The Black Diamond Frontpoint Gaiter (GTX) is a full length, tight fitting gaiter and, as the name would suggest, designed with ice climbing in mind. As my main winter pursuit is snow, ice and mixed climbing, I thought these would be a good choice for me.

The Montrail Continental Divide GTX is a superb all-rounder. End of. I certainly wouldn’t point you at this shoe if you’re after a super lightweight performance fell shoe, or even an impact loving, mile munching road shoe. If, on the other hand, you’re after a (very!) well fitting, lightweight, waterproof shoe for some trail and road running use, combined with oodles of light hiking and/or approach work, then this could definitely be the shoe for you.

Ask anyone climbing at the time, and they’ll tell you that Red Chili caused quite a stir, when they originally launched their range back in the late 1990’s.

The summer alpine season is upon us and if you are in the process of making final decisions about what gear to take, and what to leave behind, the chances are you are wondering what crampons to take (if any).

The first time I used my Magos was on a night time arrival in Siurana, Spain. We were pretty keen to get amongst it from the word go so we got the head-torches out and I started up a 7b wall climb. When you can’t see a bloody thing you really pay attention to the messages from your limbs as you climb, so it was actually a really good setting to try out new shoes.

I am a massive fan of the old Scarpa Vortex slipper and I will forever mourn its loss, even if it was violet. Make no mistake, the Scarpa Stix was going to have to live up to a lot in order to impress me. The Vortex was sensitive, had oodles of power in the toe - it was a great shoe to wear.

As you may have noticed, for the last couple of years Rock + Run have not offered a range of 3-season walking/hiking boots. This was a conscious decision made, due in the main, to the proliferation of product in this area of the market.

A long, long time ago when Scottish grade V was the top ice grade in the country and climbers used ice tools called Pterodactyls there was only one crampon available in the UK: The Salewa Classic. Choosing the right crampon for the conditions wasn't a problem because there was no choice. Today there are a multitude of different models available and it's no wonder that people get confused and sometimes over concerned about which crampon to buy.

The new Five Ten Anasazi Lace Up V2, is the latest incarnation of the famous pink Anasazi Lace Up, originally released in 1996/97. Over its lifespan the Lace Up Pinks, or “Pinkies” as they were affectionately known, became the trusted weapon of choice to a great many mid and elite grade climbers alike.

My first impression out of the box was of how light these shoes are; compared to heavily cushioned road shoes these felt like I was just wearing socks!