Bouldering pad reviews

[robertostallioni]

Yeah I've got one.
Similar back system to the moon pads with Cores foam which you'd expect to be good.
I believe they're aiming for top end Organic quality so I wouldn't expect budget price.
No problems with mine as yet, 4 months in with old knees that would turn to dust with a shit pad..
Nice to have a decent Pad option made locally. (Sheff)

 

[Teaboy]

I just bought a Snap Grand Guts for £300 plus £14 postage which, given the size seems pretty good vfm. Not sure how it will hold but I was pleasantly surprised how light it felt.

The Franklin pad I have is showing no signs of wear but I expect they are difficult to get hold of!

 

[remus]

I rate the ocun dominator, mines had 6 years of pretty heavy use and is still going strong.

 

[duncan]

So what is the pads leagues then? Who is premiership big 3, 1st division etc etc

Organic = Manchester City - the best, which you’d hope given how much they cost.

Black Diamond = Manchester United - inexplicably popular considering how rubbish they are.

Moon = Chelsea - a contender but are they still as good after recent changes?

Alpkit = Brighton - Good value.

Ocun = West Ham - Also good value, with added Czech.

Psychi = Fulham - A bit rubbish. Supported by Londoners and tourists who don’t know much about football.

Franklin = Blackburn Rovers - Strong in the early 00s. Now disappeared.

Feel free to make further suggestions...

 

[Ross.Cooper]

Missing from this list are the new Troll pads which look pretty good, probably like a better quality Alpkit. Someone jump in a give a less biased review (my mate designed them)...

 

[SA Chris]

The Franklin pad I have is showing no signs of wear but I expect they are difficult to get hold of!

My dropzone was about 10 years old, and showing no signs of damage. I left it in a cave where the sea wouldn't be able to get to it, but underestimated N Sea storms. It's now probably part of Pacific Garbage Patch; I was gutted for a) losing it and b) contribution to marine pollution.

 

[steveri]

Snap = Paris Saint-Germain, strong national performer
Grivel = Plucky outsiders, some non professional players
Crash = Dukla Prague (away). Sounds exotic, nobody knows much about them

 

[El Mocho]

I left it in a cave where the sea wouldn't be able to get to it, but underestimated N Sea storms. It's now probably part of Pacific Garbage Patch; I was gutted for a) losing it and b) contribution to marine pollution.

A certain N. Walean climber with a phd in all things ocean, tides and currents left a few pads in a safe stash on Anglesey. Obv they weren't safe and disappeared in a big sea. 1 was a DMM pad with his name on it and a few months later we (DMM) had a call from someone in Liverpool saying they had found something swept up on a beach made by DMM and with the name P**e on it. The other was an old Metolius 1 and about 6 months later I was walking out from another Anglsey crag with said climbers wife (said climber was staying longer at the crag to hoover up some remaining new lines) when we came across the outer of the metolius pad but with no foam. We carried it out and left it on his van windscreen. Either Mr Ro**ns is very carless or his phd is actually a fake and he has no idea about tides.

 

[cheque]

Beal- Olympique Marseille, very popular in France, rarely seen elsewhere in Europe.

Troll- Huddersfield Town, history of garish designs. Back as contenders “in and around” the top flight but their real glory days are in the distant past.

Mad Rock- BSC Young Boys, probably quite good but their inexplicably unattractive name puts anyone off finding out.

Petzl- Bayern Munich, euro giants, so consistently successful that it’s easy to forget they’re in the game at all.

 

[teestub]

Missing from this list are the new Troll pads which look pretty good, probably like a better quality Alpkit. Someone jump in a give a less biased review (my mate designed them)...

Look like a decent design, apart from the sewn in shoulder straps maybe, but with those dimensions and that price they're pitching themselves against the normal sized Organic, which takes some beating.

As with all pads (as Bradders testifies) you will only really have a decent answer to how good they are in a few years time!

 

[edshakey]

A bar towel: Accrington - around since day 1, never going to end up progressing upwards but equally it ain't going away soon. Small but loyal fanbase.

 

[Bradders]

I spotted one of the new Flashed pads in the Depot this morning; gave it a quick squeeze and I would be utterly amazed if they have any sort of longevity. I appreciate that's not much of a product test but, sometimes you just know.

