Titanium, special alloys, and hardened aluminum have been the favored choices for rock climbing carabiners in the past. But I am here to tell you that there is a new material that is also making rapid progress in rock climbing. You may have seen the new carbon composite carabiners, along with ice climbing tools made from carbon fibers, and it makes sense that the lighter the gear, the higher the climber’s performance.
Today, the world’s best climbers are not only competing for accolades and bragging rights, they are also competing for extremely lucrative corporate sponsorships. No, it’s still not at the level of the Tour de France, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL or European soccer and American baseball, but it’s going up. Of course, these sport carbon composite tools are not necessarily very cheap. And while rock climbers don’t require as much gear as many other sports, what they do have doesn’t come for free.
However, it seems that the sport of climbing is changing, and with it carbon composite systems and equipment are going to take another step in reducing their own weight. Carbon nanotubes are extremely light and 50 times stronger than steel. When coupled with a graphene coating, these devices can be ultra-small and ultra-strong. In fact, the ropes currently used by climbers can also be replaced with woven carbon wire.
Even more impressive is the fact that these new materials can conduct electricity, which can be used to power up and run microrecorders that videotape climbing events for later use on YouTube, or sell to game companies that can then be used in the virtual living room. game centers They can also act as antennas, meaning a cell phone signal in the middle of nowhere will be able to travel twenty times the distance and pick up GPS readings from satellites even in a snowstorm.
Yes, the sport of rock climbing is about to enter a new technological era of advanced materials. It means climbers will be able to climb faster and appear to have more strength and agility than ever before. Some things that were once considered impossible, or highly unlikely for even the best climbers in the world, will now be possible for any of the advanced climbers.
This will really separate the men from the boys, but it will also add cost as the weight is reduced to almost zero. In fact, I sincerely hope that you will consider all of this and think about it. If you’d like to talk about any of the new rock climbing gear, I’d love to hear from you by email, perhaps for a future article.
