What to Wear for Sport Climbing

Double Cap

Read Time - 6 minutes

May 2020

So you’re raring and almost all ready to go for your first day of outdoor sport climbing, but what to wear?

Chances are you’ve probably got most of the stuff you need already from you sessions at your local lead wall. But there are a few extra items of clothing worth investing in and/or bringing along.

Climbing Clothes

To climb in, any loose fitting garments which don’t restrict your movement work fine. Long bottoms and tops are preferable as they protect your lower legs and arms from grazes, cuts and scrapes, as well as the sun. Many climbers either choose trousers which are gathered at the bottom, or roll up their trousers to get a better view of their feet. Colourful ‘euro-cragger’ style climbing trousers are a nice to have not a need to have. And whilst stretchy and lightweight, on coarser or sharper rocks can fall apart disappointingly quickly given their high price.

If you have a non-restrictive pair of old jeans, cargo trousers or sweatpants consider these. If you’re climbing in exceptionally hot weather, or trying really hard, then by all means wear shorts, and get your top off if you must. But bring a pair of trousers and a long sleeve top just in case. There’s no need to cut up your skin on warm ups, or get sunstroke whilst resting. A cap can also be a nice accessory to keep the sun off the back of your neck, or out of your eyes when belaying and climbing.

If you’re climbing in a remote/backcountry setting, or eyeing up a long multi-pitch, it is worth wearing technical fabrics. For your legs, a soft-shell or a schoeller fabric is fantastic and comes in varying weights depending on the time of year, and part of the world you’re climbing in. Pair this with technical base layer on top. As well as those designed to keep you warm, you can get special technical garments designed to keep you cool, such as a Patagonia Sunshade Hoody or Rab Pulse. These will effectively wick sweat, and protect you from the sun on long climbs.

Warm Layers

Although most of us climb year round, and often the bulk of this activity will be in the summer when the days are longer and we have a little more time, the prime season for trying hard is in the cooler months of the year. So, you will want to have warm layers for approaching and resting.

In cold weather, a nice insulated gilet (vest) can pair well with your technical base layer to climb in. This will keep your core warm without restricting your arms. As we’ll touch on later in the article, for scrappy cragging use, and as far as price and ‘trashability’ go, synthentic insulation trumps down. Since you’re going to be moving in it, look for one with a stretchy face fabric like a Patagonia Nano Air vest or Arc’teryx Atom LT vest.

Instead or as well, you may want to bring a mid-weight synthetically insulated jacket. This can be worn for warm up climbs, or to offer some security, if you’re embarking on long multi-pitches. Again, this will be an active insulation piece since you intend on climbing in it. So, look for one with a stretchy face fabric like a Patagonia Nano Air Hoody or an Arc’teryx Atom LT jacket.

Garments with stretchier face fabrics offer less wind resistance, but are far more breathable than similar garments with harder face fabrics, like the Patagonia Nano Puff series.

You’ll want to pair your insulated mid-layer with a fleece layer. These can either be worn next to skin or over a t-shirt/baselayer. For cragging, a cheap micro fleece material will offer the best balance of price, warmth and comfort as a mid-layer. Although you won’t want to climb your proj in it, you should fit it to have more than enough articulation to climb your warm ups in.

For multi-pitch objectives in more serious environments, a more expensive fleece material like Powerstretch may suit your needs better. In certain chilly instances, it may be worth looking into fleece leggings, to wear under your climbing trousers. In the case of alpine/backcountry multi-pitch sport-climbing, these layers should be sized so that you can climb near your limit in them.

As your ultimate cold weather protection, bring a belay jacket. A good down jacket will set you back an eye watering sum and for sport climbing is frankly overkill. Instead, opt for a solid synthetic jacket. Look beyond mid-weight synthetic layers like those discussed above, and look for a proper belay jacket. In temperate regions look for 100g of high quality synthetic insulation in the body, in colder regions such as Northern Europe, Scandinavia and Britain, look for 200g in the body. Remember this jacket is to provide warmth when static, so the insulation should be backed with a harder wind resistant face fabric. Size it to fit over your other clothes, not to climb in.

For your hands and feet bring light fleece gloves, and thermal socks to change into after your climb or between pitches. A big pair of chunky insulated mittens are also nice to throw on in between climbs, but make sure you can belay in them! A warm beanie is also nice, both for climbing and resting. You’ll be amazed how much thermo-regulation you can get out of putting on and taking off your hat.

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.

Purpose designed approach shoes are built on a lightweight chassis, to offer sensitivity, dexterity and to keep your feet sweat free. The soles are largely flat, and covered with a sticky rubber like Vibram MegraGrip. La Sportiva’s TX series is a great example of this design philosophy. These work well on dry dusty approaches, and shine on those involving moderately technical scrambling.

Although, many climber often overestimate the amount of technical scrambling they’re likely to be doing on approach, so consider if you really need all these climbing potential in your approach shoes. In more damp climates, a trail running shoe with a GTX insert and general sole lugs, is an excellent choice. These designs offer far better traction on steep wet grass, rocks, and mud, as well as offering far superior waterproofing qualities.

For a more in depth look at our thoughts on approach shoes, check out our article on them here.

If you’re likely to be sport climbing in a backcounty or alpine environment any time soon, this article on footwear may be of some help to you, or it may just provide some inspiration for your future climbing career.

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Photos - Fionn Claydon