Climbing

Once a relatively lesser known member of the animal kingdom, the honey badger rose to infamy last year, becoming a legend among critters. It's not all that surprising to see the animal referenced in a product name, especially one designed to bring some of the animal's tenacity and ferocity to the outdoors. The new Honey Badger backpack may not survive an all out attack by a honey badger, but it'll survive all kinds of other adventures.  Read More

Indoor climbing gyms have brought the sport of rock climbing into the indoor spaces of dense, boulder-less cities, where traditional rock climbing would be impossible. The next generation of indoor climbing seems to be focused on cramming climbing equipment into even smaller spaces. The case in point is the Rotor dynamic wall from Climblock, which replaces the vertical wall with a rotating drum.  Read More

This creative family home features a series of climbing walls and ladders that guarantees to keep the family active. Located in a suburban area in Tokyo, the 3way House was created by Japanese studio Naf Architect & Design and offers an alternative to traditional family living. The structure resembles a modern Japanese family home with wooden flooring, kitchen and furnishings, however there is one obvious twist - do occupants take the stairs, ladder or wall to ascend?  Read More

Last month we told you about a team of Brigham Young University engineering students, who created a clever Batman-inspired wall-climbing system. They were competing in the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s 2012 Service Academy and University Engineering Challenge, in which teams had to design gadgets that would allow soldiers to safely and quickly ascend vertical surfaces. Given that the Brigham Young entry didn’t take first place, however, we thought it only made sense to take a look at the entry that did ... and that would be a little something known as the Personal Vacuum Assisted Climber (PVAC), designed by a team from Utah State University.  Read More

As great of a home improvement as an indoor climbing wall might seem to a climbing fanatic, it's not exactly the type of addition that will increase the value of your home. Chances are, potential buyers will prefer all walls unmarred by rubber scuffs and multi-colored arrays of grips and tape. If the wall looks anything like the Lunar Nova, however, they might just pay extra.  Read More

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory wants to find a better way for airmen to scale tall structures or rock faces, so it did what just about anyone seeking new ideas does these days – it held a contest. Its 2012 Service Academy and University Engineering Challenge saw teams from 17 universities and three service academies showing off their wall-scaling systems, earlier this month at Wright State University’s Calamityville tactical laboratory in Fairborn, Ohio. One of the teams, from Utah’s Brigham Young University, devised an impressive system that was inspired directly by Batman’s grappling hook-shooting, power winch-equipped gun.  Read More

Pretty much every ski manufacturer in the history of skiing has made skis for skiers. But not MTN Approach. The company, which launched a small beta batch of its unique skis this season, builds skis for snowboarders. The skis are designed to ascend (not descend) the mountain and fold up into a backpack-sized package for the ride down.  Read More

Located in Pfronten, Bavaria in Germany, Waldseilgarten is an adventure mountain resort that offers guests a thrilling night in the wilderness. Nestled at the top of a mountain summit, daring guests can spend the night hanging off the tree tops, suspended over a cliff face, or within a hand built igloo.  Read More

When it comes to wall-climbing robots its hard to go past the humble gecko for inspiration. The gecko’s specialized toe pads containing hair-like structures that allow it to scale smooth vertical surfaces have already provided inspiration for the four-legged Stickybot and now researchers at Simon Fraser University Burnaby (SFU) claim to be the first to apply the gecko’s wall-climbing technique to a robot that operates like a tank.  Read More