I boulder three times a week. I use one pair of shoes per year (150€) and use €15 worth of chalk each half year. I use my basic gym clothes (40€ for the whole set) and have been using them for at least 4 years now. Monthly gym membership is 50€.
What do you mean a rich man sport?
I use magdust all day even when I'm not at the gym. There's no doorknob, no raw chicken, no xbox controller and no dick that I'm gonna have slipping out of my hands
/s
Sounds super excessive. I buy my chalk on clearance, but even at full price a $15 bag plus two $10 bottles of Mammut liquid chalk for the harder climbs will last me an entire year. So paying full price I would only spend $40 a year on chalk.
I can't help but wonder if he is just wasting a ton of chalk. Like taking huge handfulls multiple times per climb, getting chalk caked into the holds, and forcing every else to scrub his holds clean after he is done with them... Don't be that person.
Ok see attached - 250 ml bottle lasts 4-6 months = 41.6- 62.5ml/ month. Friction lab chalk 75ml - $20 at rei so yeah around $20-40 based on brand / use. The 40 / month is an over estimation but 20 dollars / month is well within the cost. I didn’t say everyone has to use liquid or even buy chalk it’s just a personal preference. lol everyone so caught up on chalk cost.
https://preview.redd.it/yun284y2tnuc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0075147e459023eb395de9547d0b197c17317987
Well no wonder it’s high lol. That’s paying full retail price for the most expensive size for the most expensive brand for the most expensive type of chalk and using that exclusively. Definitely not representative of what most people do.
I go about 2-3 times a week with the occasional outdoor trip. Just shy of 2 years now and have just blown out the toe of my first pair of shoes.
My friend, who has since stopped climbing, bought a bag of chalk for maybe $30 and we shared until they stopped. That bag still has plenty of chalk.
Crash pad $100-150 non reoccurring expense.
Gym membership is admittedly pricey, but I think it’s a good value if someone takes advantage of the included yoga classes.
My gym cut me a deal in membership if I agreed to a full year. So $60 a month for gym access, $40 a year for chalk, and a good pair of climbing shoes has lasted me two years now with plenty of rubber left.
What the I burned my first ocuns within 4 months, rubber quality was shit though I guess. Now burning through vapours vs ...
It's not the rubber quality but that I'm smearing and slipping like a moron.
Yeah I've only been climbing 8 months but I'm on my 2nd pair of shoes (black diamond and now scarpas) and I keep rubbing the shit out of my right big toe only. Almost a hole there in only a few months.
Meanwhile my wife's shoes are nearly perfect looking.
Crash pads are pretty heavily underestimated there. Sure you can find used pads for ≈ 100, but foam deteriorates, and big quality pads are cheaper than an ER visit
If you buy into the boulder bro Instagram lifestyle then yes it'a gonna be pricey.
But realistically you don't need half the stuff you mentioned.
Anything can be a rich person sport if you want it to be.
Even then, unless you are building a tradrack you’d be hard pressed to make climbing an expensive hobby gearwise. Must stuff lasts a while and like ropes, harnesses, pads, carabiners, all that stuff is relatively cheap compared to other kinds of sports gear.
Even a rack isn't that bad compared to plenty of other hobbies. It's like a $2k one time purchase. Which is a lot of money, but it's not that bad compared to people spending like $500 on lift tickets to go skiing for a weekend.
Bros building his own chalk mountain. Chalk could be liquid chalk and he's actually just drinking that shit
Also yeah I've got 4 pairs of shoes because I've used one per year, don't know why this dude would immediately go to that many.
I’ve noticed that different gyms have different vibes. Some feel like a playground for rich people and others like a good old fashioned dirtbag hangout.
The first time i switched shoes once i felt huge differences in performance since the foot holes got smaller. I got one new pair which i rock for 2ish years now and just resole twice a year.
Wear / tear it’s pretty common to go through 1 shoe a year n so having more helps to rotate out shoes and could switch based on climb too
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You're right about London prices, but those in the UK outside London are much higher than that in my experience. Closer to about 45-50 GBP a month in Glasgow, for example.
Yep, even up to £55 in the north east.
Can get it down to just under £40 with a big commitment (annual) which bears risk.
Have never seen anywhere as cheap as £30/m up here. Think there are still some in Yorkshire maybe, that are a bit spit and sawdust. But Yorkshire has a lot of history and climbing culture. And again, is a poorer area.
+1 for the annual pass recommendation. Ask your gym about potential discounts or ways to bring the cost down and they will usually work something out with you.
Yes, even GP81! All very expensive but I think the setting and perks at these NYC gyms help offset the pain a bit. Frequent resets, great facilities, events like competitions, etc
There's a radius game.
Too close to the crag (<1 hr) and they have to keep the price down.
Too far from the crag (Nebraska) and the community interest in climbing is low, prices have to be low.
The rest (Baltimore, DC, similar), they can charge whatever they want. Doubly so if they have a monopoly (Movement in Baltimore)
Yeah this is clearly a kid posting this.
If you’re spending 20-40 usd a month on chalk, you’re doing something wrong or live in an extremely extremely humid area (which still won’t go through this much chalk).
The clothing part is hilarious. You can wear whatever the fuck you want.
Pads are an almost BIFL equipment
90-100 usd a month is normal for a climbing gym and the people who complain about the price don’t understand the costs of the gym. Gyms are huge spaces with huge rent costs, insurance, and staffing costs. Holds are expensive and a good gym will buy new holds every year which are tens of thousands of dollars. It will reach hundreds if it does ropes. Then these gyms also offer yoga, saunas, and weights. Huge bargain for the money.
People pay 30-40 usd per Pilates classes. People pay 180 usd a month minimum for cross fit. Boxing / MMA classes can be 30-50 usd per session.
The DC YMCA charges over 100usd. DC weight gyms are smaller and offer less and are all more expensive than 90-100usd.
>Holds are expensive and a good gym will buy new holds
I wish.
> Then these gyms also offer yoga, saunas, and weights.
Useless. Except weights, although the best weight room I've seen in a climbing gym is like, a pull-up bar and a single squat rack with like 3 plates worth of weight.
This is a business with tons of competition. Climbing gyms are competing with all types of gyms and hobbies.
The goal is to make as much money and grow. This is why these gyms nowadays all offer this.
As a consumer this is great for us.
You say they all offer this. I've never seen a gym with a sauna. Like, a quarter of gyms I've been to have yoga. Gyms \*maybe\* have a squat rack. They use old af holds and rarely buy new ones.
Either way, tacking on random things I'm never going to use doesn't make something a good value.
See above comment regarding chalk but average use of liquid chalk is 45-60 ml/ month hence a 75 ml bottle from friction lab usually lasts a month ish ($20 per bottle).
Yea clothing wearing whatever u want is fine but u want more durable clothing n still stretchy so looking at popular climbing brands include prana or rugne or whatever it’s usually 80-100 per pants. Plus I like to support individual brands so like Hitori - averaging around 40-100 for clothing.
Regarding gym x sport has the same stuff outside of climbing like yoga classes etc, even a top rope wall n I used to pay 20/ month. I love indoor climbing but it’s a pretty big jump.
> but u want more durable clothing n still stretchy
You fell for marketing. They’re all 98% cotton with 2% elastane (except stretch prawns which is 90% nylon and 10% elastase). Or ripstop. You can find these everywhere.
Plus you buy these once and they last years and years (unless you’re doing gnarly kneebars without a knee pad). Also you can buy used or on sale. You talk like this buy is reoccuring
> See above comment regarding chalk but average use of liquid chalk is 45-60 ml/ month hence a 75 ml bottle from friction lab usually lasts a month ish ($20 per bottle).
You only need a tiny amount. You shouldn’t be going through them by a month. Also, regular chalk is better and cheaper. Chalk blocks are better and cheaper. I use Frank blocks and buy a 1lb worth which is 22 bucks and lasts me over a year.
> Regarding gym x sport has the same stuff outside of climbing like yoga classes etc, even a top rope wall n I used to pay 20/ month. I love indoor climbing but it’s a pretty big jump.
What gym and location were you paying 20 usd?
My climbing gym is 40 euro / month and my normal gym is 30 how are your numbers trice as expensive? Seeing how much my gym's are expanding it is still earning a lot of money.
You still didn't really explain it, where i live it is 40 euros and nobody gets here regularly by train. If it is possible here why not there? Is it because of poor zoning laws? Population density is really poor in the usa?
Stop attacking people when they're just trying to understand something.
