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If it seems as though almost everyone you know is rock climbing these days, you’re not far off. Climbing and bouldering have become the newest hobby to take over cities, with an annual growth rate of 7%, according to Gutnix’s 2024 market data report.
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Even artists have hopped onto the trend, including Lady Gaga, who posted a photo mid-climb on her Instagram back in 2020. Jared Leto was also spotted indoor rock climbing with dogfluencer Maxine the Fluffy Corgi strapped into his backpack back in September.
Similar to the sudden growth in pickleball, climbing has become a new go-to for exercise as it’s easily accessible and affordable to participate in — not to mention, it’s also Hollywood-approved.
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To help you kickstart your bouldering and climbing journey, Billboard Shopping spoke with professional rock climbers including U.S. National Team member Margo Hayes who made history as the first woman to conquer a 9a graded route (free climbs are ranked on a scale of one-10 with one being the easiest and 10 being the hardest) and climbing Olympian Shauna Coxsey to learn more about the sport and determine the best climbing gear for all levels.
What Are Good Climbing Clothes?
Both Coxsey and Hayes point out that the best climbing apparel should provide comfort and give to help you climb with ease. “As you progress through climbing, you will put your body into some wild and fun shapes so you never want your clothes to hold you back,” Coxsey tells Billboard.
Your climbing outfit will also depend on whether you’re indoors or outside. “When I’m bouldering/training in the gym, I most often wear basic athletic wear such as leggings and a tank top or sports bra,” says Hayes. Whereas, if you’re outside, she adds, you’ll want to make sure you have some layers.
Looking for the best climbing clothes online? Here’s what the experts recommend.
Coxsey’s pant pick
Adidas Women’s Terrex Xperior Pants
$79.88
$110.00
27% off
$120
$130
If you’re planning on climbing outdoors, Coxsey recommends these Adidas pants for their cozy feel and ability to let you climb with ease. The material is also breathable for added ventilation to help keep your body temperature regulated.“A comfortable stretchy pair of trousers are essential and the Adidas Terrex Xperior Trousers are so good for a day climbing outside on rock,” she notes.
Hayes Jacket Pick
The North Face 1996 Retro Nuptse Jacket
Hayes’ go-to layer is The North Face’s luxurious puffer that can be worn both on and off the climbing wall. “When I’m rock climbing outside, because the elements and weather can be unpredictable, it’s necessary to bring layers with you,” she says. “No matter the weather, I always bring my TNF puffy jacket with me. The golden rule is that it’s always better to take layers off than be stuck outside without enough.”
What Is the Best Climbing Gear?
To help you make sure you stock up on the right gear, the professional climbers shared what climbing gear to buy online as well as some of their favorite picks.
Bouldering and climbing will require different types of gear. Bouldering, Hayes believes, is the easiest one to stock up on gear as it requires the least amount of equipment.
“When you’re bouldering you typically only need a chalk bag and shoes, this is why it’s so easily accessible,” she says. “Nowadays gym bouldering is really popular because it’s a simple way you can get a workout even when you’re on your own. When you boulder outside, you do need to bring crash pads to land on. Bouldering outdoors can always be dangerous; however, it’s much more dangerous without a cushioned landing spot.”
Coxsey adds that you should also invest in a chalk brush for indoor bouldering, “to clean the rock or the holds after you climb to leave the climb as you found it for the next person.”
Climbing anything taller than a normal boulder will require more safety equipment, according to both pro climbers. That consists of gear including a harness, rope and belay device (to name a few).
“Additionally, you can’t sport climb alone, so you need a partner who you deeply trust” Hayes advises. “Also, make sure to always tie a knot in the end of your rope for safety!”
