climbdaddyclimb

I’ve been using these for a couple of months now so I thought I’d review them

My Belay Glasses

properly. I was a bit reluctant to part with eighty quid for these initially but after all the trouble I had with my neck and shoulder I deemed it worth a go. How much benefit you get from these I think will depend on where you climb. As most of my training is done at Ratho where the lead climbs are long you very much notice the negative effect gazing upwards is having on your neck. (I do anyway) Over time I think this has played a significant part in the tightness I was feeling. I reckon I spent close to £200 on physio over a couple of months which when compared to £80 starts to make me feel better.

It took me few shots to get used to them. The image you view can be a bit ‘trippy’ at first but your brain dials in pretty quick. I’ve found the best technique is to start of with them pushed down to the end of your nose so you can see your climber normally until about the 4th/5th clip and then quickly slide them into normal position at an appropriate moment. I think this is safer and involves less faffing than starting with them on the top of your head.

Ok – you may look a bit strange at first but people are getting used to them now so not so many strange looks. Hey – If it helps me avoid further neck trouble and time spent not climbing then I don’t give a crap what I look like! I cricked my neck last week sleeping on the sofa and I don’t think I could have belayed without them that day. They are pretty comfortable to wear and seem to be well made so I expect them to last a good while.

One thing I really like about them is that you can really closely watch your partner climbing and start to see things about their climbing that you haven’t noticed before. You can really study the route and how they climb it and pick up useful bits of beta as a result.

I’m not sure whether I would use these outdoors or not. I suspect not as I don’t think I would have issues with neck pain and often you can’t see your partner anyway. For me – this is an indoor neck saver where the volume of climbing is high and time spent looking up is excessive. Overall, I recommend them highly. Good product.

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