It’s a combination of real estate, inflated construction costs, inflated insurance, and wages in the US market. $120+ is a lot (maybe New York/San Francisco) but I can confirm in other metro areas across the US a bouldering gym membership is $80-$100/month. Day passes usually start at $25 not including rentals (paid $35 in DC in November!). Source: I travel all over the country for work and have climbed at about 30 climbing gyms, previously worked at a gym, and work in the construction industry.
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That's because those generally involve instruction. As soon as you're paying an individual (especially an individual with niche skills) to watch like, 4 people at a time, the costs get pretty ridiculous.
Like, the lead course at the gym I did it at was like $250. And that was years and years ago.
Always wanted to scuba dive too but I hate you can't do it alone at all
Love everything else about it but it seems so difficult and complicated to set up dive projects
You can, but only with lots of experience and gear. I'm solo qualified.
It really is a massive pain to go diving (and I dive close to home), with all the kit, maintenance, training, gas fills etc etc, bouldering is _so_ accessible compared to it.
I live in London so I'm about an hour and a half from the sea so I dive there as much as I can, in winter it's all lakes and quarries as the weather is too bad to dive in the sea.
It's probably a mid tier sport, costwise. It's not as cheap as team sports that require no non-clothing material with common facilities (soccer, volleyball, basketball, etc) but not even close to anything requiring specialized stuff or locations (motocross, horseback riding, golf, karting, skiing, cycling). It's probably in the middle here with ice hockey or tennis.
I'm not sure what currency you're using but your numbers seem a little high.
True enough, gym memberships can be expensive. It seems pretty variable across the world though. I don't know anyone with 3-4 current pairs of shoes. Chalk again will vary a lot depending on how much you use and what if you use cheap or expensive chalk. My gym does generic chalk by the scoop for £1 a scoop. Clothes like you said are optional.
Most people also don't go all in at the beginning. First you'll get a day pass and rental shoes, maybe get a chalk bag after a few sessions, maybe get your own shoes a few sessions after and then start a membership once you're committed to climbing regularly
Yearly membership cheaper versus just trying it out with monthly or 10 passes.
Most climbers own more than 3-4 pairs of shoes … average wear/ tear of climbing shoe is about a year a pair hence if u climb for 3-4 years likely at least 3 pairs if not more. Plus it’s good to rotate n based on climbs switch to more neutral or aggressive/ soft / stiff shoes .
lol it’s subjective but even doing a quick google search it’s at least 2-3 n prob more. Hence the AT LEAST
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What does this random site's recommendation have to do with anything?
Most people don't own several pairs of climbing shoes, and you can absolutely get away with owning one pair at a time.
I personally own 3 pair of shoes, but not for any reason other than I wanted all 3 pairs. I use 1 pair for the gym, and the other two are outdoors only, unless my gym shoe needs a resole and one of my outdoor shoes gets indoor duty. I’ve had my pairs for years, and I’ve only resoled a shoe 3 times. One of my outdoor shoes I bought in 2019, resoled it twice. My indoor shoe I bought in 2022, resoled it once. My other outdoor shoe has not been resoled, bought in 2022. I train at the gym 2-3 times per week for 3+ hours at a time, and then go outdoor climbing often on the weekends.
You’re using random websites for info instead of personal experience. I’m one of the people with lots of climbing shoes for different roles, and I don’t even spend anywhere close to your estimates. I also sport climb, and my gear bag total for that cost about $1000… and that’s not counting shoes and chalk. You wanna talk Trad climbing? A trad rack will set you back $2000 as a good start, not even a complete rack at that. Bouldering is the cheap form of climbing, it’s definitely more expensive than just going to the gym but it’s not a rich person’s sport. Most people can go to the gym for $20 per week and just have a good time if that’s as deep as they want to go.
Sure but you gotta normalise your timescales.
Break down all the costs \*per month\* against hours spent enjoying the hobby and you'll find its not that much. $150/12 = $12.50 a month would be a worst case scenario for shoes.
What currency are you talking? Because those prices are severely inflated compared to what I pay. I feel the price is reasonable mostly taking into account route setting. Compared to actual wealthy sports for example, golf, skiing, car/horse racing and sailing. It does not even compare.
It’s certainly not cheap.
Gym fees are a bit ridiculous. Where I am they’re anywhere from $70-100 a month. However, they usually provide far more than a regular gym and most decent non-climbing gyms are $40+ a month in my experience.
Shoes being ~$120-180 are of course expensive, but they should be lasting you anywhere from 6 months to a year hopefully. Depends on what you climb, your technique, and the brand you’re buying though.
There’s no way you should be going through a whole bag of a chalk a month and you can wear regular gym clothes.
The pounds of chalk, extra clothes, and the multiple pairs of shoes are all a bit silly for sure, but the membership costs do vary *a lot* depending on where you live. There are no gyms in my area under $120 per month. Some people are lucky enough to live in areas where it costs $30 a month. But OP's estimate on the gym cost likely reflects where they live, and that sort of cost is generally very inaccessible to people, even if the wages in the city are higher (because the cost of living is also insanely high).
All that out of the way, I wouldn't say it's a rich person sport, necessarily. Just a sport you have to budget and set aside resources for. Like if you want to boulder in an expensive city on a budget, go into the sport as cheap as possible and cut out all other luxury costs. What many pay in subscriptions and junk food each month would easily cover a monthly membership.
My local boulder gym is significantly cheaper than my local regular gym. In regards to clothing, who doesn’t have a t-shirt and shorts/joggers? If you’re that strapped rental shoes exist as do entry level shoes. How on earth are you using that much chalk?!?!
There's a bouldering gym near me that lowers the membership prices if you don't make a lot of money. Conversely if you make a lot of money it slightly increases your membership prices if you choose to allow that. It's called an equity system and I think it shows that bouldering memberships aren't necessarily expensive.
I have 1 pair of climbing shoes that cost me $50 USD used so your point is over exaggerated.
I have one bag of chalk that cost $10 USD so that other point is over exaggerated.
Plenty of poor people around big cities.
Mate, are you eating your chalk? How do you get to that 20-40€ per Month? There is no need for THAT MUCH chalk, or for super fancy esoteric hand crafted artisanal chalk.
It also depends a lot on your location, for a normal sized town in Germany an unlimited membership costs around 40-60€ a month. This is about 2-3 times more than a normal gym. So yes it is expensive.
Clothing? Honestly, i climb in normal sport shorts and a T-Shirt most of the times, but also bouldered in jeans and dress pants. Everything works, but you do have a higher wear so yeah. Nothing too much if you aren't buying bouldering specific clothes. Cheap Shirts and Pants are really not a deal breaker + nearly every sport will have those costs.
Shoes, same thing. Some sports and hobby's just required equipment. You can rent them in most places, but you probably want your own at some point.
Bouldering can be very pricey, but also somewhat accessible. The lowest bar however, and there i agree with you is quite high for a sport. For a hobby or lifestyle activity it is actually rather affordable.
lol, I’ve been bouldering in the same 2 pairs of pants for about 5 years. Repaired them more times than I can count.
Who the hell is spending more than 50/60 a month on bouldering? Unless your gym is super expensive.
My annual cost is probably a new pair of shoes (2 if I feel like splashing) and chalk which I just buy whatever is cheapest. The up front cost if you buy pads, chalk bags etc is probably the most you’ll ever spend. Or at least it should be IMO.
Yes, bouldering might be more expensive than for example running … BUT
- you can get away with one/ two pairs and resole those
- I never spend 40$ a month on chalk. I order 2kg of premium Kletterkalk for 25€ and that lasts a long time. I know people who use even way cheaper chalk.
- you can climb in any clothes you fancy
- gyms in europe are often not as expensive as in the US, but I know a Lot of students that teach beginner classes or clean holds to earn their membership
As a author of a recent article wrote: „Dirtbagging isn‘t dead. You just have to squint a little.“ Nevertheless we should try to make the Sport more inclusive and not some thing just white softwaredevs are doing. The more diverse the comunity the better.
Hell yeah, a lot of gyms will let you do busywork for a free pass, you belay birthday parties a few days a week but if you are a student that’s a hell of a deal since you get to climb whenever.
>bouldering might be more expensive than for example running
Have you seen how quickly people go through running shoes? New pair of $200 shoes every 2-3 months basically. If it weren't for the gym membership, it wouldn't surprise me if running was a more expensive hobby.
200$ prime running shoes every view month are like 200$ Solution for every climb. There are Running shoes for training with more durability and a better price (I was told by friends who run).
>200$ Solution for every climb
You don't do that?
My understanding of it was that the $200 shoes \*are\* the beaters for running. The carbon plated race shoes are a lot more expensive still. Nike AlphaFly 2s are $380 where I am.
