UKC

Hi All,

I've been bouldering indoors for a while now and want to test my skills outdoors. I wondered what is a good mat for beginners and also where a good beginner place might be. Currently I'm thinking dartmoor Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!!

PS - I'd also appreciate any general tips for outdoor bouldering safely.

You could join a local group such as the South Devon Mountaineering Club with lots of members bouldering regularly throughout Dartmoor. That way you may get occasional lifts, be able to try out different mats and see what their owners think of them before investing in your own, visit lots of different bouldering areas and be safer by being with other experienced climbers / boulderers.

Have fun.

You give no indication of what's local to you, but assuming it's Dartmoor then: Dartmoor. Otherwise, the Peak is quite popular to get into bouldering.

Not sure there's such a thing as a 'beginners' mat'. Get the biggest, deepest mat that a) fits in your car and b) you can afford. 

That said, something like the Ocun Paddy Dominator covers a lot of bases - it's deep and can be opened in two different orientations to cover different landing options. That said, if I was going for 'one pad to rule them all' I'd get something like a Moon Saturn. Once you get a meter off the ground you'll realise there's no such thing as 'too much pad'.