Gifts for someone who climbs or boulders, at the climbing wall or on rock. Based on what climbers say on forums and Reddit, on tests and on years of use.
Prices from shops in Czechia.
Leave shoes, a harness and a rope to them. They’re fitted to the body and trusted with their safety, and climbers say they’d rather choose those themselves.
Anyone who climbs goes through chalk and brushes, and is glad of better ones than they’d buy. Boot Bananas suit anyone who owns climbing shoes.
The premium chalk climbers talk about and rarely buy for themselves. It gave the best grip in a blind test of ten chalks, and the medium chunks work indoors and out.
CZK 419 boulderuj.cz
A thin coat before climbing that lasts longer than a dip in the chalk bag. In a test it matched a liquid chalk at three times the price. The alcohol in it stings in cuts.
CZK 223 affekt.cz
Brushing old chalk off a hold makes it grip again, and climbers say you can never have too many brushes. The boar’s-hair bristles are gentle on holds and on rock.
CZK 215 affekt.cz
Climbing shoes are worn without socks, and it shows. These sit in them between sessions and soak up damp and smell. Climbers themselves suggest them as a gift.
CZK 331 rockrun.comThe Push is a story and suits anyone. The other two are for someone who wants to get better: MacLeod on habits, Beastmaking on finger strength. All three are in English.
Tommy Caldwell’s road to the Dawn Wall, via a kidnapping and a lost finger. The climbing book people name first, read to the end even by those who never train. In English.
CZK 561 knihydobrovsky.cz
Dave MacLeod on the habits that hold climbers back, from avoiding the styles they’re bad at to fear of falling. On forums it’s called a gold mine. In English.
CZK 599 lezec-shop.cz
A short, readable book on finger strength by a co-founder of Beastmaker, with advice from some of the world’s best climbers. For someone who trains, or wants to. In English.
CZK 471 nejlevnejsi-knihy.czAll four are for someone who climbs with a rope. The clip stick and the head torch are for days outside; at the climbing wall, it’s the glasses and the rope bag they’ll use.
Prism glasses let the belayer watch the climber without craning the neck, a relief on long belays. Steel-framed and rated top in a test. For anyone who climbs with a rope.
HUF 19,990 ≈ CZK 1,339 mormota.eu
A rope pack that opens flat onto its own tarp, so the rope stays clean and goes in without coiling. Second of ten in an independent test. For anyone who climbs with a rope.
€41.95 ≈ CZK 1,022 barrabes.com
Clips the rope into the first bolt from the ground, so the first hard moves are protected, then folds to 74 cm. For sport climbing outdoors.
CZK 2,179 lezec-shop.cz
For the walk in before dawn and out after the last route: light, one button, rechargeable, and it takes AAA batteries when it runs flat. For people who climb outside.
CZK 1,622 4camping.czThe chalk bucket works at the climbing wall too; the crash pad is for bouldering outside. A hangboard needs a solid wall at home and someone a year or more into climbing.
Boulderers keep chalk in a bucket that stands at the foot of the wall, open for both hands; this one closes dust-tight. Many boulderers already have one.
CZK 661 rockrun.com
For bouldering outside, where nobody has too many pads and each one makes a fall safer. Thick, built to last and carried like a rucksack; packed, it fills a car boot.
CZK 6,290 mujoutdoor.cz
The wooden hangboard many climbers train on at home: kind to the skin, with an app of routines. It screws above a door into solid wall; best after a year of climbing.
€111.21 ≈ CZK 2,708 varuste.netEverything you want in one place. We show you where each is cheapest and tell you when the price drops.
Board and card games for children from four to about eight, grouped by age: stacking and quick-spotting games, puzzles, games played as one team and first games of strategy. Picked from children’s game awards, parents’ forums and reviews.
Games players still suggest as a first modern board game, for families and friends who enjoy a game night. Picked from game awards, players’ forums and reviews.
Games keen players come back to for years, for someone who already has the classics. Picked from players’ forums and Reddit, critics’ reviews and game awards.
Gifts for someone who scuba dives, in the sea or in lakes and quarries. Based on what divers say on forums and Reddit, on tests and on years of use.
Things riders are glad to have and rarely buy for themselves. Based on riders’ forums and Reddit, the tests of the German magazine MOTORRAD and years of use.
What birders take on every walk, and a few things they rarely buy themselves. Based on birders’ forums and Reddit, binocular tests and years of use.