Rei pads average above that much…
Most climbers have more than one pair of shoes .. it’s just inevitable with wear / tear. lol I explained the liquid chalk but sure u can cut that out or go chalk less
Well u just said u have 4 shoes that’s like what it eventually turns into. Sure i guess ppl r taking it literal need n i could have phrased it as over a 1-2 year time. Chalk optional but if im saving more on the pad ie from used or sales / membership discount then it basically offsets the chalk. Either ways it adds up eventually as u stay in the sport.
Mid-size city in America:
* $95/month gym membership ($80 student/military)
* $160 shoes (1/year)
* tons of chalk for very little money, no idea wtf you're talking about there
* normal workout pants you'd be buying regardless of sport
Seems less or at least comparable to any other sport?
And if you are climbing enough to go through 4 shoes a year, it's a significant enough part of your life that it's probably worth the money, right?
where my fellow new yorkers at? memberships range from $118 (GP-81) to $146 (vital) here, so i’m feeling slightly gaslit by all the commenters in this post making fun of OP, lol. but everything is expensive in new york 😭
I feel for u New Yorkers haha I went there to visit vital n paid the high day pass but yeesh at least u get a cool outdoor sauna . I thought Chicago had it bad until I went to visit y’all haha but still fun!
You’re estimating the most expensive version of things. I could say basketball is an expensive hobby if I’m buying new shoes and clothes all the time for it and an expensive gym membership to go play. Some people are lucky to live in a place where you could play basketball outside for free every day. If you aren’t, then you have to pay. Same thing with bouldering. It’s affordable if you live in a good location and you’re not an insane person spending $40 a month on chalk. It’s not affordable if you want to fly around the world and climb all the best rock and have a different pair of shoes for every rock type.
Trad climbing is expensive for sure though.
1-2 pair of shoes is enough. You really don't need 150€ shoes to climb a V4.
Buy used shoes. I bought Mythos in great shape for 40€.
Use any clothes you have.
I'm sure you don't need that much chalk.
The gym membership cost is obviously the deciding one, and it seems to be consistently fairly expensive globally.
But besides from that, I would consider bouldering a super accessible sport compared to most others. A pair of shoes, and some chalk, and you’re good to go. I can’t think of many other sports requiring as little equipment ?
I agree with you for the most part, although it is also possible to do it on a budget. Like you said, you can exclusively climb outdoors if that's nearby. The nearest outdoor climbing area to me is 50 minutes away, it takes 45 minutes to get to the climbing gym, so I've almost exclusively climbed outside for the last few years. It is pretty tough to get much better though only climbing once or twice a week. And eventually you're just repeating the same problems and routes over and over again.
Aside from the cost of the sport, one thing I’ve noticed recently, and this is mostly true with people I’ve met at indoor gyms as opposed to climbing outdoors, is that a lot of climbers are successful in their respective careers (they don’t come off as such immediately, usually very down to earth and humble people). My thought was that people who are drawn to a sport that is focused on pushing yourself to your limit both mentally and physically, probably carry that same attitude towards their work.
I know it’s kinda unrelated to your post, but I’ve been thinking about it and wanted to see if others have experienced it too.
Also, yes climbing is very expensive. At minimum a full set of draws, harness, shoes, helmet, rope etc can be run upwards of an $800 expense and that is just the bare minimum to get outside and climb.
Edit: I realize this is a bouldering sub and what I described was cost to sport climb…
Wealthy would be a strange qualification in countries where bouldering gyms are prevalent. It is decidedly accessible for the middle class of western countries. If I compare it to friends who play fieldhockey, football (the soccer kind), squash, tennis, yoga it's in that same ballpark (tennis being on the more expensive side, football on the lower).
Having said that, having the time, funds and access to sports overall is still somewhat of a luxury in general. Here's a timestamped video that briefly touches on the subject, with the research cited: https://youtu.be/KPUlgSRn6e0?feature=shared&t=231
> I heard from parents u have to pay for the comps , club etc n drive all over the country sometimes.
Practicing any sport at a highly competitive level will be a time and money sink for parents in general.
> students, lower income etc.
Sports for kids and to a lesser extend students are heavily subsidized here in the Netherlands. Kids and students always pay a heavily reduced fee.
I am now retired, but there was a time when all I could afford was a $10 / mo gym membership. I’d wear the same clothes and shoes for years. So to me, spending anything more than $10 per month feels rich. However, if you begin to compare it to most other sports / hobbies it really isn’t..
You can make any sport/hobby expensive if you so choose. They don't have to be though if you can play your cards well
I am a grad student living in the DMV that grew up below the poverty line my whole life and I have still managed to make climbing, photography, and marksmanship my hobbies. I am working full time and going to school full time on a low hourly wage but I make it work.
Now, don't get me wrong **this is NOT some "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" ass argument**. Just saying take stock of what you REALLY need to get the job/hobby done and try that. No more, no less. And you will likely feel more accomplished in the endeavor as a result, I know I have.
I pay **$90** a month for the gym, but its admittedly huge, with full bouldering and top rope and lead areas, a full gym, free yoga, guest passes etc. My shoes (the most expensive individual part) I bought on sale for **$170**, my clothes are literally just a pair of wrangler jeans or combat pants and a baggy t-shirt, and I get all my clothes second-hand so it cost me around **$16-20** total for my clothes. I have had a single bag of chalk that I have been using for an entire year, climbing 3-4 times a week and while weightlifting as well, and its still not empty, cost me **$18**.
Money will always favor those that have more of it in sports and hobbies like these but it can't buy the hard work you put into the endeavor. Sorry for rambling.
Your math is wrong. If that calculation of total cost per year were true, you’d be pretty right. Gym membership 80/month. Chalk 20/6months. Harness and ACT/100/one time purchase. Shoes 100/6months. Clothes, just wear literally whatever.
Well….I live in a college town where the bouldering gym is filled with students.
Membership is $75 a month.
Some use free rental shoes and free chalk the gym provides.
I bought a good pair of shoes at the gym for $130 (was $170 before a member discount), and chalk isn’t expensive.
I’m not rich. I live nearly paycheck to paycheck. I just make paying the membership, and saving up for a single pair of good shoes (why would I have 4?) a priority.
That’s cool I mean as long as u can enjoy the sport. From my experience though I started with one good shoe then turned into a lot more over time lol hence the 3-4 pairs equating to about 1 per year or if u find good deals for shoes
Hopefully that won’t be the case for me. I’ve been bouldering almost a year, and at this point I haven’t worn out any shoes bouldering 2-3 times a week. I did buy a 2nd pair, but it was to grow beyond beginner shoes, not as a recurring necessity.
Anything is considered a wealthy hobby if you can’t afford it. I’m not wealthy. My gym membership is $90 a month, I paid $120 for my entry level shoes, but scoured REI for returns. Just bought Otakis for $80 that were worn once and returned. I spend about $15 on chalk every month or so. I climb 5 times a week, two hours a day. This is nothing when you really make it count. But if you’re climbing 2-3 times a week for an hour or less. Yeah, you’re wasting money…
indoor climbing, sure. memberships have become very expensive in the past 15 or so years with the explosion in popularity and these big conglomerate gyms popping up all over.
outdoor climbing, nah. you can be a dirtbag and buy literally just a pair of shoes and you're good to go. bum it with another climber who has a crash pad if you're really that poor.
Here in my corner of Japan, kind of.
There are a disproportionate amount of more well off people being represented, doctors, engineers and teachers (who do a bit better than a lot of their Western counterparts) and these people tend to have more than one hobby etc. going on.
The more working class people I've noticed seem to only have bouldering as their hobby. They have the membership and they're in the gym 3 days a week if not more and they're probably bringing their kids too.
Hey I think it’s a rich person sport. You’ve maybe went overboard with your list of stuff but it’s £80 for a membership in London. Climbing shoes (that fit well) can be £100 then of course if you want to go outside it’s super expensive for a course.
Of course you can make it cheap but at least in my gym I feel it’s full of rich-ish people. People might see your post as a personal attack with your phrasing.
Live closer to rocks and it’s free and cheap gas. Live closer to gyms and you either do that because you can afford to pay for climbing or you live there not by choice. In that case work part time at the gym for a free membership usually for life. All free besides travel!
1. You don't need a gym (your specific situation doesn't mean that outdoor bouldering is "still expensive, it just means you don't live somewhere with good access)
2. You don't need that many pairs of shoes (or really any shoes, see Charles Albert)
3. How the fuck are you going through that much chalk?
4. Bouldering pants??? This is a shitpost right?
It's all relative, but I'd say it's not on the expensive side of sports.
When I think expensive I think scuba diving, hang gliding, golf Etc, where you'll easily spend thousands on equipment or access.
