UKC

There's an old saying in bouldering that 'all you need is a pair of shoes.' You might get away with that indoors but when you head outside, things are a little different. Rob Greenwood runs us through the absolute essentials you'll need for bouldering outside.

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'Absolute essentials' is absolute nonsense. You don't even need shoes to boulder outside. You might want your shoes, you might want a chalk bag, you might want a bouldering mat and a brush.. but they're not barriers to entry to clambering over some rocks. Couldn't count how many f2/3/4s I've ticked whilst walking the dogs in my trainers! 

They'll be polished and covered in mud then. Nice work.

Well no, I don't climb if they're covered in mud.. and polished? Trainer rubber thousands of times more abrasive than shoe rubber is it? But don't worry, I don't live near any abused honeypots.

No, but dirty shoes are more abrasive than clean ones. Trainers are likely to be dirtier than climbing shoes

It's not absolute nonsense though, is it? Setting a precedent, particularly for new climbers that you don't need climbing shoes and it's perfectly acceptable to climb in trainers is a very quick way to ruin climbs.

Nick

Likely to be in many cases, but aren’t. You’d only have to sit at the bottom of any low grade classic at Stanage for an hour on a busy day to watch the hordes in their ‘proper’ shoes not giving them the good scrub after walking down from their last route to realise footwear isn’t the problem - attitude (knowledge?) is. 

So you've jumped in with the first comment on a video encouraging people to be responsible to say it's nonsense and they should ditch the mat and brush and just clamber over rocks in their trainers. Again, brilliant.

Come on, don’t pretend it’s not a thing to do low grade stuff in your trainers/approach shoes. We’ve all seen it, we’ve all done it. It’s perfectly fine if they’re clean. I don’t think I said anywhere to ‘ditch’ the mat and brush.. just that they’re not ‘essential’. I thought UKC was about promoting access to the outdoors, now it’s not possible unless you’ve spent £300 on all the toys. 

Promoting access to the outdoors includes making sure users do it responsibly. Very few people (I'd say no beginners) would want to go out for a session bouldering without a crash pad, pair of shoes, and a pad. A brush is an essential bit of kit so you can clean up after yourself.

I'd almost say changing attitudes like yours is as important as educating beginners but at a slight loss of how to achieve that. You might think it's fine to climb up things in your trainers on a dog walk but it's an irresponsible thing to write on a video that's clearly not aimed at you.

I did think 'I don't have most of that stuff' when I watched this (disclaimer: I turned it off quite quickly, as it seemed more like an advert than anything useful/educational). You don't need to spend a grand to go climbing. 

Climbing shoes, pad, chalk, beer towel, brush, tape. That's all you really need to have a good day and climb responsibly and safely. And that's assuming you're starting on your own. If you're joining friends or a club then all you need initially is shoes and maybe some chalk. The rest it just spaffing cash for the sake of it. To suggest to people that they need brush sticks, kneepads, etc. to go bouldering is just going to be a deterrent to people who don't have a mass of disposable income. I agree with Phil's intended sentiment (obviously a shame about the climbing in trainers angle that others seem to have focussed on). 

I suppose we do need more wealthy middle class fad people in climbing; we are a bit void of them currently.  

Erm... That's exactly what the video says you need. Plus a guidebook. You definitely didn't watch the video!

I think in that case then we need a video detailing to experienced climbers why it’s important to ‘clean up after yourself’.. the state of popular honeypots is a sad sight these days. 
My attitude is wholly on protecting the environment we visit, doing so with as little impact as possible and last but not least, protecting ‘our’ rock. Perhaps I’ve missed the videos on when it’s ok to remove mosses or other foliage from boulders or routes, or how to brush your chalk off a problem without damaging it. Or videos on how to search for CRoW closures or use RAD, or how to spot signs of nesting birds and what to do if you come across some. Perhaps I haven’t.

That video is next in this series.

Glad to hear

I liked this video and apart from a crash pad I have all that gear. Lattice have a similar one with a more extensive list.

Apologies, I just watched it and it wasn't the video I thought it was. Thought it was the one of Rob going round Outside and chucking everything and the sink in his trolley. You're quite right, it's a decent selection of items, though the lint bunny was a bit excessive.