[yoda]

How I miss OTE,Excellent photography,articles etc...,Is there ANY CLIMBING MAGS worth buying nowadays ???,If not,Why not????

[andy_e]

(although I've not seen it for a few months now) Friction is good.

[GCW]

Is there ANY CLIMBING MAGS worth buying nowadays ???

None I would subscibe too, although occasionally one edition is worth buying.  I hear Trail Magazine has some good beta on routes though 

[SA Chris]

How I miss OTE,Excellent photography,articles etc

Funny how OTE used top get slagged off, now it's looked back at fondly. I think Climb is no better or worse than OTE used to be.

I don't subsrbe to any, but buy the occasional copy if there's anything of interest.

Apart from the columns by the regulars on here, which a glittering gems.

[Stubbs]

I subscribe to Rock and Ice from the States, really great photography and well written articles.  Obviously you won't have the pleasure of reading about some new chossy French 6's put up in Yorkshire, or about the best severes at Pembroke....

[yoda]

The problem with these mags is that they cater for all the same people,Ramblers ,ice climbers etc..,I want to read about bouldering  Friction magazine is good in its own right but is not big enough and is to infrequent,Its a shame I need to come online to get my fix.

[galpinos]

I've converted to Vertical (the Euro mag) and as a treat every quarter Alpinist.

The images in Alpinist are incredible and I find it all quite inspirational. It gets me all sweaty palmed whilst reading sat at my desk in Milton Keynes and the drizzle persists outside. Worth the £10 price tag.

Climb/Climber are both pretty gash. I used to get OTE regularly then moved to climb (which started well) but don't bother any more. I'm not really a boulderer though so......

[(woz)]

If I could somehow have the bouldering news sections of climb and climber, with the rest of friction without buying all three, I would be happy. Especially if it was a daily thing that arrived on my doorstep with the milk.

[moose]

Climbing - the USA mag is pretty good.  When you pick it up it seems to be a bit thin and mainly comprised of adverts but it strangely keeps me occupied far more than the UK mags.  The articles are just far more readable and involving than those in the likes of Climber/Climb etc - proper travelogues about interesting and dangerous places (rather than 1 page excerpts from the latest Rockfax to the Costa del Easyjet), historical overviews about areas and controversies, and opinion pieces.  The photography is also superb.  Best of all though they have cheap subscription deals e.g. you can get it delivered to the UK for 2 years (18 issues) for $54.97 (£25-30?).

[Dr T]

I've got a subscription to urbanclimber (the US mag) which is really good for bouldering and sport...
in essence it's no different from other mag's (has a more skate mag flavour but the articles are similar) but without the trad and alpanism that seem to dominate the British mag's

[GCW]

The stuff I like to read about is really the mini-guides to crags etc.  All the news appears online 5 months before it turns up in the mags.  There are some useful training tips occasionally.
Generally, I flip through a mag in a shop and see what's in it.  If there isn't at least 2 articles I want to read I put it back.  I don't buy that many.....

[Nibile]

yep, climbing mag was pretty good, i had a two year subscription.
i dunno if they still run john "largo" long articles, but if so, just those are worth the prize.
great pics also.

[Johnny Brown]

OTE was good until the redesign that lost the black strip on the cover. When that went it seemed to lose sight of what made it good and went for everyman appeal instead. At which point Climber became the better mag, I think Climb now has the edge but they are both pretty poor. The problem seems to be trying too hard to appeal to what they belive is their demographic instead of printing inspiring stuff.

In this vein Alpinist continues to amaze. Well worth a tenner.

As for Friction, I think Bob should go for a proper bouldering mag. Surely there's a market?

[SA Chris]

Climbing - the USA mag is pretty good.  When you pick it up it seems to be a bit thin and mainly comprised of adverts but it strangely keeps me occupied far more than the UK mags.  The articles are just far more readable and involving than those in the likes of Climber/Climb etc - proper travelogues about interesting and dangerous places (rather than 1 page excerpts from the latest Rockfax to the Costa del Easyjet), historical overviews about areas and controversies, and opinion pieces.  The photography is also superb.  Best of all though they have cheap subscription deals e.g. you can get it delivered to the UK for 2 years (18 issues) for $54.97 (£25-30?).

True, but I usually only buy it when in the US. The recent photogaphy special has some lovely pics.

[Bonjoy]

As for Friction, I think Bob should go for a proper bouldering mag. Surely there's a market?

I think so. It would be so much better if it lost all the tedious indoor stuff too.

[Lostboy]

Got myself an Urbanclimber subscription a while ago from the states, it's always got some good stuff in it and although its got quite a few adverts these usually contain pretty good photo's anyway.  you get quite a bit of free stuff with the subscription as well.

[JohnM]

Climb often has some nice articles but does anyone find that every issue contains a least one article on some gash limestone venue!?

[fatneck]

I fully agree with both JB and BJ. We sell out of Friction well quicker than Climb/any other mag we sell/give away e.g. Gravity. I'm sure a proper bouldering mag would prove even more popular.