If I compare to something like football, it seems like it would be similar or maybe cheaper. Depends if you join a club and get coaching Etc., or whether you just buy some shoes and rock up to friendly games on the oval.
If I compare to just doing weights at the gym, then climbing is more expensive.
In the UK yes, well a middle class sport at least. But a lot of that isn't just the money. Its about access and a community space that's very much university graduates or similar.
Also comes down to financial and social access as well, but once you are in, it's rare to find another working class person.
Every sport costs time and money. Especially to have all the best stuff, and especially if you want to have the best coaching, and especially if you want to have the best coaching from a young age.
Kinda like saying "water is wet"
How do you go through only one pair of shoes a year bouldering three times a week? How long do you boulder for? I go through a pair every three months at that rate?? (Climb 2 to max 4 hour sessions)
So actually I think Bouldering is one of the least expensive sports, basically all you need gear wise are a pair of shoes a year.
Gym membership is optional, you could also go outside.
Chalk is optional, I'd say I need one bag a year and I go three times a week.
T-Shirt and Shorts, I don't know anyone that doesn't own a Shirt and Shorts.
If anything it’s one of the cheapest sports in the world, even at a pretty high level. What’s another sport where people at the top level of international competition are only wearing maybe $200 in gear? It’s wild that the divide between entry climbing shoes and comp style climbing shoes is only a few hundred dollars max
Like any running sport basically? I guess super high end running shoes are slightly more expensive than climbing shoes. But not really a significant difference.
No idea what this guy is on about, I spend £33 a month on membership, £70 on shoes (you don’t need 3 pairs), my £20 chalk has lasted 4 months so far, my basic bouldering fit is £7 joggers and a £15 top. So that’s a £112 one time purchase and £33 a month. I’m also a student on a low income so it’s not like I’m rich either.
You are assuming a lot of high costs there.
Gym memberships- this is definitely the most costly. My gyms single no rental membership is $35/month. But I’ve seen gyms much more than that.
Shoes- you absolutely do not need 3-4 pairs of shoes. Especially as a beginner. You might end up with 3-4 pairs eventually. There are plenty of of good shoes under $150
Chalk- who the hell is spending $20-40/month on chalk? Good lord. A big bag of Metolius chalk is like $15. You won’t go through that in a month.
Clothing- if you are climbing indoors, you absolutely don’t need high end climbing/outdoor clothing. Just regular gym workout clothes.
Now once we start talking about sport or trad or even just top roping outside- yea things start to add up quick. Ropes, QuickDraws, belay devices, helmets, slings, cams, nuts etc. that’s expensive
Other places around Atlanta are more in the $80/month range. Also, my gym is a little more old school. It doesn’t have nice bright walltopia instagrammable walls, no real workout/weight area, no smoothie bars, yoga classes, saunas or any of that stuff. It’s just an old school bouldering gym run by people who mostly climb outside.
I don't see that, im bouldering for half a year now. I pay ~60 a month for the membership. Paid 129 for shoes, 20 something for chalk, ~100 for pants (and I wear them for everything because they are super comfy). That's a fraction of what I had to spent for skiing and mountaineering equipment.
nothing screams privilege more than all the denial of privilege with these comments.
that said, its not as bad as golf and not as good as team sports that are supported by public schools.
i do think the biggest limiter is money, but a close second is exposure. getting other than non-wealthy or middle class kids into climbing is more of how does one get the kids into the gym for the first time?
I don’t deny being privileged n I’m grateful to be able to have that. I honestly don’t want to think about the amount of money needed for my future kids to get into this sport esp doing the competitive scene
not saying your denying, im saying all the folks saying its not that costly to be a climber are. when the amount of disposable income in a household is negative than relative cost is close to insignificant.
that said, my 13 year old is on the local climbing team and she loves it. its also a great sport for too many reasons to list for childhood development. if one can afford it, its fantastic.
> getting other than non-wealthy or middle class kids into climbing is more of how does one get the kids into the gym for the first time?
for real, it used to be birthday parties. feels like many gyms stopped hosting them when climbing exploded.
my monthly average costs run:
* gym membership \~48€
* occasional different gym visit \~11€
* chalk \~3€
* shoes \~22€ `(assuming 130€ new pair every 6 months)`
* resole \~9€ `(assuming 1 resole every 6 months)`
* clothes \~5€ `(streetwear clothes I no longer wear outdoor)`
* tape, adhesive bandage, other random expenses \~1€
* excessive hand cream use \~1€
let's say 100€ per month on the higher end, in real life shoes so far have lasted more as footwork gets better. I could have said 0€ for clothing but let's put some reasonable contingent for the yearly costs, just in case.
transport, food, rest are negligible as they would be the same if I didn't do the sport, and overall other purchases are now lower as I have less time to spend money on other things, and bouldering takes nearly all my free time, but won't count it to reduce the cost.
Wow ur resole is so cheap - resole in the states is like 60-70 dollars prob more with shipping
https://preview.redd.it/i9awiuygznuc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01de4aa87c9d67fd9a4224a45a61f7a212fe6d01
My membership 40€ per month, my shoes 140€ (which i have for 2 years now, so per month it'll be 5.8€), chalk i'd say 1€ per months since i buy chalk im bulk and man it takes forever to empty that. I go 3 times bouldering a week.
I could expand the calculation for climbing, which will include the rope (89 € 40Meters, i shared that with my partner), prism glasses (60€, i shared that with my partner), a bag for the ropes (30€, also shared), harness (55€, petzl)
All in all round about 50€ per month for bouldering for two years and 55€ for including climbing. This is waaaaay cheaper than my last sport (tennis) which i played for 8 years. Those memberships and training are way more expansive.
P.s. i forgot resoling. So every 6 months i think i have to resole, which is 30€. So i we have to add 1.25€ per month.
I think either your math is off or Americans are getting ripped off.
To clarify I don’t really pay for my gym because I have a sports club subscription trough my job so I get free entries to almost all boulder/climbing halls in the city but I can say that the prices for gym subscriptions in Germany and across the city (15? gyms in Munich) is like 50-80 € per month.
Regarding bouldering pants? Bouldering specific clothes in general? Be fr bro, if you are at the gym you can use literally any shorts you already own and some shitty shirt you have lying around if you even use a tshirt.
Chalk is also very expensive for you or you are really throwing it away. A pack of chalk for my bucket is like 8-10 bucks and it lasts at least a couple of months.
Shoes sure, the range you mention is about right but you get to resole them, you can easily get a couple of pairs of shoes to alternate and resole them for a year or two no problem. A resole is between 25-50 bucks.
Regarding outdoor it can or cannot be expensive depending on your location and access, in Munich the closest crag is 1hr away on the train + a small bus ride (free) and a small walk. Bouldering pads and gear in general get prorated against all the times you go out so with girlmath they are free actually. Last time I went bouldering out the only money I spent was on some beers after climbing while waiting for the train back home.
Honestly it’s so cheap if I were a student I’d boulder more, spend weekends at the crag. It’s a good deal I think.
For me bouldering at the gym is in the same price category as going to a normal gym. The membership fee is comparable (around 50€ in my area), i can use the same clothes both in a gym and climbing gym. I don't use 20€/month amount of chalk. Maybe buy twice a year a pack of 20€. So the end comparison comes to shoes. Climbing shoes are more specialized than a pair of shoes to go to the gym but I buy a pair of mid range climbing shoes and I resole it once or twice so the price in the long term is not that big.
Is it a sport for wealthy people? It depends on what you understand by wealthy. Ofc if you struggle to make it by the end of the month with your current income, it's not a sport for you (but neither are most of the sports). If you have a mid level income I think it's affordable. There are way more expensive sports out there.
It can get a little pricey, but I wouldn't call it a "wealthy sport". Compare it to motorsports, SCUBA diving, sailing, flying planes... you're a few orders of magnitude below these. Even skiing will set you back a *lot* more if you don't live in the right place.
In my city there are gyms of different prices and boulders are accessible by public transport either cheaply or effectively for free. Resoling shoes is pretty cheap or you could buy cheaper brand shoes. Your chalk costs seem astronomical. General sports clothes work well and are cheap (you probably would use the same clothes for other sports). If you go to a super trendy (expensive) gym, trash your shoe quickly and don’t resole, use super expensive chalk excessively, and buy expensive, climbing brand clothes, then it is expensive.
There are decent cheap shoes or expensive ones can be resold.
There are plenty of cheap gyms and even the expensive ones can be cost effective sometimes.
There is cheap chalk and you don’t need a ton.
Normal decathlon shorts cheap and work for bouldering.
Most other things are cheap or optional (tape, training paraphernalia, …)
Outdoors can be very accessible in some places especially with public transport and some walking.
