A Climber's Companion

Today I thought I would talk about gear. I do, after all, work in a gear shop.

When I think of climbing in October I think of crisp temps and changing foliage, but I also think about incremental weather. You know what I'm talking about, it is freezing on the hike up, then it is warm under the wall, then as you reach the first belay the clouds roll in and you are left sweaty and shivering. If you have ever experienced this then I recommend you get your hands on Marmot’s Dri-Clime Windshirt (men's, women's), which we carry in the shop or one of the other models that uses the Dri-Clime material that we can special order for you.

What Marmot's Dri-Clime does, in a nutshell, is it uses your body heat to move moisture from the inside of the garment to the outside where it gets spread out over the outer fabric where the wind can evaporate the moisture quickly. It is also highly breathable. So when you reach the belay sweaty and the wind and clouds roll in you are dry in seconds. I have even been caught in a heavy rain in my Dri-Clime and it wetted completely out, I found shelter and within a minute or so the inside of the jacket was dry again. Combined with a wicking t-shirt or long sleeve T like a Capilene 1 it is a great combo for stop and go activities, such as multi-pitch rock climbing, as well as aerobic activities like trail running. It is also very light weight so there is never an excuse for leaving it behind.

I recently put the Catalyst Dri-Clime jacket through its paces in North Carolina and Colorado and highly recommend you get one for your next adventure, whether it is down the street or across the country.

JW