Welcome to this week's Gear and Beta. Where we feature and give little tips for climbing in the the Bay Area that we have found helpful.
For this week we are featuring having a good approach bag. Many approaches around the Bay aren't too bad and lots of our favorite crags are around 30 minutes or less in approach time. However, this does not mean the need for a great approach bag should be overlooked. We've had instances where we've gotten lost or on a first time to a crag, it takes more than the allotted time from car to rock. Having a good bag is essential to be able to get through with plenty of energy to also crush the routes for the day.
The First I looked for when purchasing a bag was that it needed to have a large amount of space, as possible multiday excursions would require it. There is a decent amount of gear that you can bring, depending on the plans for the day. If you know an exact gear count for a project you can shed weight or pack light, but many of our trips are come as they are, and we play by ear at the walls on what we want to climb that day. We also enjoy bringing other things besides climbing gear with us, such as food and water, camera/video equipment and sometimes a crag chair. Our bags can get pretty packed once you account for all that so make sure to get a bag that will accommodate all your needs.
Next, was comfort. I wanted to be sure that the shoulder straps were padded, and a hip belt to help distribute the weight through my body. Having good adjustments on the bag allows for a comfortable hike in with a decent amount of weight on your back.
Lastly, there were some features I wanted the bag to have. Pockets on the hip belt are great for storing keys, wallet, and phone so I know where they are while we are at the crag. Top flap cover was great for allowing dump thing into the top of the bag and being able to really cinch down after packing everything up. Then a sleeping pad buckle on the bottom for carrying a rope, tripod, chair or anything else.
When looking at all these things, durability plays a huge role so making sure the bag is made of good quality material was huge, and I'd prefer to upgrade some of the things about my pack for the future. But it does it's job pretty well and has taken us on tons of trips and hopefully many future ones as well.
If you have any questions reach out to us by email or on instagram @stoneriverclimbingco and see what we are up too over there. Be safe and go crush!