save weight on a hard lead or long walk-in. Blue Ice also do a version with releasable leg loops that you can put on easily even when you're wearing crampons or skis, that's just a tiny bit heavier - the Choucas Pro
A very sexy karabiner
Karabiners get lost and modern belay devices wear out rather quickly, so they're an obvious and most welcome giftfor any climber from beginner to seasoned pro. DMM make the finest climbing hardware, expertly hot forged in their little factory in Wales, and there're two screwgates that particularly stand out for us.
One is the Phantom HMS (£15)- a very lightweight HMS karabiner with a wide gate opening and broad top that will accommodate two clove hitches. A choice of colours are available, as well as a package with their excellent Pivot belay device
The other is the Ceros Screwgate (£17), a near perfect belay krab with an extra wire gate clip at the bottom to keep it correctly orientated on the belay loop and a horn to stop your GriGri sliding onto the spine. Many similar karabiners exist but this is the most intuitive and least annoying.
A beautiful handcrafted all-natural bouldering brush
Silly Goat Brushes from £22
Handmade artisanal brushes are the in thing. Natural boar bristles (won't leave a residue on the rock) are densely packed (the more bristles the more efficient your brush stroke) into a beautiful carved British oak handle. Prices are £22 for the skinny "Thomas Twig" version, £27.50 for the mid-sized "Jack the Lad", going up to the big-gritstone-sloper-sized "Davey Boy" at £37.50 . It's not just a brush, it's a beautiful object that's been lovingly handcrafted, and is worth every penny. It's also the kind of thing that you're not likely to buy for yourself, so it's ideal gift material.
Supply is very limited from Silly Goat, stocks are low at the moment but we've been promised more before Christmas. In the meantime we do have our own branded brushes for just £7, an ideal little stocking filler.
Something Clean and Green
Scavenger Soap on a (climbing) Rope - £11
THE retro classic christmas gift, re-imagined as a piece of, urm, retro-classic climbing gear. The soap is cast from an old pre-eccentric hex, works as a shampoo bar too and is infused with natural essential oils. Please don't place them as runners, the jams on Right Unconquerable are slippy enough as it is.
Check out the rest of the Scavenger range, they take old climbing gear and repurpose it into something new - belts, wallets, chalkbags and more!
Want more ideas? Check our full collection of Christmas Gifts for Climbers!