Field Notes Climbing gear guides, written by climbers
Everything we've worked out about chalk, bags, brushes and grades — from our own sessions, not from a spec sheet. Straight answers first, detail underneath.
How to Make a Living From Climbing in 2026: The Jobs Around the Wall
Route setting, coaching, instruction and guiding: the real climbing jobs, their published certification ladders, and what they pay.
How to Become a Professional Climber, Step by Step (2026)
The competition ladder has published rules and closes early. Sponsorship has no rules and never closes. Here is how both...
Gifts for Boulderers, From People Who Only Boulder
A gift guide organised by the problems bouldering actually creates — wrecked skin, stale chalk, the three-bag carry — plus...
Climbing Stocking Stuffers Under $25 (That Actually Get Used)
The climbing stocking stuffers boulderers actually run out of and use again — chalk balls, brushes, tape, and balm, all...
The Best Climbing Spots in the US: A Boulderer's 2026 Guide
A region-by-region guide to the best climbing and bouldering spots in the US, updated for 2026 with the permits, seasons...
Gifts for Climbers: What Actually Gets Used (2026)
A climber's gift guide built from what gets used every session, not what looks good in a catalogue — with...
Board Climbing, Explained: What the Board Room Is Actually For
What a climbing training board actually is, how spray walls and system boards differ, why board grades run stiff, and...
What's Actually Inside a Chalk Bag: Liner, Drawstring, Brush Loop, Stiffener
A teardown of what actually separates a chalk bag that lasts from one that leaks: the liner, the cord-lock, the...
How to Carry a Chalk Bucket on the Approach (Hands Free, Chalk Sealed)
Four ways to carry a chalk bucket on the walk-in, which one to use when, and the eleven-second routine that...
Boulder Bag vs Chalk Bucket vs Tote: What Actually Carries a Session
Boulder bag, chalk bucket or tote — we judge all three across the four moments of a session that actually...
We Read the Reviews of Every Major Chalk Bucket — Here's What Climbers Keep Complaining About
We read the independent hands-on reviews of every major chalk bucket and pulled out the four complaints that keep coming...
Where Loose Chalk Is Banned: US Gym Rules, Explained
No US law bans climbing chalk — but plenty of gyms ban loose powder. Here's what the four common wordings...