Rock season is almost here. To get ourselves ready to send outdoors, most of us first head to the climbing gym to train and start getting strong. To help us train better in the gym, The North Face created a line climbing apparel purpose-built for the indoors. Designed by climbers for climbers, the Beyond The Wall collection is both seriously stylish and über functional.
To help design the collection, The North Face product team turned not only to their climbing athletes like Sam Elias, but also to the greater climbing community at Planet Granite in Portland. What did they want and need from their indoor climbing apparel?
The resulting Beyond The Wall collection for both men and women includes a variety of tops and bottoms to help you go from warm up to full send. As the collection is geared more towards the indoor climbing gym setting, the products use wicking fabrics such as The North Face’s FlashDry. The fabrics are also super durable to hold up to the rigors of training as well as the abrasive materials in climbing holds and constant wear and tear from your harness.
Both the women’s tights and the men’s pants and shorts feature a super comfortable high rise waist to accommodate your harness and ensure your won’t show more than you bargained for while going for that heel hook. They also help you avoid the dreaded pants pull down while lowering off the wall.
The North Face sent me a few pieces to test out at my local Planet Granite climbing gym in San Francisco. My favorites so far are the Free Motion Bra that supports while not restricting arm movement and for all you badass strong ladies, will show off your back muscles nicely. I currently also live in the High-Rise Tights, even at home. But I have to say I am really coveting a couple of the men’s pieces — like the sweet purple or orange Rock Pants which would make the most amazing outdoor climbing pants this summer. They even come with their own tiny brush pocket. I might just have to get myself some.
The entire Beyond The Wall collection from The North Face is available now, with prices ranging from $50 to $189.