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ant.d.lopez
Feb 10, 2010, 5:36 PM
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Hello all,
Im in the market for my first crash pad. I have never climbed outdoors so my only experience with falling is on the plush floor of a gym. How much padding do i need? 3"? 4"
Asana has a great deal on 3" Disturbia pads. Is that enough padding for my primary crash pad?
Thanks all!
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blackstarcyn
Feb 10, 2010, 6:10 PM
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im sure more than 80% of people will tell you this, but the best way to go is organic full pad or simple pad.. It has the best foam quality, which means longer life, and it comforts falls like no other. Ive had experience with most brands of pads and this is by far my favorite... what ever you pick, you will enjoy, guaranteed
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petsfed
Feb 10, 2010, 6:38 PM
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In general, foam thickness is a poor measure of a pad's ability to effectively cushion a fall. If its 6" of crap foam, you'll still bottom out. Just to prevent bottoming out, you'll need a dense enough foam, which often means a less cush landing.
A better way to think of it is that pads are made on very small margins. Nobody really makes money building pads, its all the ancillary crap (like chalk bags and beanies and the like) that keeps them in business. This is because foam is not cheap. Even at wholesale, its not cheap. So in general, the pricier the pad, the higher quality (or more appropriately, the longer it will last before getting stomped out). You can actually gauge how long a pad will last based on its price within the market at large, and where it fits in a given manufacturer's lineup. There's all the additional bells and whistles, pockets and things, that will also drive up the price, but mostly its the foam.
All of that said, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when looking at pads: first, the total square footage. Bigger can be better, but it can also make it ungainly to move. If you're not high balling or you're typically bouldering with a bunch of other people with pads, you don't need a big pad. Second, how it hinges. If it rolls up burrito or taco style, the foam must necessarily be softer (eg will bottom out from shorter falls) just so that it can be folded up. Hinged pads have that trench zone problem, so a couple of companies have different solutions. Organic uses a continuous top sheet, so that landing surface doesn't have a trench, but it can make it keep the shape more than others. Metolius uses a diagonal hinge, which alleviates the shape problem, but I've seen durability problems with mine. Third, construction material. If your pad is not made of heavyweight pack cloth, get a different pad. Nothing else will last long enough for even the cheapest foam to start breaking down. Some pads have carpet on top (which is nice, but not vital), some pads have fancy designs. They all get slick when wet.
I know its not what you want to hear, but get the priciest pad you can afford in a size you want. Or get the Organic in the size you want. They keep their margins small enough to break that "price correlates to quality" thing.
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redlude97
Feb 10, 2010, 6:49 PM
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I'll reiterate everyone's responses so far and say to save your money and buy an organic pad to start with. In the end it will end up saving you because they last longer in general. If you email Josh, and discuss what you are looking for, you can get away with buying single color bare bones simple pad for a decent price. You still get the quality foam, which is what is the most important part of the pad, just without all the other frills like a pocket and waist strap. I also recommend adding a half pad to your purchase if you can afford it because the small pad is useful for covering up sharp rocks that may not be in your primary fall zone, but can do some serious damage if you do happen to fall awkwardly. It also packs nicely onto the back of the full sized pad making it convenient to carry along. Even if you don't go organic, I think 4" is the minimum thickness for a primary pad, most of the 3" pads use 1 foam density, while the majority of 4" pads have at least 2 foam types utilized.
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ant.d.lopez
Feb 10, 2010, 7:30 PM
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thank you all for your help. You all just solidified my idea of going with an Organic pad. Is it Spring yet?
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Climbhigh1123
Feb 12, 2010, 2:20 PM
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Like the others say, go with Organic. You can't go wrong. Josh makes awesome pads! You can pick colors and designs, which is cool, and it makes your pad one of a kind!
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clews
Feb 12, 2010, 6:19 PM
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+1
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Vinny_A
Feb 12, 2010, 8:51 PM
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Like pretty much everyone before me said, just get an Organic pad. I have 2 of them and they kick ass, best pads I have ever fallen on. The quality is unbelievable and the colors are sick.
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DenverBouldering
Feb 16, 2010, 5:06 AM
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Registered: Feb 27, 2008
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Organic pads are awesome, but I would vote for the Asana pad. You can now customize all the colors if that is important. The reason I still go with Asana is the closure system is the best in the business by far. While other people are still closing their pad mine is shut and I am ready to move on t the next problem. Their is also a top and bottom flap to secure all your gear so it does not fall out.
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sp00ki
Feb 16, 2010, 12:02 PM
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Organic, period. Splurge for the Fullpad, the extra straps and pouch are totally worth it.
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chetroy
Feb 16, 2010, 12:45 PM
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Organic all the way.
I have been bouldering for 16 years and have used many diff pads. The foam is the most important part of the pad. Organic knows this. Then Organic builds an awesome shell for the awesome foam, Awesome.
pe4ce
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wallwombat
Feb 16, 2010, 8:29 PM
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I wish we had more of a choice of pads here in Australia. It's pretty much Black Diamond or Madrock or Moon or Red Chili or Metolius or Flashed. Nothing else.
No one makes pads here anymore. There is a company in New Zealand that make good pads - Tools Of The Adventure - but not many shops stock them here in Oz.
I'd love an Organic pad. They look great and everyone raves about them. I doubt they ship to Australia and if they did it would probably cost about the same as the pad costs.