Here’s the best climbing gear to buy online, according to the pros.
hayes’ indoor climbing shoes pick
La Sportiva Tarantulace Rock Climbing Shoes
$80.05
$88.95
10% off
When it comes to climbing shoes, Hayes claims, “My favorite shoes are made by La Sportiva.” With many styles to choose from, Amazon shoppers have deemed the Tarantulace style to be a top contender. The style is not only vibrant in shade, but features an all leather upper that’s breathable and stretchy to help form to your foot as well as a heel cup to keep your foot in place while you climb. This style tends to run large, according to the brand, so size down for the best fit. The shoe is also available in men’s sizes here.
coxsey’s outdoor climbing shoe pick
Adidas Terrex Free Hiker 2 Gore-TEX Hiking Shoe
$101.60
$230.00
56% off
Outdoor climbing requires a shoe with traction for stability. If you’re looking for a pro-approved style, Coxsey likes the Adidas Terrex Freehikers as she claims they’re “super comfy but with some great grip to get up any tricky paths.” Plus, they’re on sale for over half-off right now.
helmet pick
PETZL, Vertex Vent Helmet, Black
$93
$99.95
7% off
Protect your head from bumps and falls with a sturdy helmet like this black version by Petzl. It comes with an adjustable chin strap to fix to your liking and ventilation and side holes to help provide airflow to keep your head from overheating.
harness pick
Ttechouter Adjustable Thickness Climbing Harness
$36.99
$49.99
26% off
Add this climbing harness to your cart to keep you snug yet secure as you climb outdoors. It comes with an adjustable waist and leg thickness as well as metal loops to hook your climbing hear to. For added comfort, the harness comes padded to keep you safe yet cozy as you tackle your latest climb.
rope pick
Mammut Crag Dry Rope – 9.5mm
The Mammut Crag Dry Rope comes in three lengths including 60, 70 and 80 meters that’s been dry-treated to use on various terrains including rock and ice. The thick and sturdy material was also designed to repel water, dirt and abrasion, so you can climb safely and worry-free.
belay pick
Petzl GriGri + Belay Device
$114.35
$139.95
18% off
Climbing with a partner requires a proper belay device for added safety. Hayes’ go-to brand Petzl has one for 19% off on Amazon and that’s designed with cam-assisted blocking to make going down easier and more comfortable. It also comes equipped with an anti-panic handle that’ll stop your belay if the rope is tugged on too hard.
chalk bag pick
Sukoa Chalk Bag
$14.87
$19.95
25% off
Carry your chalk with Sukoa’s portable chalk bag for 25% off, dropping the price to less than $15. The design has been labeled an Amazon Choice for Climbing Chalk Bags by Sukoa Sports and has racked up more than 2,000 verified five star reviews for its leak-proof design and extra compartments that can hold small essentials including your smartphone.
chalk pick
Friction Labs Unicorn Dust Chalk for Rock Climbing
Hayes prefers to uses Friction Labs chalk, which she claims is the “stickiest” for gripping onto boulders or hand holds on the wall. The Unicorn Dust is a more fine formula that’s Non-toxic, silica-free and pigment-free that aims to be safe for all skin types. It’s also versatile to use indoors or outdoors.
chalk brush pick
Climbing & Bouldering Brush
$11.99
$12.99
8% off
To assist in cleaning handholds as you climb, these climbing brushes will easily swipe and dust away chalk. Each pack comes with two brushes that are slim and compact, so you can slip it inside a pocket or small bag. The bristles are tapered to help with the longevity of the brush while the handle is ergonomic for a more comfortable hold.
bouldering mat pick
Evolv Drop Pad
Cushion any falls with a comfortable drop pad that’ll protect you from getting any major injuries. It comes with a foldable design and attached handle that’ll make transporting it from one place to another easier. The plush material was also designed to help soften any falls, so you can easily get back up on on the boulder.
carabiner pick
Rongsi Heavy Duty Carabiner
A sturdy carabiner is important if you plan on linking together your ropes and harnesses. Walmart is offering a two-pack for less than $15 with each one having the capacity to hold up to 5,600 pounds each. It also uses a carbon steel material for long-lasting durability.
