With the holidays coming around, many people around the world are thinking of what they want when their friends inevitably ask, “What do you want for Christmas?” A common feeling among many is having absolutely no idea in the world about what you would want. Another common feeling is many people having absolutely no clue what to get their friends. Climbers are no exception to these problems. Like many other athletes, climbers will likely ask for equipment or gifts related to their sport, and there’s a lot of different things to get. You could get shoes, a rope, a harness, chalk, beanies, or an infamous crag dog [it’s literally just a chill dog]. Nevertheless, there’s an infinite combination of gifts to get for a climber, so this holiday season, I’m giving the gift of sanity, by telling you exactly what to get your favorite climber or you for Christmas, with a list of 12 different items. (This list is in no particular order.)
#1: Climbing Shoes! ($120 to $210)
One of the most simple gifts to get a climber is shoes. Every climber needs that advantage when going to their project, or just an on site in their indoor gym. There’s plenty of different shoes to get, but one perfect gift to get a climber (if their gym has this) are speed climbing shoes. They may hate speed climbing, they may love it, but it’s a thoughtful enough gesture to get them shoes, but most people don’t have these, while every climber worth their skills has a pair of shoes for sport climbing or bouldering. The best shoes for this are Cobra 4:99’s, although you still can just get regular climbing shoes, in which I would recommend pretty much any shoe from La Sportiva.
#2 Magdust Chalk (under $30)
Very recently, climbers have been crazing over this new chalk that hit the market, Magdust. Created by a prominent member in the climbing community, Magnus Midtbø, who became popular on YouTube. He’s climbed with many legends in the rock climbing world, such as Alex Honnald and Adam Ondra. While it also does give some pretty cool bragging rights, the chalk has had some incredible reviews, and any climber would be more than happy to get their hands on some.
#3 A Rope ($125)
Many climbers have been climbing long enough to have all the shoes, their own harness, chalk, and pretty much everything else they need. A rope is one of those things that you don’t necessarily need, although it would be helpful to have, but you don’t want to shell out the money for it. They aren’t too expensive, but are normally just unnecessary to buy. But, if your favorite climber has everything else, there’s no reason to not get them a rope, right? Generally, you’d want a dynamic rope, and I would prefer a 9.5 to 10 millimeter rope, it’s more durable and is less annoying to clip into draws when lead climbing. Most of these come with rope bags, but if it doesn’t, get one.
#4 A Harness ($80)
A simple but sweet gesture. Not too much is happening here, but it’s still a nice gift to have. My recommendation is the Black Diamond Momentum, but be 100% sure it fits the climber, or else it may just make everything more strenuous.
#5 Training (prices vary)
By far the most heavily underrated gift for any climber of all time. Every climber has goals to get better, and what better way to get better than a few climbing lessons from Atlanta’s expert coaches. It’s hard to find a bad climber coach in the area, but it’s easy to find very renowned coaches. Or, if private lessons aren’t your style, you can sign them up for a training camp, in which you’ll still be given expert coaching. There’s many different places to get coaching, but some of the best are at Stone Summit and The Overlook. With expert coaching, you’ll help your favorite climber break through a plateau and get even better than you!
#6 Polyboard Mini ($75)
Also a relatively new gift, the Polyboard Mini is a heavily underrated gift for a climber. It’s not so much as a training gift, but more just a fun climbing toy for them, and that’s even more unique, given that “toys” for climbing are essentially nonexistent. What it is a sort of ball that fits in your hand, and you can set different routes to go through with your fingers on one hand. It’s infinitely resettable with millions of possible route combinations, AND it’s portable! Any climber will love this, guaranteed, without a doubt.
#7 Tension Hangboards ($170)
Really, any hangboard by Tension Climbing would be an awesome gift to get, but I made this one more generalized given the few different options they have. The Grindstone is probably the best with beginners, given its more simplistic choice of holds, with decreasing length crimps, and the only Tension Hangboard with jugs. The Honestone is like a much more advanced version of it, with jugs traded for slopers and one finger pockets to train for the hardest sends you could think of. Then, there’s the Whetstone, which is like a combination of the two, with two-finger pockets, unique jugs, and the classing Tension Hangboard crimps.
#8 Any board from Aurora Climbing ($1,800 – $13,000)
The most extreme gift to get a climber. Probably something that a climber’s sugar daddy or an uncharacteristically rich uncle would buy them. Given that the cheapest ones are still around $2000 dollars, it’s something most climbers only dream of (you can normally buy them used for less). There’s a bunch of different options, such as the Tension, the Kilter, the Moon, the Grasshopper. They all share the same characteristics though, they have a set of holds in the wall that you can make routes on through an app, and the holds have a light that lights them up and shows the route, also, you can generally change the angle on the wall. The possibilities are literally endless, if you want to shell out the cash.
#9 Gri-Gri ($110)
Like the harness, a relatively simple gift to get if they don’t already have one. It’s much better than a rental, and will make it feel much easier to belay your partner. Given that many other gifts here are relatively close to this price, it’s not the best gift you could get them if they don’t have other stuff, but this is still undoubtedly a great gift for an enthusiastic climber, or really any climber.
#10 Funny Chalk Bags ($25 – $50, but varies)
A practical gift that also functions as a gag gift, a funny chalk bag would give a good laugh to a sensible climber, those that aren’t will get flagged by TSA when going on a climbing trip cross-country and bring their “not cocaine” chalk bag full of an undisclosed white powdered substance. Many of these vary from a chalk bag with “not cocaine” stamped on it, a dinosaur tail, or a Magikarp? There’s really too many options, many of these are found on Etsy.
#11 Climbing Croc-Charms ($6 – $20)
The price honestly depends on how many you want, but these are a fun gift to get a climber friend. There’s not much to explain about these, even though they may increase the rate they complete their project climb by 1000%. There’s also speed climbing croc-charms on Etsy too, which of course, I prefer. Nevertheless, a fun gift.
#12 Rock Climbing Mug (Around $30)
A “cool” gift. Buying this for any climber will immediately increase swag levels by a factor of 10. What’s even better is that they can “train” fingers for climbing, but it really just looks really cool. All it is is a mug with the handle replaced for a climbing hold. Some are just cool, but some are harder, but nobody is making a mug you’ll just drop. Either way, it’s a cool gift, and an even better one for a climber that drinks a lot of coffee.
