With DMM recently flaunting a bunch of new colours for the long standing Zenith, Rich has shown an otherwise uncharacteristic level of wisdom in reviewing his old faithful red one. Purely aesthetic updates, what you're about to read for the original Zenith remains relevant for this years update!

It really is a very well featured, tough little day sack fit for whatever one-day outing you've planned. In the timeless lyrics of the Beastie Boys; Ch-check it out.

Our jet-setting scouse may look like a budget Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, lost on his way to Comic Con, whenever he pulls up at an airport. But rest assured, he's about to go climb something tres difficile, and he has everything he could possibly need in that big green bag.

Read on!

Having used Climb On for years and found it very effective, I’ve found that ClimbSkin Cream complements rather than replaces it. Climb On works well as a deep moisturiser that takes some time to properly soak in, so it is best as an overnight application. The Climb Skin however, has a percentage of alcohol which helps to accelerate it’s drying time. It can be used during the day and a couple of hours pre climb where it will hydrate the skin and dry enough to not be a greasy hindrance when pulling hard on the rock.

I’ve used it on several climbing trips as an after the morning shower application, making my skin hydrated and supple (a bit more elastic and leathery) which means it is less prone to splitting or tearing on sharp edges.

I suffer from split nail beds fairly often where my nails separate from the fingertips and it is really quite painful to crimp down on anything. Climb Skin doesn’t work very well for this due to the alcohol content drying out the area under the nail a bit but is great on the fingertips.

Being a cream rather than a wax bar it does mean that it is easy to burn through a tub quite fast, so try to control your use a little and use something else as an overnight deep moisturiser such as Climb On, Kletter Retter or Rhino Repair (other excellent moisturisers are also available!).

- Rich

The Organic Boulder buckets are well suited to harnessing the untapped power of Friction Labs chalk, being at the top of the price tree and very desirable.

The bag is made from recycled offcuts from the manufacturing of the bouldering mats so ticks the eco green box nicely. This also means each bag is pretty much unique in patterning and colour combination.

It is a very sturdy bag that sits well on the ground and doesn’t blow over in a light breeze. It features grab handles, a generous zip compartment for skin care items and several brush holders as we all know that one meagre brush will not suffice when having to remove the excessive build-up of chalk, dead skin, grime and nastiness from the grips.

The solid velcro strip closure is ideal as I’ve always found drawcord closures fail either from snapping or de-threading and blocking in the eyelets making it impossible to close the bags properly.

The other obvious bonus of having a garishly vibrant and unique oversized bucket, is that it won’t get lost at the wall in the sea of generic Moon Boulder chalk bags* or DMM Edge buckets of the great unwashed.

*Check out Jack’s review of the Moon Boulder bag here..

- Rich

FrictionLabs chalk: Costing more per gram than a city banker’s recreational habits, is this dust more magical than anything Philip Pulman dreamt up or simply the Emperor’s new chalk?!

What’s purer than pure.. err ground Unicorn horn? With it being by far the most pricey chalk pound for pound, is Friction Labs worth selling organs for?

Hyperbole and faux science aside, it is without doubt a step up in performance in terms of keeping fingers drier for longer. I won’t let any other chalk near my main chalk bucket as contaminating it with sub-standard fare would undermine its effectiveness.

I’ve found that it prevents my tips sweating out as fast and that less re-chalking is required. This has been a legitimate game changer for wrestling up marginal greasy volumes and slopers indoors as well as on pumpy outdoor climbs where there is no opportunity to chalk up mid climb (i.e. Parisella’s Cave).

If you don’t possess your own money tree, I would recommend having a separate chalk bag with cheaper chalk for warming up purposes and saving the good stuff for redpointing projects. It is available in 3 flavours; Unicorn (Fine), Gorilla (Medium) and Bam Bam (Chunky), so just pick whichever grain size floats your boat. Fortunately, it is available in a sample size to give it a test before having to commit to a big bag!

If the price is still just a bit too high, I would recommend giving the Beta Bloc double density chalk bloc a go. It has a very good value per gram and is probably the next best thing I have used after Friction Labs.

- Rich

More and more brands are producing clothing lines made from bamboo. A giant grass that grows at an alarming 3 feet a day and reaching maturity in only 3 to 5 years whilst releasing a third more Oxygen in to the atmosphere than most other flora?! Mono-culture is rarely a good thing but those are some impressive stats.

Primary school science lesson over. Rich loves his Ocun Gear tee, which is a shame because he's been eating like a horse and living at the gym so it now looks like it was painted on. He reckons they are well worth £27, want to find out why?

Disclaimer; Within this review is one of the best modelling shots of the Prana Mojo to have ever been taken. Prana said it was too strong. People would be intimidated.. that they would be seen as elitist. You can see their point but we think the world is ready.

Read on about these top drawer, alll-day ultra comfy climbing shorts and find out what all the fuss is about.

Bouldering connies have not been great these last two months but Rich managed to get out of North Wales and put the newest Snap Wham to the test alongside his faithful old Wrap and P'tit Wrap. Anybody who has landed on a Snap pad knows they are a reassuring spot to plant your derriere.

The build quality, reputation and general design of the Snap pads are on point but do they deserve the market topping price tags? Rich seems to think so..

Richard doesn't often speak if he can help it but when he does it's usually an indecipherable scouse drawl. We managed to sit him down long enough to put pen to paper and explain properly what it is he likes so much about his new Unparallel Sirius!

Very new to us and fairly new to the world, Unparallel are actually seasoned vets of the shoe building world with a guilded history at Five Ten. Californian shoe sages. You need to get down to Llanberis and try some on!