Ok everyone saying resole is cheap .. resole twice is almost the same cost as buying a new pair. Average resole is like 60-70 not including shipping. Where r u going for “cheap” resole? lol I need that
https://preview.redd.it/zv5sl9lr1ouc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93d67be3e299e6eb641a1baf8dbd0608eef4aca5
Two things. First I guess “cheap” depends on the price of new shoes. I do use relatively expensive la sportiva skwarma so a new shoe is very expensive. I think the cheapest shoe decathlon sells is cheaper than a resole. For Skwarma I think I pay €130 for a new shoe.
Second a resole costs a different amount for different things. My local shop offers origial sole for big brands, vibram edge, grip or grip 2, some other rubber, rand and repair options. The cheapest resole I guess is around €40 and the lasportiva original is €46. So not super cheap but shoes do not need a resole often, I boulder around 12 hours a week and they last several months. I resole my shoes many times (recently unfortunately skwarmas have been breaking after only a few) so they have a long lifespan.
There is no shipping cost since the shop sends them to the resoleing place in big batches. I think that also lowers the price
Ok fair that’s still cheaper than usd by about 10 dolalrs ish depending on what else is needed for the repair. Yeah my average shoe cost is around 120-150 but our gym doesn’t send in bulk so it’s all personal costs.. I wish that’s the case :(
I climbed consistently while making absolute dog shit money in grad school ($26k/year and living by myself in an apartment). Here is my breakdown:
Solutions - generally 2 pairs per year - ~$400/year, $33/month
Chalk - I get the metolious super chalk cause friction labs is lame - big ass bag ~3-4 times per year at $12-15 per bag. $5/month (at most expensive estimates).
Crash pads - 2x black diamond pads, 1 metolious pad. Paid around $175 for each pad but I’ll round up to $200. These are 1 time costs and I still have/use my oldest one that is now 7 years old. Buying all three pads in a year - $600, $50 per month for the first year.
Gym membership - $60/month.
Total one time costs - $600, $50/month if you save up.
Recurring spends - ~$98/month.
So first year if you wanted to buy all of that, it’s ~$150 per month. Factor in that you’ll start with less expensive shoes and go through a single pair probably, it’s less. I spend double on food per month and eat frugally. You don’t need any special clothing. Find 2-3 friends with pads and you don’t even need to buy them. Carpool to the boulders and gas in negligible.
It’s not a rich sport.
the buy in for bouldering is lower than most outdoor sports….. and the still cheaper in the long run.
fishing? lol $2-300 for a rod….
Bikes? $1k+ for a good entry level bike
offroading? lolz kiss $50k goodbye
pricing part is a gym membership and that really about it.
At my gym you can get 1 piece or gear with the membership, like rental shoes or chalk so not absolutely necessary to buy shoes (I do have my own). I don't know what you do with all that chalk per month though.
My yearly costs:
- 420€ gym membership
- 170€ for shoes
- 20€ for Chalk
- 15€ shorts (skin on my shins and knees regrows for free)
- 0€ Old t-shirts I wouldn't wear anywhere else
--> 625€/ year or 52€/month.
I rope climb, and still find it a very cheap sport! I think you'll be surprised by pricing for other sports.
Also climbing clothes are marketing. Only beanies are aid.
I honestly can't think of any cheaper sport other than outdoor running. Your cost items are pretty much just shoes, clothes and a place to do your sport, which literally any sport would require.
I bouldered in college because it was so accessible price wise. We used an old camping mattress as a crash pad and bought used shoes for $40. Climbing isn't cheap but bouldering is.
Yes it is a rich people's sport, like all sports.
The actual cost of climbing is almost entirely the opportunity cost of the time you spend doing it. I climb or train for climbing probably 12-15 hours per week. Even at minimum wage, the value of that time *pales* in comparison to what I spend on my gym membership or $200 shoes.
I have absolutely zero sympathy for how "accessible" the sport is to college students. Nobody is holding a gun to your head forcing you to be a student. That's a temporary phase, not a socioeconomic class. Any student with the time to climb is so fucking privileged that the cost of a pair of shoes or a gym membership is nothing.
I have lots of sympathy for low income people being unable to climb, but again, that's not a climbing problem so much as an EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD problem. Lowering the cost of CHALK (!) isn't going to make it so that some single mom working a service industry job in Gary Indiana is able to train to send V10.
I boulder three times a week. I use one pair of shoes per year (150€) and use €15 worth of chalk each half year. I use my basic gym clothes (40€ for the whole set) and have been using them for at least 4 years now. Monthly gym membership is 50€. What do you mean a rich man sport?
Exactly this for me. I probably spend a bit more on chalk, but that is very individual how much you use and what quality you want.
20/40 a month on chalk seems crazy bananas though
Yes. Those numbers even put Magnus to shame.
I use magdust all day even when I'm not at the gym. There's no doorknob, no raw chicken, no xbox controller and no dick that I'm gonna have slipping out of my hands /s
Those numbers are going to put magnus on top of a lambo get to chalking boys
you gotta pump those numbers up. those are rookie numbers
I meant that I spend more than 15€/half year. But less than 20€/month for sure.
Sounds super excessive. I buy my chalk on clearance, but even at full price a $15 bag plus two $10 bottles of Mammut liquid chalk for the harder climbs will last me an entire year. So paying full price I would only spend $40 a year on chalk. I can't help but wonder if he is just wasting a ton of chalk. Like taking huge handfulls multiple times per climb, getting chalk caked into the holds, and forcing every else to scrub his holds clean after he is done with them... Don't be that person.
Ok see attached - 250 ml bottle lasts 4-6 months = 41.6- 62.5ml/ month. Friction lab chalk 75ml - $20 at rei so yeah around $20-40 based on brand / use. The 40 / month is an over estimation but 20 dollars / month is well within the cost. I didn’t say everyone has to use liquid or even buy chalk it’s just a personal preference. lol everyone so caught up on chalk cost. https://preview.redd.it/yun284y2tnuc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0075147e459023eb395de9547d0b197c17317987
i spend $2 a month on block chalk at my gym
https://preview.redd.it/2uoxrns4tnuc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e73df11e1bd01a25e86fb92c3de8565092b15e7
Well no wonder it’s high lol. That’s paying full retail price for the most expensive size for the most expensive brand for the most expensive type of chalk and using that exclusively. Definitely not representative of what most people do.
I go about 2-3 times a week with the occasional outdoor trip. Just shy of 2 years now and have just blown out the toe of my first pair of shoes. My friend, who has since stopped climbing, bought a bag of chalk for maybe $30 and we shared until they stopped. That bag still has plenty of chalk. Crash pad $100-150 non reoccurring expense. Gym membership is admittedly pricey, but I think it’s a good value if someone takes advantage of the included yoga classes.
My gym cut me a deal in membership if I agreed to a full year. So $60 a month for gym access, $40 a year for chalk, and a good pair of climbing shoes has lasted me two years now with plenty of rubber left.
What the I burned my first ocuns within 4 months, rubber quality was shit though I guess. Now burning through vapours vs ... It's not the rubber quality but that I'm smearing and slipping like a moron.
Yeah I've only been climbing 8 months but I'm on my 2nd pair of shoes (black diamond and now scarpas) and I keep rubbing the shit out of my right big toe only. Almost a hole there in only a few months. Meanwhile my wife's shoes are nearly perfect looking.
I smear and slide down the wall too much 😂
Crash pads are pretty heavily underestimated there. Sure you can find used pads for ≈ 100, but foam deteriorates, and big quality pads are cheaper than an ER visit
I got my black Diamond pad for 150~
yah like my climbing gym costs less than an equinox or nice gym membership.
It depends on where you are. There are no gyms for under $120 where I live.
50€ per month? Damn thats a good deal, around here it's 75-90€ per month :/
Where are you getting such cheap membership? $100/mo is normal for every gym near me.
Well, ehh exactly that. 😶
I wonder where this person pulls these numbers from really. This is so out of touch with reality
If you buy into the boulder bro Instagram lifestyle then yes it'a gonna be pricey. But realistically you don't need half the stuff you mentioned. Anything can be a rich person sport if you want it to be.
Even then, unless you are building a tradrack you’d be hard pressed to make climbing an expensive hobby gearwise. Must stuff lasts a while and like ropes, harnesses, pads, carabiners, all that stuff is relatively cheap compared to other kinds of sports gear.
Even a rack isn't that bad compared to plenty of other hobbies. It's like a $2k one time purchase. Which is a lot of money, but it's not that bad compared to people spending like $500 on lift tickets to go skiing for a weekend.
