While the climbing industry can often times seem like a soap opera, with the occasional fist fight breaking out at different industry events, the industry seems to be gaining momentum again after a brief down-cycle that caused price to become more important than innovation. Now, nearly every company on the floor seems to be moving forward with new designs to keep gear lighter, stronger, and simply more user-friendly than before. While much of the pre-show hype was surrounding hardgoods and new protection designs, the footwear and rope companies showed a considerable amount of action on the floor.
While climbing ropes were bordering on the commodity end of the market for years, recent innovations in tooling and quality control have allowed many brands to push the limits of diameter and weight.
Petzl introduced ropes for the first time this year, and their focus was not simply creating the thinnest cord possible, but rather creating the right balance between durability and weight. The sheath represents roughly 33% of the ropes weight, giving better abrasion resistance and the company offers an 8.2 mm double line, a 10.3 mm single, and a 10.7 mm gym line. All ropes are packaged in a “climb ready” roll. The company also created an interesting new harness, that transfers a climbers weight onto the piping around the waistbelt and leg-loops, instead of down the middle.
Sterling is also seeing the benefits of their innovation. The company has invested heavily in new machinery and a computer controlled processing facility that keeps sheath and core materials consistent regardless of external influences. This technology has also helped the company reduce waste, increase efficiency, and reduce their costs. The company is investing in colors research, merchandising, and marketing. John “JB” Brannigan, Sterlings brand director, said that they are able to differentiate the brand on technology, innovation, and even appearance without relying on lower prices to get attention.
Mammut took a break for a season in their quest to create ever-thinner climbing ropes and decided to let the belay device catch-up to the new rope technology. The company also created a new belay device of their own – the “Sweet” is an assisted belay device that enhances holding power and is designed for 8.9-10.5 millimeter ropes. The company introduced two lightweight carabiners, the hot-forged, key locking “Bionic,” and the 27 gram, full sized, “Moses Wiregate.”
Black Diamond is continuing its world-wide expansion efforts with BD Asia creating the “third pillar” of their global platform in Zhuhai, China. Peter Metcalf said that the offices opened in May with 30 people working on sourcing, design, and distribution in the region. BDE will also be implementing new product lifecycle software that will allow product development teams in different time zones to seamlessly collaborate. For example, designers in Utah can finish their work for the day and then BD Asia can pick up where they left off and not miss a beat. Metcalf also shared some news about their winter program. Black Diamond has been able to step-up their new ski boot program and should have product at Winter OR in 2007 instead of 2008, as originally planned. However, he did say that they will not launch the product unless it is perfect. In addition, BDE has a new partner in Asia for their ski production, which used to be handled by Atomic in Austria. The ski line will be totally re-designed for Fall 2007. Metcalf said he felt the U.S. climbing market was up in the “strong single-digits” this year with BDE out-pacing that growth rate. Europe continues to grow for the company in the double-digits, and overall BDE had their strongest growth in the last 12 years.
Metolius continues to quietly innovate and make every piece of gear on a climbers rack lighter. Last year, the company struck gold by making their already excellent TCUs even lighter with Direct Axel Technology. This year, the company did the same with their new ultralight curve nuts, which use a soldered plug to attach the chock to the cable instead of a bent wire loop. The company has also re-merchandised much of its packaging.
Misty Mountain Threadworks is churning out the same quality product it has for years, but is now able to create seamless waistbelts, offering more comfort for longer, all-day routes. The company is still seeing steady sales growth of its bouldering pads, but is really seeing the biggest up-tick in big wall gear. Misty is one of the only harness manufacturers that still produces in the U.S. Goose Kearse, Mistys president, sees this as an advantage since he is able to be more flexible with his production and delivery schedules. Misty is also working with Project Holds to increase distribution for the brand.
Climbing Footwear has been on quite a roller coaster over the past three years, with prices plummeting at retail due to several new Asian-manufactured brands trying to break into the market. There has been a turn-around recently, and the “shake-out” in the industry was much less dramatic than many predicted. Most high-end climbing shoe manufacturers were actually able to raise their prices for the first time in years, and some are even hitting the $150 mark again for their top-of-the-line models. So, it seems that in spite of the efforts of a few to commoditize the business, retailers and consumers are looking for innovation rather that price points.
Vibram came to OR with their first new climbing rubber in five years, XS Grip. The product was three years in development and was reviewed by Vibrams test team, who almost unanimously chose this compound out of dozens in a blind test. Scarpa, LaSportiva, and Millet are the only U.S. companies who will have XS Grip next season.
Evolve had the biggest marketing development of the show after signing Chris Sharma to a sponsorship contract. Evolve Sports is planning to incorporate Chris’s climbing expertise and ideas into creating new Sharma-signature pro-models and modifying some current designs.
Scarpa is putting the talents of shoe designer and climbing legend Heinz Mariacher to good use, creating two new technologies-one for steeper overhanging routes, the X-Tension system, and one for technical edging routes, the Bridge system. The company is also ramping up its presence in the approach, trail running, and light hiking categories.
Five Ten is “pleased” with the progress of their new products in both the climbing and approach categories. The company is looking at interesting design elements incorporating new textures and colors into climbing footwear. Last year, the company produced two of its price point shoes, including the Mocasym, in China, but has moved everything back to the U.S. this year.
Mad Rock is continuing with their “low price/high performance” strategy and apparently isnt pulling any punches in the marketing department.
LaSportiva is keeping its high standing within the core climbing community with a new high-end bouldering Velcro shoe, the Solution. It uses Sportivas proprietary Performance Power Platform to keep the foot in an aggressively down-turned position. The company has been steadily grabbing market share in spite of their higher price points and an influx of competition.
Montrails second generation of climbing shoes is a vast improvement over their first attempt. Models like the Magnet and Wasabi are becoming a mainstay on many retailers shoe walls after just one season. While the company is certainly not the highest price-point shoe, they seem to be striking a good performance/value balance that is resonating with consumers. The company is also working with Mountain Gear on programs to bring 1,000 new climbers into the sport each year.