Climbing Tips for Beginners
These pros didn’t just become masters at climbing overnight and if you’re just starting out, the best thing you can do, according to Coxsey is to “just climb!” Once you find your go-to climbing gym, you should take advantage of the coaching or any inductions offered.
“From your local climbing wall, you will find a whole community of climbers who will be able to help take you outside and give you a taste of climbing on rock for the first time,” she adds.
While it may be tempting to just jump right in, Hayes also points out that you shouldn’t rush to push yourself.
“It’s very important to grow a strong foundation,” she says. “Also, make sure that you are climbing within the limits that you are comfortable with. Grades don’t really matter as long as you’re enjoying the challenge and having fun.”
For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best fleece-lined leggings, running shorts and travel backpacks.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
There’s nothing like seeing Beyoncé live in concert, but until she hits the road again, musical production company Fever is letting you listen to the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer’s biggest hits under the soft glow of candlelight.
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A musical tribute to Beyoncé is taking over New York City and more cities across the U.S. as part of Fever’s “Candlelight Tribute” concerts. It’s time to don your best Western attire and listen to the Highline String Quartet play live orchestra versions of Beyoncé’s discography.
The Beyoncé Candlelight Tribute Concert dates include Thursday (April 25), Saturday (May 11) and Saturday (June 8), with the option of attending a 6 p.m. ET or 9:30 p.m. ET show. If you want to get tickets to Fever’s Beyoncé candlelight tribute, you’ll want to act fast before they sell out.
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The tentative program includes orchestral versions of hits like “Love on Top,” “Hold Up,” “If I Were a Boy,” “Say My Name,” (Destiny’s Child), “Drunk in Love,” “Single Ladies,” “Sandcastles,” “XO,” “Irreplaceable,” “Halo,” “Survivor” (Destiny’s Child) and “Crazy in Love.”
How to Get Tickets to Beyoncé’s Candlelight Tribute Online
Fever’s Beyoncé Candlelight Concert will be taking place at the St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn starting April 25. While there are a variety of cheap ticket sites out there, you can only purchase these tickets through Fever. Tickets start at $35 and go to $65, and you can choose between three zones to sit in to watch the orchestra perform live.
The performance is recommended for children 8 years old and up — anyone under 16 years old will need to be accompanied by an adult.
If you can’t make it to New York, there are more cities putting on the program including Minneapolis, Minn., on April 19, San Antonio, Texas, on April 26, St. Louis, Mo., on May 10, New Orleans, La., on May 11, Yakima, Wash., on May 23, Dallas, Texas, on May 25, Springfield, Mass. on June 6, Portland, Ore., on June 7, Reno, Nev., on June 20, Sacramento, Calif., on June 21 and Spokane, Wash., on June 28.
The Grammy-winner isn’t the only Billboard Hot 100 artist you can experience through Fever — the program also does candlelight tributes for Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa and even throwback artists like ABBA and Nirvana. And for even more unique Fever experiences, check out Broadway Sings Taylor Swift.
You get to experience a lot of cool stuff when your dad is one of the biggest pop stars in the world. But Nicole Richie proved on Tuesday night (April 9) that the stars are not always just like us after all. Not even close.
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Chatting with Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show in an appearance to promote her starring role in the remake of the 1991 comedy Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, avowed animal lover Richie ran down the list of her current and former favorite pets, including her new cat Lavender Bumblebee. The feline, of course, joins Nicole’s other favorite kitty, Tiger Lily Sprinkle Winks, who, she noted was initially “very upset” when LB came into the picture.
Richie also recalled her many trips to a pet store in L.A. with childhood bestie and reality TV co-star Paris Hilton to buy pet rats. “I don’t know why, I actually hate rats now,” she said of her expansive rat pack, all of whom were named after Beverly Hills 90210 characters. “So I don’t know why we were into them, but we were.” After rogue rat Tori Spelling ended up on her mom’s face one morning, the rats were out and Nicole moved on to her next obsession: Las Vegas-sourced ferrets.
