SPOTLIGHT: New Climbing Gear Autumn/Winter 2021

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 UKC Gear 12 Oct 2021

For the past couple of months, we've been finding out about all the shiny new gear that's hitting the shops this Autumn/Winter. We've taken a look at everything from the latest harnesses and helmets, to new rock shoes and cool cams. Take a peak:

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In reply to UKC Gear:

Hi All,

If anyone has any questions feel free to fire them across.

As many will notice, we've filmed the majority of these in person, as opposed to via Zoom, which marks a change from our last round of reports. It is - at least from my perspective - infinitely superior, not least because of the picture and audio quality being infinitely superior, but also the fact that we can actually handle the kit, formulate an opinion on it, and ask more relevant questions as a result of this (or at least that's the theory in between the waffling).

Another point worth noting is that we've moved away from featuring products from the season ahead (i.e. those released in 6-8 months time) to those that are available in shops now. Trade Shows have historically focussed on the former, but from an end user perspective that information, nice though it is to know, also a little misleading.

Hopefully 2022 will bring about a more normal year as far as trade shows are concerned and we can go back to filming all our reports within the space of a few days. It would suffice to say that these took a lot of time, effort and driving.

Thanks to Nick Brown for keeping in check (and focus) throughout.

 TobyA 20 Oct 2021
In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

I enjoyed them - I think the Trango helmet was even part designed by one of my old Finnish climbing partners who was an engineer at Suunto and now works in Colarado for Trango! I am very ready to offer my services to review the Scarpa Quantic because your description makes it sound the perfect shoe for me!

In reply to TobyA:

> I am very ready to offer my services to review the Scarpa Quantic because your description makes it sound the perfect shoe for me!

Bear with on this one, as there's a very real possibility that we can make this happen  

 TobyA 20 Oct 2021
In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

The Scarpa Force a decade ago was a mid-range velcro do many things type of shoe that I loved: https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/footwear/rock_shoes/scarpa_force_rock_shoes... I only binned that original pair a few years back when a strap finally snapped off. Got me up 600 odd metres of Stetind's South Pillar in comfort and worked on smeary friction weird granite sport climbs or polished limestone. Couldn't ask much more from comfortable shoe, so I'm hoping the Quantic might follow in the Force's mighty footsteps.

 Nutty 21 Oct 2021
In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

Is the new Instinct Slipper going to have the same last/fit as the original orange Instinct S (FQ?), the narrower FJ last of the current Instinct SR, or the FV last as used in the Instinct Lace, VS etc. (or something else)? The original Instinct S is one of my favourite shoes and I was very disappointed when I tried on the SR and they were uncomfortably narrow for my wide feet.   

In reply to Nutty:

> Is the new Instinct Slipper going to have the same last/fit as the original orange Instinct S (FQ?), the narrower FJ last of the current Instinct SR, or the FV last as used in the Instinct Lace, VS etc. (or something else)? The original Instinct S is one of my favourite shoes and I was very disappointed when I tried on the SR and they were uncomfortably narrow for my wide feet.   

This is a very good question - let me see if I can find out the answer for you.

Curiously I can't relate to what you're saying about the Instinct SR, because - if anything - I'd have said that they're at the slightly wider end of the spectrum. That said, the vagaries of fit never cease to amaze me. Over the years I've seen all-sorts reported on the Forums, including people with wide feet fitting narrow shoes and people with narrow feet fitting wide shoes. All-in-all it brings me back to the fact that you're often far better trying them on than you are reading a review, because if they fit - they fit!

In reply to Nutty:

Right, the response I got is typically thorough, so many thanks to Glyn at Scarpa for sparing the time:

The new Instinct slipper is FJ lasted. FJ has actually got the same forefoot Width/Vol as  VS/VSR (FV) but does have a narrower (more secure) heel cup, which makes sense on a slipper (only Heinz/Scarpa would design a separate slipper version of the main Instinct FV last...)

Why did the SR then feel narrower than original slipper if last shape in the forefoot the same?  Probably more to do with the increased rubber overlay on the top of the SR vs the original instinct S. At least initially this would make the slipper feel narrower until bedded in.

How will the new slipper feel compared to the original Instinct S? Highly subjective depending on foot shape! However important to remember that its still the same vol/width as the original slipper. The rubber overlay on the top of the slipper will still inevitably have an effect. However the difference with the new slipper from the SR  is the more sophisticated use of different rubbers across the top of the foot with different levels of elasticity. 

For most I would say the new slipper should initially feel somewhere between the original slipper and the SR in forefoot width, although with a narrower heel of course. Its very much an Instinct shape at its heart and what you should definitely feel is more power/support than either of the two previous versions due to the more comprehensive tensioning system.

And if you feel all of this slipper evolution still isn’t as good as your original Instinct S then you should get Scarpa to refurb your original slippers so they can live

Their best life again…and again…

 Nutty 23 Oct 2021
In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

Thanks for that Rob. Probably was the rubber coverage on the SR that was the issue for me, and I think I took the view that it wasn't likely to sufficiently break in when I tried them at a boot demo. I'll have to give the new slipper a try, but I've got a hoard of the old ones in various states to last until then.


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