ClimbStation Brings Big-Face Climbing To Your Backyard

Rock climbing is really one sport that requires the right setting. Unlike other outdoor sports like skating and biking that you can enjoy right in your own neighborhood, you simply can't recreate the experience of climbing El Cap in your backyard (unless your backyard includes a massive, sheer face of rock). Climbing gyms have done their part in bringing climbing to unlikely areas, but they haven't reached everywhere, and still require a commute to get to.

Well, if you're sick and tired of having to travel to get your climbing in, consider yourself a ClimbStation fan. The massive treadmill-like climbing device takes it a few steps further than other options like the Treadwall and provides an automated climbing apparatus that allows you to set an angle of 15 to -30 degrees and climb in the comfort of your local gym or backyard.

Set the climbing difficult level between warm-up, medium and hard on the touchscreen display, and the wall constantly rotates requiring you to grab for the next hold and "climb" up. The device uses multiple sensors to adjust speeds to your climbing. For instance, it slows down when you tire so that you don't get body-slammed into the ground. Best of all--there's no need for rope, harness or belay skills because you remain about a meter off the ground. After your climb, you can view information like how high you climbed and how many calories burned on the touchscreen. 

From the factory, the ClimbStation has 90 individuals holds, but the user can customize the number and placement to make the climbing course meet his own preferences. It is only 150 centimeters wide with a 6.5-meter long climbing tread and can be towed using a car trailer, making it a versatile, mobile climbing solution. 

There is one thing separating the ClimbStation from your backyard or neighborhood, however: the $42,000 price tag. If you're rich enough to afford that, you may as well purchase a home in the Sierras and climb the real deal. But, perhaps these will catch on and start appearing in amusement parks and gyms in your neck of the woods sometime soon. 

Via: Oh Gizmo!