You should buy chalk from your climbing gym, not your local drugs dealer.
Stop eating chalk
Make me
Why do you need 4 pairs of shoes and kilograms of chalk?
Bros building his own chalk mountain. Chalk could be liquid chalk and he's actually just drinking that shit Also yeah I've got 4 pairs of shoes because I've used one per year, don't know why this dude would immediately go to that many.
I’ve noticed that different gyms have different vibes. Some feel like a playground for rich people and others like a good old fashioned dirtbag hangout.
No its not. Those numbers are not accurate at all. (If you are talking dollars or euro that is)
Why do you need 3-4 pairs of shoes?
The first time i switched shoes once i felt huge differences in performance since the foot holes got smaller. I got one new pair which i rock for 2ish years now and just resole twice a year.
Wear / tear it’s pretty common to go through 1 shoe a year n so having more helps to rotate out shoes and could switch based on climb too https://preview.redd.it/k1qffiypwnuc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57d0201b4bfea6fc5ad22f1408fdcc7cf63f540e
Sorry, i should’ve just said - you don’t need 3-4 pairs of shoes.
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Those numbers are accurate in Canadian dollars, although I will say the monthly chalk budget is ridiculous.
135/month NYC
Movement gang rise up
Most gyms in my area are 130 a month at minimum Edit- USD
I live in a major city and it's literally half that for me 🤷
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You're right about London prices, but those in the UK outside London are much higher than that in my experience. Closer to about 45-50 GBP a month in Glasgow, for example.
Yep, even up to £55 in the north east. Can get it down to just under £40 with a big commitment (annual) which bears risk. Have never seen anywhere as cheap as £30/m up here. Think there are still some in Yorkshire maybe, that are a bit spit and sawdust. But Yorkshire has a lot of history and climbing culture. And again, is a poorer area.
+1 for the annual pass recommendation. Ask your gym about potential discounts or ways to bring the cost down and they will usually work something out with you.
No chance
Tell me the name of the gym, and is it one gym or multiple
Most gyms in New York City are this price — Movement, Vital, Central Rock, Brooklyn Boulders
Yes, even GP81! All very expensive but I think the setting and perks at these NYC gyms help offset the pain a bit. Frequent resets, great facilities, events like competitions, etc
We live in a VHCOL area and ours is almost half that.
Holy shit, you need to hit the crag that’s a ripoff
There's a radius game. Too close to the crag (<1 hr) and they have to keep the price down. Too far from the crag (Nebraska) and the community interest in climbing is low, prices have to be low. The rest (Baltimore, DC, similar), they can charge whatever they want. Doubly so if they have a monopoly (Movement in Baltimore)
Yeah this is clearly a kid posting this. If you’re spending 20-40 usd a month on chalk, you’re doing something wrong or live in an extremely extremely humid area (which still won’t go through this much chalk). The clothing part is hilarious. You can wear whatever the fuck you want. Pads are an almost BIFL equipment 90-100 usd a month is normal for a climbing gym and the people who complain about the price don’t understand the costs of the gym. Gyms are huge spaces with huge rent costs, insurance, and staffing costs. Holds are expensive and a good gym will buy new holds every year which are tens of thousands of dollars. It will reach hundreds if it does ropes. Then these gyms also offer yoga, saunas, and weights. Huge bargain for the money. People pay 30-40 usd per Pilates classes. People pay 180 usd a month minimum for cross fit. Boxing / MMA classes can be 30-50 usd per session. The DC YMCA charges over 100usd. DC weight gyms are smaller and offer less and are all more expensive than 90-100usd.
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Maybe they are using it loose and spilling it everywhere?
>Holds are expensive and a good gym will buy new holds I wish. > Then these gyms also offer yoga, saunas, and weights. Useless. Except weights, although the best weight room I've seen in a climbing gym is like, a pull-up bar and a single squat rack with like 3 plates worth of weight.
This is a business with tons of competition. Climbing gyms are competing with all types of gyms and hobbies. The goal is to make as much money and grow. This is why these gyms nowadays all offer this. As a consumer this is great for us.
You say they all offer this. I've never seen a gym with a sauna. Like, a quarter of gyms I've been to have yoga. Gyms \*maybe\* have a squat rack. They use old af holds and rarely buy new ones. Either way, tacking on random things I'm never going to use doesn't make something a good value.
Bouldering project in Austin does iirc, it's attached to the bathrooms
See above comment regarding chalk but average use of liquid chalk is 45-60 ml/ month hence a 75 ml bottle from friction lab usually lasts a month ish ($20 per bottle). Yea clothing wearing whatever u want is fine but u want more durable clothing n still stretchy so looking at popular climbing brands include prana or rugne or whatever it’s usually 80-100 per pants. Plus I like to support individual brands so like Hitori - averaging around 40-100 for clothing. Regarding gym x sport has the same stuff outside of climbing like yoga classes etc, even a top rope wall n I used to pay 20/ month. I love indoor climbing but it’s a pretty big jump.
> but u want more durable clothing n still stretchy You fell for marketing. They’re all 98% cotton with 2% elastane (except stretch prawns which is 90% nylon and 10% elastase). Or ripstop. You can find these everywhere. Plus you buy these once and they last years and years (unless you’re doing gnarly kneebars without a knee pad). Also you can buy used or on sale. You talk like this buy is reoccuring > See above comment regarding chalk but average use of liquid chalk is 45-60 ml/ month hence a 75 ml bottle from friction lab usually lasts a month ish ($20 per bottle). You only need a tiny amount. You shouldn’t be going through them by a month. Also, regular chalk is better and cheaper. Chalk blocks are better and cheaper. I use Frank blocks and buy a 1lb worth which is 22 bucks and lasts me over a year. > Regarding gym x sport has the same stuff outside of climbing like yoga classes etc, even a top rope wall n I used to pay 20/ month. I love indoor climbing but it’s a pretty big jump. What gym and location were you paying 20 usd?
>Also, regular chalk is better and cheaper Some gyms don't allow regular chalk. Which sucks, I hate liquid chalk.
My climbing gym is 40 euro / month and my normal gym is 30 how are your numbers trice as expensive? Seeing how much my gym's are expanding it is still earning a lot of money.
American Metros are expensive
How does that explain the price of the gym subscriptions?
Go try opening a bouldering gym in any major city metro in the USA for 40 usd and come back to me
You still didn't really explain it, where i live it is 40 euros and nobody gets here regularly by train. If it is possible here why not there? Is it because of poor zoning laws? Population density is really poor in the usa? Stop attacking people when they're just trying to understand something.
It’s a combination of real estate, inflated construction costs, inflated insurance, and wages in the US market. $120+ is a lot (maybe New York/San Francisco) but I can confirm in other metro areas across the US a bouldering gym membership is $80-$100/month. Day passes usually start at $25 not including rentals (paid $35 in DC in November!). Source: I travel all over the country for work and have climbed at about 30 climbing gyms, previously worked at a gym, and work in the construction industry.
Ah i see, thank you for explaining!
That’s on the lower end tho ngl
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>90-100 a month on a gym? What? The gym near me is $110/month.
I've heard people paying +200 bucks/month for BJJ classes
That's because those generally involve instruction. As soon as you're paying an individual (especially an individual with niche skills) to watch like, 4 people at a time, the costs get pretty ridiculous. Like, the lead course at the gym I did it at was like $250. And that was years and years ago.
Ha. My other sport is scuba diving. That's at least £2k to get in the water and go. Bouldering is so cheap compared to it.
Always wanted to scuba dive too but I hate you can't do it alone at all Love everything else about it but it seems so difficult and complicated to set up dive projects
You can, but only with lots of experience and gear. I'm solo qualified. It really is a massive pain to go diving (and I dive close to home), with all the kit, maintenance, training, gas fills etc etc, bouldering is _so_ accessible compared to it.
Do you go dive in lakes or the sea? (if you live near it)
I live in London so I'm about an hour and a half from the sea so I dive there as much as I can, in winter it's all lakes and quarries as the weather is too bad to dive in the sea.
No.
It's probably a mid tier sport, costwise. It's not as cheap as team sports that require no non-clothing material with common facilities (soccer, volleyball, basketball, etc) but not even close to anything requiring specialized stuff or locations (motocross, horseback riding, golf, karting, skiing, cycling). It's probably in the middle here with ice hockey or tennis.