 

[moose]

I got back into bouldering 3 years ago after a long sport climbing hiatus (timing of a pandemic entirely coincidental!), and bought an Organic Full Pad (92 x 122 x 10 cm) and an Occun Dominator (100 x 132 x 14.5 cm) at roughly the same time, for roughly equal prices. The foam on the Organic has stayed a lot firmer but although the Dominator is a more spongy, it's still the pad I put under the top-out of any boulder - the area and depth are just more reassuring - those extra cm's seem pretty significant when wobbling!

When the walk-in is long and I can only take one pad, I usually take the Dominator - despite it's relatively crap carrying straps (the slight softness does have some advantages though - as I can shove a fan / tripod inside it - the Organic is too hard to accept such intrusions). The Organic foam is still really robust and the carrying straps are great, but in retrospect I think their full pad is best used as a "second pad". If it's your only pad, a bigger model is better - and if you can't afford to spend nearly £400 on a proper big pad, £235 ish on a Dominator, which a "large small pad", is a decent compromise.

 

[SA Chris]

A certain N. Walean climber with a phd in all things ocean, tides and currents left a few pads in a safe stash on Anglesey. Obv they weren't safe and disappeared in a big sea.

Great story. I did actually find one washed up in a bay on the coast not far from me (was it Flashed that had the manga style woman on them with a sword?) It was completely waterlogged, and I dragged it up as far as i could onto the shore (I had baby daughter with me) and left it to dry. I went back a week later and it was gone, either reclaimed (by waves or wind) or hopefully someone found it and put it use, but I never saw her again. (The woman on the pad, not my daughter).

 

[hongkongstuey]

very timely thread (for me at least) - going to finally escape HK after 3-years without travel and make a trip back to see the folks in Oct (we currently still get locked up in quarantine for a week after going abroad - but the rumours are that will have hopefully vanished by Nov)

Will spend a week of this up in the Peak (24-31 Oct if anyone is about and fancies a session or a beer) so need to grab myself a new pad for UK use - currently only have a first gen Metolius at my folks (assuming they've not binned it (or my brother didn't steal it) at some point in the last 20-years...). Was thinking Moon Warrior plus Organic Slider as a nice simple combo but open to other suggestions if people think there's a similarly priced alternative to that's better than the Warrior. Thoughts on Snap Grand Stamina? Looks similar but without the benefit of clean straps

P.S. i have a bunch of Organic here in HK (full, half, briefcase, blubber and slider) and for single pad (plus Slider) options, think i actually preferred the Moon for it's bigger, thicker landing surface.

 

[Simon Lee]

You’re welcome to borrow my pads for the week. I’ll be abroad then.

 

[hongkongstuey]

You’re welcome to borrow my pads for the week. I’ll be abroad then.

super kind offer - but am anticipating coming back to the UK a bit more frequent in the coming years as parents are knocking on a bit so it'll be pretty handy to have a pad stashed for these visits

 

[mr chaz]

I spotted one of the new Flashed pads in the Depot this morning; gave it a quick squeeze and I would be utterly amazed if they have any sort of longevity. I appreciate that's not much of a product test but, sometimes you just know.

I'll keep saving then. I figure with my current usage (or lack of) I would get a pretty hefty lifespan out of an organic. My simple pad is doing great after 3yrs or so.

After years of lugging around 3 regular pads, 2 of which are at the end of their life, a bigger pad is pretty tempting!

 

[spidermonkey09]

I think Bradders probably gives his pads more hammer than most on here, especially if they still live under your board Bradders? Have to say I've only noticed the softness of pads when they're completely ancient. Even then I would still happily land on them for everything except highball stuff. Obviously ymmv!

 

[chrisbrooke]

In reply to Moose:
I really rate the Dominator too. I've had one for a few years and the foam is still pretty good. The thickness is reassuring and the two opening orientations are really handy too. I use mine in 'traverse mode' quite a lot and I love having that option.

My other two are: ancient Alpkit taco pad. My first pad. I just carry it to fill in gaps/build platforms these days.

Moon Saturn. My main pad. Reassuringly massive, can tuck gear (warmup board, tripod, water bottle etc) in the fold if needed. The carry system is decent enough, even when the other two pads are strapped to it as well. I would say this has gone soft quicker than expected, although it does get a lot of use. Mostly in the middle landing circle, and, unsurprisingly, along the 'fold zone' as I'm not always scrupulous about storing it open. In two minds as to replace the foam eventually at £160, or keep it as another 'filler' pad and try a different large pad. Got to say I'd be very reluctant to pay anywhere near £400 for a damn bouldering pad though.