Bouldering Kit List

Double Cap

Read Time - 8 minutes

May 2020

One of the main appeals of bouldering is that by comparison to other disciplines, it requires only a minimal selection of gear.

It’s not possible to go completely au naturel though, so any good kit list for a day of outdoor bouldering should include the following items.

Climbing Shoes

Perhaps an obvious one, but shoes are often a major stumbling block for those starting out. You’ve always borrowed shoes up until this point but now you need to buy a pair. If you’re struggling to navigate the complex lexicon of climbing shoes sales talk, check out our jargon buster here.

As a beginner one pair should be fine for most of your needs. As you start to progress through the grades, you’ll probably want to bring at least two pairs with you for a day of outdoor bouldering. A pair of warm up shoes, and a pair of ‘try hard’ shoes. Potentially if you own it, even a third pair. This third pair would be substantially different from your ‘try hard’ shoe to offer you new possibilities on a climb. Perhaps, it’s far stiffer/softer or maybe it has a quirky design feature like a No-Edge or Full Contact Sole technology.

Chalk Bag & Chalk

Climber’s chalk is Magnesium Carbonate. Despite what many new climbers think, chalk does not increase friction between your skin and the rock. It merely prevents sweating, which itself reduces friction. In fact, too much chalk on your hands or on holds can reduce the friction between your fingers and the rock. 

Chalk comes in four forms, as a block, loose, in a ball and as a liquid. Block chalk simply compressed Magnesium Carbonate, simply break off the desired chunk size, place it in your chalk bag and crush it into smaller chunks. Loose chalk comes in varying grain sizes dependent on brand. Chalk balls are netted bags of loose chalk. Liquid chalk is a solution of Magnesium carbonate and alcohol, which evaporates upon contact with the hands leaving a coating of chalk.

Different chalk products contain different quantities of added silica gel, a drying agent, and will have different effects on your skin. If you’re at the beginning of your climbing career, or have been climbing for some years and you’re struggling with bad skin, it’s worth sampling a wide range of chalk products from different brands to see which works best for you. For more tips on skin care, read our article here.

Chalk bags and buckets are both valuable tools for boulderers. Ideally bring both with you for an outdoor session. You’ll appreciate the portability of a chalk bag on long endurance problems and traverses, whilst a chalk bucket is excellent for transporting and holding chalk en masse. Bring a small measuring cup to transfer chalk between your bucket and your chalk bag. To start out though, buy a chalk bag before you buy a chalk bucket.

Climbing Clothes and Warm Layers

As far as clothing goes we have a fairly extensive article all ready for you to read right here. The best answers, as always, are as simple as you think.

Approach Shoes

The point of an approach shoe is to get you to the crag in one piece, comfortable and ready to climb. So, if you are able to approach in your street shoes and feel comfortable doing so, then by all means do. Generally though, a sturdy trail running shoe is your best option. These outperform purpose built approach shoes time and time again in practice.

If you want to know our more in depth thoughts on approach shoes, read our article on them right here.

Boulder Pad

If you’ve got some generous friends then chances are you’re borrowing or sharing a pad for your first outdoor sessions. But, if you need to buy one off the bat, this buying guide should help you make the right decision. Generally speaking though, a generous mid sized taco style pad should do you fine. Even more confused now? Definitely read the buying guide here.

Brushes, Skin Care and Miscellaneous

There are a few other items which are not absolutely necessary but are nice to bring:

• Some pads include a patch of textured material on it called a ‘welcome mat’. This is designed to clean and dry your shoes before getting back on the rock to prevent you from getting dirt or moisture on the holds, and to increase the performance of your shoes. If your pad doesn’t have a ‘welcome mat’, it is a good idea to bring either a small hand towel, a patch of carpet or a doormat.

• A brush is useful for cleaning excessively chalked holds. A number of specifically designed boar’s hair brushes are available. However, these are often expensive. A standard plastic washing up brush coupled with a soft nylon bristled toothbrush will cover most of your bases on pretty much all rock types. However, proceed with caution and adhere to local brushing ethics on soft sandstones, where brushing may be prohibited.

• On tall boulders, consider bringing a painters pole so you can reach high unbrushed holds. Never, brush with a wire bristled metal brush, this greatly damages the rock. Wire brushes have been the cause of destroying a number of classic problems across the world.

• Skin care is an important part of your rest and recovery, and you should make full use of the range of products available (read more here). However it is always worth bringing some Zinc Oxide tape, a small pumice stone or block of sandpaper and some moisturiser. Regularly inspect your finger tips and sand down and rough areas, or snagged skin. You’d be amazed how much this can prolong your sessions.

• A guidebook is a book or eBook which contains photographs or drawings of the problems, along with a description of each problem and details of how to find the climbs. These photos are called ‘topos’ as such sometimes a guidebook may be referred to as a topo. In most modern guidebooks, lines will be superimposed on top of the boulder or rock face to show which way the problem is climbed. In other guidebooks, you may get a simple sketch with a ‘bird’s eye view’ from above showing where the climbs are. However, these topos are harder to use, especially for those unfamiliar with the area it describes, and as such are falling out of fashion.

• And, as always for any outdoor activity, carry a small First Aid kit, know how to use and means to contact local emergency services with an accurate description of where you are.

This article is an extract from our eBook ‘Bouldering Basics: A Handbook for Beginners’.

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