UKC

I'm currently working on a university project related to the clothing worn by climbers living in cities, who head to the gym for training during their work week.

If you have 2 minutes to spare, I'd really appreciate your time to fill in a very short survey, here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2CS6SXJ

Thanks so much.

Dan

In reply to danxfitz:

Who are you and which University is responsible for your research?
Are you not interested in climbers who don't live in cities?

In reply to danxfitz:

Who are you and which University is responsible for your research?

This. it's ok being anonymous or semi- anonymous for chatting about politics or what you got up to last weekend. As soon as you move onto something like this, you need to provide more details, at the very least in the intro to your research questionairre.

In reply to Jon Read:

I'm studying Performance Sports Textiles at the IUT in Annecy, France (part of the University Savoie Mont Blanc). I'm from the UK and was predominantly an indoor climber up until a few years ago.

I'm specifically researching city/indoor climbers as I'm interested in understanding if the growing trend of versatile, performance clothing is something crossing over into the climbing world, or something climbers are interested in as a concept. This is pretty big in other sports (cycling, especially).

Hope that helps explain my approach somewhat?

In reply to danxfitz:

Thanks

In reply to danxfitz:



Really? apart from a base layer top, all the stuff I wear for cycling is very specific to cycling, I wouldn't wear it for anything else. I don't see anyone wearing padded lycra shorts/tights or tops with big pockets in the back for any other sports. Just sayin'...

In reply to danxfitz:
Done, good luck.

Ignore the grilling you're getting on here, we don't get out much .

In reply to ripper:

RE: cycling, I'm referring to the growth of commuter-friendly apparel from the likes of Rapha or Vulpine, who are developing products using similar textile technologies as their performance ranges, for office/pub/everyday life-friendly products.

Definitely agree wearing padded bib tights to the office probably isn't a trend we'll see anytime soon

In reply to danxfitz:

fair enough. I don't usually fill these in but as yours was so quick, and as I've had a bit of a dig and you've responded in good spirit, I've done your survey (although I suspect I'm not really your target market!)
cheers

In reply to ripper:

Much appreciated!

In reply to danxfitz:

Done. Don't understand the question about end of life clothing though (if you saw me on the hill you would understand....)

In reply to danxfitz:

Funny that you should mention Rapha. When I decided to start cycling to work I ordered some of their jeans. Arrived, looked amazing, perfect length and waist, lovely detailing. Thighs were so tight I could hardly walk downstairs (and no I don't look like Chris Hoy). Very disappointing.

In reply to danxfitz:
I have a pair of howies cycling trousers that get used mainly for the wall, or my Levi's commuting jeans 😀

In reply to danxfitz: As with most of these surveys it is fairly poor and in my case completely misses the point as despite living in a city I work in the outdoor industry so my work clothes ARE my climbing clothes and my casual clothes are absolutely NOT my climbing clothes. As such, you have probably gained little worthwhile information from me completing the survey.

Also, you seem to omit the really obvious questions about what tops or trousers people wear. A large fraction wear (indoor) climbing specific branded trousers [Moon, E9], a good fraction wear jeans (some generic, some climbing specific [Prana, Simond etc.], some wear more outdoor focusesd softshell trousers, some wear leggings or other generic sports wear.

You ask about patterns but you don't ask about bright colours which for many climbers is a key factor.
You also ask about moisture management but omit questions about fit and freedom of movement which along with cost and colour are my only real concern.

Finally, as regards to tops, I am convinced that the only real criteria for many climbers is a statement logo on a cheap cotton T-shirt - e.g. CAC, climbing club logo, climbing competition branding or other related self promotion (e.g. competitors T-shirt for triathlon, half/full marathon, other challenges etc.). This trend is something that you will fail to capture any information on.

In reply to The Ex-Engineer:


Or ICGAF... How important is 'apparel' for wall climbing 'success'? Hardly at all, apart from your point about freedom of movement. Everything else is 'style', or 'statement'.

Obviously, for ultimate performance, no top at all. But a woolly beannie...

In reply to captain paranoia:

Absolutely. Pretty much guaranteed someone at a busy wall will be doing that.

In reply to danxfitz:


As above: do you seriously think 'performance clothing' has any measurable influence on indoor climbing performance, or is it just another market that might be exploited by bullshit?

In reply to captain paranoia:

Measurable probably not but there are plent of climbers mug enough to pay for the brands

In reply to The Ex-Engineer:

You raise many valid points, and I thank you for taking the time to give such detailed feedback on the survey. I've purposely kept it short and simple, mainly because of the limitations of SurveyMonkey (I'm a student without budget), but also because there are so many variables to choose from I could end up with a huge battery of questions, which I'm sure people would be less inclined to complete. This is intended to give me a rough idea, which so far it has.

Nonetheless, thanks again for taking the time to reply.

In reply to captain paranoia:
As much as I'd love to say I could develop a clothing range that will increase the performance of a climber, no, I do not seriously think it will have an influence on indoor climbing performance.

What I am interested in flexibility. Whether people are getting changed when they go to the climbing gym, what are they changing into, and why? Obviously office workers who wear smart attire will need to change, but I know climbers who work in regular clothes, head to the gym, then switch into another 'regular' T-shirt. In this case, I'm curious to see if modern performance textiles could provide a solution for a regular looking garment, which, for example, is anti-bacterial, moisture wicking, and allows the climber to go directly from work to the gym, then maybe to the pub afterwards, without being worried about stinking the place out.

I mentioned the example of cycling previously, and as a cyclist, I recognise the benefits such clothing provides. Before I started my studies I was commuting to work every day by bike, and being able to save a bit of space in your bag is much appreciated.

Equally, I understand as climbers we are, on the most part, content with a basic cotton T shirt and a pair of jeans with a bit of stretch. Right now, I'm just interested in a snapshot of opinion. It may be that people don't care for innovations in this area. But I won't know for sure without some basic surveying

In reply to danxfitz:

I am retired so the work answers are made up, as are many more of the answers to the weirder questions. Not a well thought out survey. Someone with too much time on their hands it seems.
Why are surveys on here so bad?

In reply to johncook:

i disagree, I think it was an unusual survey (I've given up on all the "attitude to risk" clones) and the subject is inherently going to be more subjective than the sports psychology type ones). Made a change and I'm happy to help out

In reply to danxfitz:
rather limited survey i dont know what youll get out of it.
I wear synthetics most of the time, even though they stink because they are generally much cheaper than wool - which I do wear for specific occasions. Sod cotton, I only wear that for work, cheap and useless for active use.
My responses to your survey are unlikely to be of benefit in targeting products as they dont reflect my preferences in choosing fabrics.

In reply to johncook:

Thanks for the feedback. I wish I had too much time on my hands! I'm still learning so if you have any ideas on how to improve, I'd appreciate any input.

Thanks again.

In reply to Pesda potato:

Thanks for your comments. I totally agree with you about cotton, however it's still a hugely popular fabric, especially when you look around the climbing gym. Eventually I'd like to understand if this is simply because people don't care, if it's a lack of knowledge, or just a lack of options from the brands they usually buy, etc.

In reply to The Ex-Engineer:



I must be unusual then - I wear a synthetic wicking-type t-shirt, because it's light, doesn't absorb and hold moisture like cotton if I get sweaty, doesn't stick to me and moves easily - I have four or five, all but one (my club shirt) with only the smallest logo. But 'down below' I tend to wear an old pair of poo-brown knee-length cotton shorts that I picked up from a Sports Direct for about two quid. And I don't bother getting changed for the pub afterwards!