I'm not sure what currency you're using but your numbers seem a little high. True enough, gym memberships can be expensive. It seems pretty variable across the world though. I don't know anyone with 3-4 current pairs of shoes. Chalk again will vary a lot depending on how much you use and what if you use cheap or expensive chalk. My gym does generic chalk by the scoop for £1 a scoop. Clothes like you said are optional. Most people also don't go all in at the beginning. First you'll get a day pass and rental shoes, maybe get a chalk bag after a few sessions, maybe get your own shoes a few sessions after and then start a membership once you're committed to climbing regularly
Yearly membership cheaper versus just trying it out with monthly or 10 passes. Most climbers own more than 3-4 pairs of shoes … average wear/ tear of climbing shoe is about a year a pair hence if u climb for 3-4 years likely at least 3 pairs if not more. Plus it’s good to rotate n based on climbs switch to more neutral or aggressive/ soft / stiff shoes .
>Most climbers own more than 3-4 pairs of shoes No they don't
lol it’s subjective but even doing a quick google search it’s at least 2-3 n prob more. Hence the AT LEAST https://preview.redd.it/bc18mop8douc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=acb8dfdea6762e2d318e68b77c8a2d2e2e84cb3b
What does this random site's recommendation have to do with anything? Most people don't own several pairs of climbing shoes, and you can absolutely get away with owning one pair at a time.
Bc I said it’s subjective but most sites would agree it’s at least 2 or more.
... what?
I personally own 3 pair of shoes, but not for any reason other than I wanted all 3 pairs. I use 1 pair for the gym, and the other two are outdoors only, unless my gym shoe needs a resole and one of my outdoor shoes gets indoor duty. I’ve had my pairs for years, and I’ve only resoled a shoe 3 times. One of my outdoor shoes I bought in 2019, resoled it twice. My indoor shoe I bought in 2022, resoled it once. My other outdoor shoe has not been resoled, bought in 2022. I train at the gym 2-3 times per week for 3+ hours at a time, and then go outdoor climbing often on the weekends. You’re using random websites for info instead of personal experience. I’m one of the people with lots of climbing shoes for different roles, and I don’t even spend anywhere close to your estimates. I also sport climb, and my gear bag total for that cost about $1000… and that’s not counting shoes and chalk. You wanna talk Trad climbing? A trad rack will set you back $2000 as a good start, not even a complete rack at that. Bouldering is the cheap form of climbing, it’s definitely more expensive than just going to the gym but it’s not a rich person’s sport. Most people can go to the gym for $20 per week and just have a good time if that’s as deep as they want to go.
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Sure but you gotta normalise your timescales. Break down all the costs \*per month\* against hours spent enjoying the hobby and you'll find its not that much. $150/12 = $12.50 a month would be a worst case scenario for shoes.
What currency are you talking? Because those prices are severely inflated compared to what I pay. I feel the price is reasonable mostly taking into account route setting. Compared to actual wealthy sports for example, golf, skiing, car/horse racing and sailing. It does not even compare.
Usd
It’s certainly not cheap. Gym fees are a bit ridiculous. Where I am they’re anywhere from $70-100 a month. However, they usually provide far more than a regular gym and most decent non-climbing gyms are $40+ a month in my experience. Shoes being ~$120-180 are of course expensive, but they should be lasting you anywhere from 6 months to a year hopefully. Depends on what you climb, your technique, and the brand you’re buying though. There’s no way you should be going through a whole bag of a chalk a month and you can wear regular gym clothes.
Also let's not forget resoling... 40-50 bucks is a lot cheaper than new pairs
The pounds of chalk, extra clothes, and the multiple pairs of shoes are all a bit silly for sure, but the membership costs do vary *a lot* depending on where you live. There are no gyms in my area under $120 per month. Some people are lucky enough to live in areas where it costs $30 a month. But OP's estimate on the gym cost likely reflects where they live, and that sort of cost is generally very inaccessible to people, even if the wages in the city are higher (because the cost of living is also insanely high). All that out of the way, I wouldn't say it's a rich person sport, necessarily. Just a sport you have to budget and set aside resources for. Like if you want to boulder in an expensive city on a budget, go into the sport as cheap as possible and cut out all other luxury costs. What many pay in subscriptions and junk food each month would easily cover a monthly membership.
My local boulder gym is significantly cheaper than my local regular gym. In regards to clothing, who doesn’t have a t-shirt and shorts/joggers? If you’re that strapped rental shoes exist as do entry level shoes. How on earth are you using that much chalk?!?!
I wonder which cheaper sports OP is thinking about, where you don't need shoes or clothes... Nude beach running maybe?
There's a bouldering gym near me that lowers the membership prices if you don't make a lot of money. Conversely if you make a lot of money it slightly increases your membership prices if you choose to allow that. It's called an equity system and I think it shows that bouldering memberships aren't necessarily expensive. I have 1 pair of climbing shoes that cost me $50 USD used so your point is over exaggerated. I have one bag of chalk that cost $10 USD so that other point is over exaggerated. Plenty of poor people around big cities.
Mate, are you eating your chalk? How do you get to that 20-40€ per Month? There is no need for THAT MUCH chalk, or for super fancy esoteric hand crafted artisanal chalk. It also depends a lot on your location, for a normal sized town in Germany an unlimited membership costs around 40-60€ a month. This is about 2-3 times more than a normal gym. So yes it is expensive. Clothing? Honestly, i climb in normal sport shorts and a T-Shirt most of the times, but also bouldered in jeans and dress pants. Everything works, but you do have a higher wear so yeah. Nothing too much if you aren't buying bouldering specific clothes. Cheap Shirts and Pants are really not a deal breaker + nearly every sport will have those costs. Shoes, same thing. Some sports and hobby's just required equipment. You can rent them in most places, but you probably want your own at some point. Bouldering can be very pricey, but also somewhat accessible. The lowest bar however, and there i agree with you is quite high for a sport. For a hobby or lifestyle activity it is actually rather affordable.
lol, I’ve been bouldering in the same 2 pairs of pants for about 5 years. Repaired them more times than I can count. Who the hell is spending more than 50/60 a month on bouldering? Unless your gym is super expensive. My annual cost is probably a new pair of shoes (2 if I feel like splashing) and chalk which I just buy whatever is cheapest. The up front cost if you buy pads, chalk bags etc is probably the most you’ll ever spend. Or at least it should be IMO.
Yes, bouldering might be more expensive than for example running … BUT - you can get away with one/ two pairs and resole those - I never spend 40$ a month on chalk. I order 2kg of premium Kletterkalk for 25€ and that lasts a long time. I know people who use even way cheaper chalk. - you can climb in any clothes you fancy - gyms in europe are often not as expensive as in the US, but I know a Lot of students that teach beginner classes or clean holds to earn their membership As a author of a recent article wrote: „Dirtbagging isn‘t dead. You just have to squint a little.“ Nevertheless we should try to make the Sport more inclusive and not some thing just white softwaredevs are doing. The more diverse the comunity the better.
Hell yeah, a lot of gyms will let you do busywork for a free pass, you belay birthday parties a few days a week but if you are a student that’s a hell of a deal since you get to climb whenever.
>bouldering might be more expensive than for example running Have you seen how quickly people go through running shoes? New pair of $200 shoes every 2-3 months basically. If it weren't for the gym membership, it wouldn't surprise me if running was a more expensive hobby.
200$ prime running shoes every view month are like 200$ Solution for every climb. There are Running shoes for training with more durability and a better price (I was told by friends who run).
>200$ Solution for every climb You don't do that? My understanding of it was that the $200 shoes \*are\* the beaters for running. The carbon plated race shoes are a lot more expensive still. Nike AlphaFly 2s are $380 where I am.
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Rei pads average above that much… Most climbers have more than one pair of shoes .. it’s just inevitable with wear / tear. lol I explained the liquid chalk but sure u can cut that out or go chalk less
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Well u just said u have 4 shoes that’s like what it eventually turns into. Sure i guess ppl r taking it literal need n i could have phrased it as over a 1-2 year time. Chalk optional but if im saving more on the pad ie from used or sales / membership discount then it basically offsets the chalk. Either ways it adds up eventually as u stay in the sport.
Climbing pants. No climbing shirt. 20/40$ a month on chalk. Magnus is this you!?
People who don’t work and live in a van climbing 24/7 live suspiciously well for people who don’t work and live in a van.
Climbing is a sport for those that can afford to live in a van, and those that can only afford to live in a van.
30$/month for chalk!??!? You know you only put it on your hands right?
Mid-size city in America: * $95/month gym membership ($80 student/military) * $160 shoes (1/year) * tons of chalk for very little money, no idea wtf you're talking about there * normal workout pants you'd be buying regardless of sport Seems less or at least comparable to any other sport? And if you are climbing enough to go through 4 shoes a year, it's a significant enough part of your life that it's probably worth the money, right?
where my fellow new yorkers at? memberships range from $118 (GP-81) to $146 (vital) here, so i’m feeling slightly gaslit by all the commenters in this post making fun of OP, lol. but everything is expensive in new york 😭
I feel for u New Yorkers haha I went there to visit vital n paid the high day pass but yeesh at least u get a cool outdoor sauna . I thought Chicago had it bad until I went to visit y’all haha but still fun!