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That was far from the wildest animal tale she told, though.
“Yes, Prince got me my first dog,” Richie told Fallon about the pooch the enigmatic late pop icon gave her when she was four. “I remember because the dog’s name was God. I did not name the dog, obviously.”
Richie said she was used to interactions with superstars on a regular basis from attending her dad Lionel Richie’s concerts as a kid, though she typically kept to the backstage area. “The first time that I went in the audience — I remember this so clearly — one of the Pointer Sisters was there,” Richie said, adding that the singer in question had a cute Yorkie with a pink bow in its hair at the gig. “She’s the one who brought me out into the audience for the first time.” Fallon then shared a recent video of Nicole and sister Sofia in the crowd at one of their dad’s shows losing their minds along with everyone else in the crowd.
Richie stars alongside June Squibb, Jermaine Fowler and Gus Kenworthy in the Babysitter reboot due out on Friday (April 12).
Watch Richie on The Tonight Show below.
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It’s time to return to a galaxy far, far away with a new Star Wars video game from Lucasfilm Games and Ubisoft.
Star Wars Outlaws is available for pre-order starting at $69.99 at ubisoft.com. The game is cross-platform for Xbox Series X/S, Sony PlayStation 5, Amazon Luna and PC. Ut’s expected to drop on Friday, Aug. 30.
And if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can access the game via Amazon Luna — the retail giant’s cloud gaming service — with a subscription to the Ubisoft+ add-on, which goes for $17.99 per month and comes with access to more than 100 games, including Star Wars Outlaws, Far Cry 6, Watch Dogs Legion, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, Assassin’s Creed Mirage and others.
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Not a member? Sign up for a 30-day free trial to take advantage of all that Amazon Prime has to offer, including access to Prime Video and Prime Gaming; fast free shipping in less than two days; in-store discounts at Whole Foods Market’ access to exclusive shopping events such as Prime Day and Black Friday; and more.
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Lucasfilm Games/Ubisoft
‘Star Wars Outlaws’
Release date: Aug. 30
$69.99 and up
Meanwhile, there are a few gaming tiers that are ready for pre-order. The standard tier for $69.99 comes with the game itself and two pre-order cosmetic packs, while the gold edition goes for $109.99 and comes with everything in the standard tier, as well as early access and the game’s season pass, which comes with two DLC (downloadable content) packs.
In addition, the ultimate edition for $129.99 comes with everything in the gold edition, plus two spaceship packs and a digital art book of the game’s concept art and storyboards. Lastly, there’s the ultimate edition with Ubisoft+ subscription service for $17.99 per month.
Star Wars Outlaws is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in the Star Wars timeline. It follows Kay Vess, a “cunning scoundrel” and her furry companion Nix, as the pair go on a life-changing quest in the criminal underbelly of the evil empire. However, she attracts the attention of the wrong people in pursuit of a new life.
Available for pre-order starting at $69.99 at Ubisoft, Star Wars Outlaws comes out for Xbox, PS5, Amazon Luna and PC on Aug. 30. In the meantime, watch the story trailer for the game, below:
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Want more deals? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.
Goodness knows, Ariana Grande has a lot of love for her Wicked castmates. The 30-year-old pop star joined Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum and Michell Yeoh in promoting the upcoming film duology at CinemaCon Wednesday (April 10) in Las Vegas, during which she posed for a set of sweet photos with the group backstage […]
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Former NBA player Nate “The Great” Robinson is currently fighting for his life, and if he doesn’t get some help real soon, the two-time Slam Dunk Champion knows that his days are numbered.
Two years after announcing his renal kidney failure diagnosis, the former New York Knick told Mail Sports that his search for a new kidney hasn’t gone well and that if he doesn’t get a replacement soon, he won’t be with us too much longer. Having to rely on weekly dialysis to keep him going, Robinson hopes to find a new kidney before it’s too late.
