UKC

The Guardian are doing a series of articles ‘The Filter’ investigating the best consumer products from an expert-ish reviewers point of view and they’ve just done bouldering. It’s quite good tbh, a lot of superfluous tat recommended for beginners (a hold brush??? A mat??? Finger tape?????) but it is a good read and they did refer to someone who knows their onions for guidance.

https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/feb/25/bouldering-climbing-equip...

Yes - and they have recently also covered Tinned Tomatoes, Baked Beans - and Vibrators. (See https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/feb/23/best-vibrators-bullet-rab...)

It's like a middle-class suburban parody of 'Which' magazine - but Which magazine is already a self-parody.

Strange old world just now ...

We are though, no matter how much we protest, their target readers 🤣

And as we’ve both read the articles, they’re getting it right!

Are tinned tomatoes and baked beans a characteristic middle-class interest now? 

Tedious and long-winded epicurean comparisons of the various brands certainly are, Bob.

(But make your own call about vibrators ...)

I have no idea about vibrators. Is there a bit of a buzz about them in Islington?

It is all we talk about!

I thought the vibrator article was more stimulating than the bouldering one.

How strange to recommend 'beginner' shoes, give good advice that they don't need to be cripplingly tight, and then recommend all sorts of gubbins to make the inside of the shoes marginally less disgusting just because we all just unquestioningly accept the myth that climbers (even complete beginners) can't wear socks.

Reading the article and it appears to be in two parts.
One is semi-product placement shoe reccomendations by a 'climbing expert' and the other just comes across as blatant advertising.

Baked beans are pretty awesome to be fair. I'd go as far to say more awesome than climbing shoes 🤷‍♂️

So versatile.

Baked means are the work of the devil, the food equivalent of DMM Wallnuts; something good battered into something horrible.

I wear skinny socks with mine.

I didn't used to and I never found a way to reliably manage the smell.

We need to explore this in greater depth! 

The link from Baked Beans to Wallnuts is hilarious

Fill yer boots: https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/feb/08/best-baked-beans

The Guardian hasn't tackled passive climbing protection so far. But, since climbing is now in the money-spinning mainstream, it shouldn't be long.

Just keep your shoes outside the bag and they never smell. 

Climbers/climbing brands have come up with so many overly complicated/expensive ways to get rid of the smell from climbing shoes. The answer is simple: just never let them smell in the first place.

I didn't get further than the entry level