Rock climbing naturally brings out the gear geek in all of us. The equipment itself is just plain sexy—and as sport-specific and downright essential as it gets. If you rock climb, or aspire to ...

Wedge yourself between a rock and a hard place in style (if not comfort) with our pick of the best rock climbing gear going. By Tom Ward. 8 min read Published on 05/28/2025 · 3:50 PM UTC.

Rock climbing gear for beginners Kai Burkhardt/CNN Underscored. It can seem like there are a lot of climbing essentials, but you don’t need to go all out right at the start.

We sat down with legendary climber, endurance athlete, author and father Tommy Caldwell to learn more about his past, the future of climbing and essential equipment.