Mail Sports reports:
“I know that I don’t have long if I can’t get a kidney,’ Robinson exclusively told Mail Sport. ‘I know I’m not going to have long to live. So I just want to make the best of it as much as I can.
He continued, ‘Some people’s body reject dialysis. And thank God that mine accepts it and I can live… if I didn’t go to dialysis, I wouldn’t live probably longer than a week or two. So it’s serious, can’t miss a day. I go in for four hours, three days a week, four hours a day. And they clean my blood to get my toxins out. And they help me out a lot because that’s how I’m living.’
Robinson, who spoke on behalf of Bet365, shared that he deals with frequent, painful vomiting as a result of his dialysis treatment, which often leaves him hospitalized for a day or two.
This is sad.
Prayers up for Nate Robinson as he searches for a kidney and a new lease on life as he currently goes through his struggle. We’re just glad the man is keeping a positive attitude and his spirits up as he continues to keep hope alive that he’ll get his wish fulfilled. More from Mail Sports:
‘The [dialysis] machine has been helping my longevity and my life right now,’ he said. ‘So I’m just enjoying the times where I do feel healthy. I try to get out there with my kids, see my family and play basketball, do the things that I love.
And I still try to do all the things that I can to stay and feel normal as I can, stay as human as I can.’
In the meantime, Nate says he’s changed his diet to help keep his health in check. He eats fruits and grilled protein such as chicken and fish while staying away from processed foods.
Keep up the good fight, fam.
JoJo Siwa would like to set the record — for lack of a better word — straight. After a clip from her recent Billboard interview went viral, the “Karma” singer is making it clear that she did not invent the idea of “gay pop.” In a video published by TMZ, Siwa took a moment to […]
If you saw the just-released first trailer forJoker: Folie à Deux, you already know that the titular Batman baddie terrifyingly embodied by Joaquin Phoenix has truly found his black heart’s true love in his infamous henchwoman Harley Quinn, played this time around by Lady Gaga. And while Phoenix took home the best actor award at the […]
Benson Boone’s beautiful year continued Wednesday (April 10), as the breakout artist performed his signature song on late-night TV.
Sporting a smart suit, the Washington singer, songwriter and TikTok standout stopped by NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for a rendition of “Beautiful Things.” Lifting from his LP Fireworks & Rollerblades (via Night Street Records/Warner Records), “Beautiful Things” has had an impressive, global ride, logging seven nonconsecutive weeks atop the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart, five atop Australia’s ARIA Chart, and is on track for a fourth week at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart. In the U.S., “Beautiful Things” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. On YouTube, the official music video has passed 100 million views in just two months. For his late night spot, Boone lead a full a full backing band, a taste of the world tour that kicked off last week in Chicago.
“Man,” he told Billboard ahead of his current jaunt, “all I’ve been thinking about is the tour, and I’ll be going some places that I’ve never been before. But after the tour, and after all the shows, I’m really looking forward to just being with my friends. I think we’re gonna go on a trip to Greece and have two weeks and just live my life.”
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The 21-year-old has been a regular on network TV this week. Earlier, he performed his hit for Today, looking relaxed in jeans, jacket and a bandana.
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“It’s definitely been crazy for me the past couple of months,” he told the morning crew. Success is “something you hope for but you never expect. But I’m just grateful to feel heard and to have a song that is out in the world, and everywhere.”
Watch the late-night performance below.
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Two retired NFL athletes swapped one helmet for another as The Masked Singer tackled a double-elimination. Fox’s quirky singing competition celebrated Transformers night on Wednesday, April 10, but there was no party for the Love Bird and Koala. Goldfish sang “Baby Come Back” by Player; Starfish performed “21 Guns” by Green Day; Ugly Sweater hit […]