Spring is finally here, it brings with it those beautiful clear, slightly breezy days where the air is warm but the stone is still cold. We here at czechclimbing/Lezec took advantage of such conditions and hit the rocks with three different models Ocun sent us: the Mojave, the Zeptor, and their latest model- the Twist. Read more about each below.
Czech mountaineering union approved chalk ban again
Czech Mountaineering union (CHS) organized the annual general assembly where the most discussed topic - the ban of chalk on Czech sandstone criticized by the majority of all Czech elite climbers - was approved again and chalk is still prohibited.
Adam Ondra came back from his trip to Spain with a collection of hard sends that shocked not only us. His impressive list of sends brings to question where exactly is the physical limit of climbing. Adam´s climbs indicate that it would be much farther than we think. We spoke with Adam not only about this topic, but other things interesting us as well.
Everyone knows that global warming is leading to the deterioration of the greatest Nordwands in the Alps. So last week a young team of German Alpinists went after the Eiger North Face like there is no tomorrow, climbing it about 10.30 hours. The team was composed of Lukas Binder, Fritz Miller, Florian Jehle and Michael Wohlleben, who provided us with the info and pics. More information to come so stay tuned...
I don't know, what I should title the news about Adam's trip to the climbing areas in northern Spain. And a lot of beta has already been written, so what´s more?
Well, now that the holiday season is over, we have resumed our testing here at Lezec. Appogies to all readers for the long spans between instalments in this series, but like most of the Czech Rep. (the world?) our testers have fallen ill in the past couple of weeks. Must be the lack of climbable rock outside that has affected our health. So Plan B, we retreated into our top secret testing facilities to continue with the testing of the second line of harnesses, Singing Rock.
Czech young climber Adam Ondra (15) climbed yesterday in Spanish cave Santa Linya the route La novena enmienda, 9a+, RP, and also the route Digital system, 8c in on sight style. The Spaniard Dani Andrada informs about the climbs on his blog.
Spring is finally here, it brings with it those beautiful clear, slightly breezy days where the air is warm but the stone is still cold. We here at czechclimbing/Lezec took advantage of such conditions and hit the rocks with three different models Ocun sent us: the Mojave, the Zeptor, and their latest model- the Twist. Read more about each below.
This is Ocun’s newest harness, and it is no surprise that it was the most popular of ocun harnesses in the test. Ocun has really put some thought into the function of the harness, with the result being a harness that performed well in all aspects of the test. Of all the harnesses in the test so far, this harness fit the largest range of testers with an exacting fit. This is due to its ingenious design of a floating waist pad: the central weight bearing sling is not connected to the surrounding padding, and it can be shifted to the right or left to center it after tightening. No matter how much you loosen or tighten the waist, you can always center the harness to your body. Both the waist and the leg loops are adjustable via a self locking buckle, buckles that didn’t slip over time like those of some other brands in the test.
Other features include large, easy-to-use gear loops, which are strategically slanted to keep draws and gear at your side and not between your front legs or too far to the back. It means your gear is exactly where you need it when you need it, no reaching around back, no pulling it out from between your legs if you are high stepping. Overall the harness provides ample padding for long belay sessions and hang-dogging, while the fit was the best of all the Ocuns in this review. While the Twist performs as well as any other sport climbing designated harness in this test, it’s use is not limited to that realm. Its full adjustability, large gear loops, and ice screw holder side strips make it an excellent choice for winter climbing as well.
Finally, Ocun picked a sleek color scheme and styling for this, their new flagship harness. There are little reasons for complaint; only on future models it might be nice if the padding was tapered thinner in the front where it is less important.
The Mohave is Ocun’s lightest weight harness. Its no frills design delivers exactly what you need for difficult red point and on-sight climbing: sufficient padding for falling, and big, easy to use gear loops that make clipping a breeze. However, this harness has one major downfall- fit and adjustability. The leg loops are a fixed size- most testers found them a bit tight. There is absolutely no adjustment to them at all. Second problem is, unlike the Twist which has a floating waist belt, the Mojave’s belt is fixed- meaning that unless you fall into the middle of the harness’s size range (most testers didn’t) the result is that the gear loops or tie in point end up off center. Lastly, for a light weight harness, the overlapping padding in the front of the harness is superfluous. That being said- the few testers who did fit it well felt like they had a custom made harness and were very happy with it.
The Zeptor shares a similar design as the Twist, except it had traditional buckles for both the waist and leg loops, and the leg loops offer additional padding. If you are looking for more comfort, or will be climbing long or winter routes, this provides a better alternative to the more sporty Twist design.
Conclusions
Ocun provided one of the biggest hit’s of the Review- the Twist. A well rounded design with smart functions, you could hardly go wrong with it no matter what discipline you choose in the sport. The Mojave provides a lightweight platform for hard RP and onsight climbing, providing that its limited size range fits you. There are a few design flaws which if alleviated, would make a superb harness. Finally, The Zeptor also fills in a niche for those seeking more comfort in a fully functioning harness. What we are looking forward to see is a bare bones version of the Twist- built on the same design but with lighter weight materials and slightly less padding.
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Spring is finally here, it brings with it those beautiful clear, slightly breezy days where the air is warm but the stone is still cold. We here at czechclimbing/Lezec took advantage of such conditions and hit the rocks with three different models Ocun sent us: the Mojave, the Zeptor, and their latest model- the Twist. Read more about each below.
Hey, here we are, already for the sixth time. Brush, saw, chalk, paint, pencil, brush, saw, chalk, paint, pencil, …
Czech Mountaineering union (CHS) organized the annual general assembly where the most discussed topic - the ban of chalk on Czech sandstone criticized by the majority of all Czech elite climbers - was approved again and chalk is still prohibited.
Adam Ondra came back from his trip to Spain with a collection of hard sends that shocked not only us. His impressive list of sends brings to question where exactly is the physical limit of climbing. Adam´s climbs indicate that it would be much farther than we think. We spoke with Adam not only about this topic, but other things interesting us as well.
Finally after two years we managed to set out to on a spring climbing warming up. The decision was by all votes for Spain.
Everyone knows that global warming is leading to the deterioration of the greatest Nordwands in the Alps. So last week a young team of German Alpinists went after the Eiger North Face like there is no tomorrow, climbing it about 10.30 hours. The team was composed of Lukas Binder, Fritz Miller, Florian Jehle and Michael Wohlleben, who provided us with the info and pics. More information to come so stay tuned...
I don't know, what I should title the news about Adam's trip to the climbing areas in northern Spain. And a lot of beta has already been written, so what´s more?
Well, now that the holiday season is over, we have resumed our testing here at Lezec. Appogies to all readers for the long spans between instalments in this series, but like most of the Czech Rep. (the world?) our testers have fallen ill in the past couple of weeks. Must be the lack of climbable rock outside that has affected our health. So Plan B, we retreated into our top secret testing facilities to continue with the testing of the second line of harnesses, Singing Rock.
Czech young climber Adam Ondra (15) climbed yesterday in Spanish cave Santa Linya the route La novena enmienda, 9a+, RP, and also the route Digital system, 8c in on sight style. The Spaniard Dani Andrada informs about the climbs on his blog.