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petsfed
Feb 16, 2010, 8:32 PM
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wallwombat wrote: I wish we had more of a choice of pads here in Australia. It's pretty much Black Diamond or Madrock or Moon or Red Chili or Metolius or Flashed. Nothing else. No one makes pads here anymore. There is a company in New Zealand that make good pads - Tools Of The Adventure - but not many shops stock them here in Oz. I'd love an Organic pad. They look great and everyone raves about them. I doubt they ship to Australia and if they did it would probably cost about the same as the pad costs.
Ask. He was telling me, when I was picking colors, that he had a bunch of camouflage fabric for a Japanese order. You might pay more on shipping, but you get a much better bad than the 5 you've listed.
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chetroy
Feb 16, 2010, 8:42 PM
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Registered: Apr 21, 2007
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dude
email Organic
orders@organicclimbing.com
And ask them. Josh may hook it up, it is worth asking.
pe4ce
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wallwombat
Feb 16, 2010, 8:47 PM
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petsfed wrote: Ask. He was telling me, when I was picking colors, that he had a bunch of camouflage fabric for a Japanese order. You might pay more on shipping, but you get a much better bad than the 5 you've listed.
Yeah, I might as well. I'll drop him an email.
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wallwombat
Feb 17, 2010, 10:23 PM
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Well, I'm glad I emailed Josh at Organic. It turns out he is shipping a heap of Simple Pads over to Australia in April to someone I know who has a gear and resoling shop in the Blue Mountains. Josh passed my initial email on to John, who runs the shop and he emailed me yesterday. It's all sorted - come mid-April I will be the proud owner of a nice, new Organic Simple Pad.
Josh is a real gentleman. It was a pleasure dealing with him. I'm now a big time Organic fan and I haven't even seen a pad yet.
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redlude97
Feb 17, 2010, 10:25 PM
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wallwombat wrote: Well, I'm glad I emailed Josh at Organic. It turns out he is shipping a heap of Simple Pads over to Australia in April to someone I know who has a gear and resoling shop in the Blue Mountains. Josh passed my initial email on to John, who runs the shop and he emailed me yesterday. It's all sorted - come mid-April I will be the proud owner of a nice, new Organic Simple Pad. Josh is a real gentleman. It was a pleasure dealing with him. I'm now a big time Organic fan and I haven't even seen a pad yet.
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wallwombat
Feb 17, 2010, 10:32 PM
Post #18 of 27
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Registered: Jun 17, 2003
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Yeah, maybe but generally waistbelts shit me and I'm not really after a pad with a pouch either.
It's not my first pad. I already own two.
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daggerx
Feb 18, 2010, 8:01 PM
Post #19 of 27
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at first the thicker the better, get the biggest ou can afford.
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jay590
Feb 21, 2010, 4:57 AM
Post #20 of 27
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Registered: Jan 14, 2008
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everyone here says to buy organic but i cant because i live in australia and cant get it through customs. Is the black diamond drop zone close in quality?
Sorry just read all of the posts and saw someone has found a way to get them to australia
(This post was edited by jay590 on Feb 21, 2010, 6:41 AM)
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lofstromc
Feb 21, 2010, 5:05 AM
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Registered: Aug 1, 2005
Posts: 528
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I have an old as dirt "cordless" pad that still does the trick. I'd recommend that brand, but I don't know if they make them anymore. When its all said and done, the color doesn't really matter, no matter how 'sick' it may be.
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kriso9tails
Feb 21, 2010, 6:45 AM
Post #22 of 27
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jay590 wrote: everyone here says to buy organic but i cant because i live in australia and cant get it through customs. Is the black diamond drop zone close in quality?
Well, I've fallen on both from a pretty good distance (near the top of a 20' problem) and I couldn't tell which was which from that height. I didn't die or break anything, so that was a plus for both companies!
I've never owned an organic pad, so in terms of features like closures, straps, fold, etc. I don't really have much of an opinion. Everyone says great things, and I trust them to be correct, but it's a more expensive option for me. I was quite pleased with my BD Drop Zone. Landed on it a lot and slept on it a fair bit too and there was no noticeable compression in the foam over time. I like it's general features.
Regardless of the quality of Organic pads, which again, I don't doubt in the slightest, the Drop zone is a great pad in its own right.
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DenverBouldering
Feb 23, 2010, 2:01 AM
Post #23 of 27
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BD pads holds up pretty well in standard use conditions. If you are going to be dragging it through a talus field, through trees or other rough stuff, you may run into problems with it lasting it as long as you would like it to.
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styndall
Feb 23, 2010, 4:06 AM
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Registered: May 29, 2002
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My Metolius large (from before they named their models) has lasted a really long time. With fairly regular washings, the shell still looks pretty good, and the foam has really held up. I've gotten another pad or two since, but I'd still trust my 2002-bought Metolius for most things.
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yodadave
Feb 23, 2010, 7:45 AM
Post #25 of 27
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DenverBouldering wrote: Organic pads are awesome, but I would vote for the Asana pad. You can now customize all the colors if that is important. The reason I still go with Asana is the closure system is the best in the business by far. While other people are still closing their pad mine is shut and I am ready to move on t the next problem. Their is also a top and bottom flap to secure all your gear so it does not fall out.
Their new custom pad is pretty stipped down and you have to pay extra for the closure you love so much as well as other features. Not hating just saying.
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