As the year draws to an end I’m looking back at the plethora of amazing advancements in the field of climbing gear and clothing this past season and calling out some of the best stuff I got to review this year that has become a permanent addition to my kit. Check them out below!

Petzl Sirocco Climbing Helmet

A fantastic update to what was already one of the most competitive climbing helmets on the market I went into great detail of the changes in my review here.

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Arcteryx Acrux AR Mountaineering Boots

Without a doubt the most sleek and comfortable ice climbing boots I have ever worn. From Mount Rainier to Grade 5 waterfall ice in New England these have been a serious joy to wear. See my detailed review here.

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 Black Diamond Alpine Softshell Pants

From Spring rock climbing in New England, Summer alpine climbing in the Cascades, to warmer winter ice climbing, these pants came in clutch this past year. Check out my full review here.

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Petzl GriGri+ Belay Device

There’s a lot to love about the safety improvements to the iconic GriGri with the new “+” version. My favorite feature is definitely the fact that this device is engineered to work with any single rated rope on the market so I don’t need to think about whether my ropes are too skinny to use with this device. See my long review on this advancement here.

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Cassin X-Dream Ice Axes

While these amazing ice tools have been around for awhile Cassin just released some more customization options including an alpine handle and two new pick options! Details in my review here.

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Petzl Laser Ice Screws

I ran some numbers and did some comparing against other popular models of this screw here. While I deal with the “sticky screw” placement from time to time these still make up the bulk of my ice rack!

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Climbing Skins

A lot of great skins hit the market late last winter and I got to test three of the top models! Check out the results here!

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DPS Wailer 99 Tour 1 Skis

This set up absolutely slays the uphill skinning yet performs quite impressively on the descent. I logged over 50,000 feet of skiing this rig last season and I couldn’t have been happier. Bonus that the Arcteryx Procline Carbon Ski Boots could also climb technical ice!

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Summary

Well there you have it, 8 of my favorite climbing (and skiing) pieces of gear and clothing from the past year. I can’t wait to see what 2018 brings!

COMMENT BELOW!

What was your favorite piece of new gear from last season? Let me know in the comments below!

See you in the mountains,

Northeast Alpine Start

P.S. Still shopping for the climbers in your life? Check out my hand-selected Holiday Shopping Guide!

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