Reviews by User: Matt Oliver (19)

It you want something says "Yeah that will hold me no matter how wicked I fall!", then this is your sling. Having a noticeable amount of more width to them then any other slings for only a gram or two of extra weight, I have to say it's no contest.

I love that one side is open mesh and the other has a nylon film on the inside of the mesh to hold whatever in. Which would be handy if you were trying to keep your stink socks from stinking up your clean ones. I on the other hand use it to keep my chalk bag from getting chalk all over my rope and harness. Which in its self makes it a great buy, but the other side is great for all the odds and ends: tape, keys, wallet, band-aids, chapstick, ibuprofen, oder eaters for your shoes and whever else you might need.

I have one of these that I inherited form my paps when he threw in the climbing towel. Admittedly I never use it belay, my ATC-XP gives me a lot more holding power with less effort. That said there is nothing like a super 8 for flying down a 90' wall on a single line rappel!

I like my XP just fine, it works just like it is suppose to. But after I bought it I read an article that said the longer friction channel and sharper V shape of the BD ATC builds more heat from friction and is harder on your rope's sheath then others like the Reverso 3 which has half the channel length and a more rounded trough.

I have to say having the ability to choose one color for rope side, one color for bold side, bent gate, strait gate... It all makes picking a carabiner all to easy! This is the only biner for me!

I have got to say, out of all the biners I've own or used over the years, this is the quickest and easiest one I've seen. The Ball-Lock is great! Only having to twist about 25 degrees, rather then the 45 on any other twist lock, means I can get it open even at odd angle where I don't have an ideal grip. Making it super easy to get on and off belay. Plus the simplicity of just having to visually check for a green dot to know that the gate is locked is a real turn on for me.

I have got to say, out of all the biners I've own or used over the years, this is the quickest and easiest one I've seen. The Ball-Lock is great! Only having to twist about 25 degrees, rather then the 45 on any other twist lock, means I can get it open even at odd angle where I don't have an ideal grip. Something that can be more then a little annoying when you finally topped that 70 foot lead. Plus the simplicity of just having to visually check for a green dot to know that the gate is locked is a real turn on for me.

I have to say the bit valve was a huge step forward from the huge void of other sport bottles. With the straw reaching all the way down, I no longer have to tip the bottle up and fight gravity over exactly how much water is going to come out. My only turn off is that the functionality of the leak proof top hinges on the bit valve staying locked down, but once the bottle has exposed to extreme heat that very bite valve no longer locks in place, voiding any reassurance of a leak proof cap... So no mater how dirty... Never boil you bottle!

I did a lot of research when it finally came time to buy my own rope for the first time. I got a tip from a local shop (IME, great guys!)that the Sterling Marathon had the thickest sheath on the market. So when looking for a rope I could justify on my lowly college budget, durability and price were huge for me. Once I looked into it I found the Marathon 10.1 was just as light or lighter per meter then many 9.8s and had a higher impact force rating and higher fall rating. With the exception of one, the Mammut Tusk, but since the Marathon was 50 bucks cheaper I was sold.

This has become my like all time fav shirt. It looks great, it feels great, it wears great, mine is over a year old and it almost looks new. The Dri-Balance keeps you smelling good, even after your fourth day in the gym this week; Plus it is decently long to prevent that cutie on the problem next to you from seeing those ridiculously embarrassing underpants you have on. It's laundry day, I get it, isn't it always?

I know you don't always need that extra 5mm but it is nice to have when you do.

This bag is great! The two shoulder straps make it super easy to carry to and from the crag. The two compression straps and drawcord make it easy to jam in all my extra tidbits, I can fit my harness and a good sized sport rack; plus chalk bag, lotion, hand sanitizer, band-aids, sun screen and tape. Granted I bought a little eagle creek travel organizer to hold the last several items, but they all fit. But the best part of this bag is the rope tarp it's self! The two end tie off and roll up tarp make putting my rope away the easiest part of cleaning up! I truly love this bag.

I'm what you would call a skinny guy. My ideal jeans are 31x34, which just don't exist. So needless to say I have a hard time finding shorts that are long enough and aren't a freaking tent on my slender legs. A conquest I have been most unsuccessful at, until now. These shorts are great. A narrow leg opening and a 23 inch inseam, means they have a very comfortable fit and more or less reach the bottom of my knee. Plus they are just plain old good looking.

They are pretty much your middle of the road ear buds. The sound is ok, I can't turn anything up all the way or they fuzz out. The ear pieces are pretty comfortable and they stay in ok. My only complaint is the in-line volume control has to soft of an adjustment. I turn my music off on myself all the time.

If you want light or cheap these are for you. I can't say they are my favorite quickdraw, but they are pretty darn good. And at $4.91 less per draw then my Petzl's, well you know why I own quite a few.

This bag is great! The two shoulder straps make it super easy to carry to and from the crag. The two compression straps and drawcord make it easy to jam in all my extra tidbits, I can fit my harness and a good sized sport rack; plus chalk bag, lotion, hand sanitizer, band-aids, sun screen and tape. Granted I bought a little eagle creek travel organizer to hold the last several items, but they all fit. But the best part of this bag is the rope tarp it's self! The two end tie off and roll up tarp make putting my rope away the easiest part of cleaning up! I truly love this bag.

I bought these for my girlfriend who is just starting to enjoy climbing after I've been forcing her on dates to the gym for years. Having more then your average beginners experience with climbing shoes, and after trying on a lot of different brands, she fell in love with these. A side from being "The cutest shoes I've ever seen!" They fit amazing and the rubber grips like a pro. I don't know if it is the shoes or not, but she as started out climbing all my guy friends.

Got to love a bottle finally having some design. Not that I didn't love covering every Nalgene I ever owned with stickers. It is just nice to not have to for a change. Plus the bite valve is great!

These shoes are a great all around shoe. They look nice, but are surprisingly comfortable. I bought them for a good looking leather shoe I could waterproof and were out in the light snow that covers salt lake from December to February. I was concerned when I got them because they fit very narrow and I have an extra wide footprint due to planters fasciitis; but the shoe really molded to my foot rather quickly and now fits like my favorite old trainers. I am quite pleased with these shoes.