Climbing Gear » Cams / Nuts / Carabiners

Climbing cams are ingenious, and anyone who has hung from their fingernails while desperately trying to place a nut in a flared crack knows just how reassuring a good placement can be. They come with 3 lobes (light, able to fit into small slots and awkward places) or 4 lobes (a little heavier and wider but many climbers feel 4 lobes is more stable). If you're looking for a good gift for a rock-loving friend, look no further. A climber can never have too many.
Not all climbing gear is so fancy. Passive protection- that's hexes, chocks, and nuts- is very simple conceptually but the materials and manufacturing methods that go into them are incredibly advanced. Compare them to the nuts and hexes of 30 years ago the newer models beautifully light and incredibly strong. And color-coded for easy placement too. Carabiners are another item that every climber could use more of. The non-locking ones are good for racking gear neatly, for making extendable quickdraws, or for simply clipping something to something else. The lockable ones are for belaying, securing yourself to belay points on multi-pitch routes, building slacklines, creating anchors, setting top ropes, and more.