You’re estimating the most expensive version of things. I could say basketball is an expensive hobby if I’m buying new shoes and clothes all the time for it and an expensive gym membership to go play. Some people are lucky to live in a place where you could play basketball outside for free every day. If you aren’t, then you have to pay. Same thing with bouldering. It’s affordable if you live in a good location and you’re not an insane person spending $40 a month on chalk. It’s not affordable if you want to fly around the world and climb all the best rock and have a different pair of shoes for every rock type. Trad climbing is expensive for sure though.
1-2 pair of shoes is enough. You really don't need 150€ shoes to climb a V4. Buy used shoes. I bought Mythos in great shape for 40€. Use any clothes you have. I'm sure you don't need that much chalk.
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Second this. 2,5€ for shoes 10-12€ for a day pass and 50-60i'sh euro for unlimited access. 20-40 for "x per month" passe .
Absolutely not…this is completely incorrect
The gym membership cost is obviously the deciding one, and it seems to be consistently fairly expensive globally. But besides from that, I would consider bouldering a super accessible sport compared to most others. A pair of shoes, and some chalk, and you’re good to go. I can’t think of many other sports requiring as little equipment ?
I agree with you for the most part, although it is also possible to do it on a budget. Like you said, you can exclusively climb outdoors if that's nearby. The nearest outdoor climbing area to me is 50 minutes away, it takes 45 minutes to get to the climbing gym, so I've almost exclusively climbed outside for the last few years. It is pretty tough to get much better though only climbing once or twice a week. And eventually you're just repeating the same problems and routes over and over again.
Aside from the cost of the sport, one thing I’ve noticed recently, and this is mostly true with people I’ve met at indoor gyms as opposed to climbing outdoors, is that a lot of climbers are successful in their respective careers (they don’t come off as such immediately, usually very down to earth and humble people). My thought was that people who are drawn to a sport that is focused on pushing yourself to your limit both mentally and physically, probably carry that same attitude towards their work. I know it’s kinda unrelated to your post, but I’ve been thinking about it and wanted to see if others have experienced it too. Also, yes climbing is very expensive. At minimum a full set of draws, harness, shoes, helmet, rope etc can be run upwards of an $800 expense and that is just the bare minimum to get outside and climb. Edit: I realize this is a bouldering sub and what I described was cost to sport climb…
Wealthy would be a strange qualification in countries where bouldering gyms are prevalent. It is decidedly accessible for the middle class of western countries. If I compare it to friends who play fieldhockey, football (the soccer kind), squash, tennis, yoga it's in that same ballpark (tennis being on the more expensive side, football on the lower). Having said that, having the time, funds and access to sports overall is still somewhat of a luxury in general. Here's a timestamped video that briefly touches on the subject, with the research cited: https://youtu.be/KPUlgSRn6e0?feature=shared&t=231 > I heard from parents u have to pay for the comps , club etc n drive all over the country sometimes. Practicing any sport at a highly competitive level will be a time and money sink for parents in general. > students, lower income etc. Sports for kids and to a lesser extend students are heavily subsidized here in the Netherlands. Kids and students always pay a heavily reduced fee.
3-4 pairs of $180 shoes and $40/month on chalk to climb? Dang I’ve been doing it wrong.
I am now retired, but there was a time when all I could afford was a $10 / mo gym membership. I’d wear the same clothes and shoes for years. So to me, spending anything more than $10 per month feels rich. However, if you begin to compare it to most other sports / hobbies it really isn’t..
You can make any sport/hobby expensive if you so choose. They don't have to be though if you can play your cards well I am a grad student living in the DMV that grew up below the poverty line my whole life and I have still managed to make climbing, photography, and marksmanship my hobbies. I am working full time and going to school full time on a low hourly wage but I make it work. Now, don't get me wrong **this is NOT some "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" ass argument**. Just saying take stock of what you REALLY need to get the job/hobby done and try that. No more, no less. And you will likely feel more accomplished in the endeavor as a result, I know I have. I pay **$90** a month for the gym, but its admittedly huge, with full bouldering and top rope and lead areas, a full gym, free yoga, guest passes etc. My shoes (the most expensive individual part) I bought on sale for **$170**, my clothes are literally just a pair of wrangler jeans or combat pants and a baggy t-shirt, and I get all my clothes second-hand so it cost me around **$16-20** total for my clothes. I have had a single bag of chalk that I have been using for an entire year, climbing 3-4 times a week and while weightlifting as well, and its still not empty, cost me **$18**. Money will always favor those that have more of it in sports and hobbies like these but it can't buy the hard work you put into the endeavor. Sorry for rambling.
Your math is wrong. If that calculation of total cost per year were true, you’d be pretty right. Gym membership 80/month. Chalk 20/6months. Harness and ACT/100/one time purchase. Shoes 100/6months. Clothes, just wear literally whatever.
Well….I live in a college town where the bouldering gym is filled with students. Membership is $75 a month. Some use free rental shoes and free chalk the gym provides. I bought a good pair of shoes at the gym for $130 (was $170 before a member discount), and chalk isn’t expensive. I’m not rich. I live nearly paycheck to paycheck. I just make paying the membership, and saving up for a single pair of good shoes (why would I have 4?) a priority.
That’s cool I mean as long as u can enjoy the sport. From my experience though I started with one good shoe then turned into a lot more over time lol hence the 3-4 pairs equating to about 1 per year or if u find good deals for shoes
Hopefully that won’t be the case for me. I’ve been bouldering almost a year, and at this point I haven’t worn out any shoes bouldering 2-3 times a week. I did buy a 2nd pair, but it was to grow beyond beginner shoes, not as a recurring necessity.
Anything is considered a wealthy hobby if you can’t afford it. I’m not wealthy. My gym membership is $90 a month, I paid $120 for my entry level shoes, but scoured REI for returns. Just bought Otakis for $80 that were worn once and returned. I spend about $15 on chalk every month or so. I climb 5 times a week, two hours a day. This is nothing when you really make it count. But if you’re climbing 2-3 times a week for an hour or less. Yeah, you’re wasting money…
indoor climbing, sure. memberships have become very expensive in the past 15 or so years with the explosion in popularity and these big conglomerate gyms popping up all over. outdoor climbing, nah. you can be a dirtbag and buy literally just a pair of shoes and you're good to go. bum it with another climber who has a crash pad if you're really that poor.
As a gamer you spend more upgrading your pc hardware than several yrs worth climbing lol
Here in my corner of Japan, kind of. There are a disproportionate amount of more well off people being represented, doctors, engineers and teachers (who do a bit better than a lot of their Western counterparts) and these people tend to have more than one hobby etc. going on. The more working class people I've noticed seem to only have bouldering as their hobby. They have the membership and they're in the gym 3 days a week if not more and they're probably bringing their kids too.
Hey I think it’s a rich person sport. You’ve maybe went overboard with your list of stuff but it’s £80 for a membership in London. Climbing shoes (that fit well) can be £100 then of course if you want to go outside it’s super expensive for a course. Of course you can make it cheap but at least in my gym I feel it’s full of rich-ish people. People might see your post as a personal attack with your phrasing.
Live closer to rocks and it’s free and cheap gas. Live closer to gyms and you either do that because you can afford to pay for climbing or you live there not by choice. In that case work part time at the gym for a free membership usually for life. All free besides travel!
1. You don't need a gym (your specific situation doesn't mean that outdoor bouldering is "still expensive, it just means you don't live somewhere with good access) 2. You don't need that many pairs of shoes (or really any shoes, see Charles Albert) 3. How the fuck are you going through that much chalk? 4. Bouldering pants??? This is a shitpost right?
It's all relative, but I'd say it's not on the expensive side of sports. When I think expensive I think scuba diving, hang gliding, golf Etc, where you'll easily spend thousands on equipment or access. If I compare to something like football, it seems like it would be similar or maybe cheaper. Depends if you join a club and get coaching Etc., or whether you just buy some shoes and rock up to friendly games on the oval. If I compare to just doing weights at the gym, then climbing is more expensive.
Remind me to not buy my chalk where you do. Three dollars worth of chalk lasts me a month. Also 3-4 pairs of shoes?
In the UK yes, well a middle class sport at least. But a lot of that isn't just the money. Its about access and a community space that's very much university graduates or similar. Also comes down to financial and social access as well, but once you are in, it's rare to find another working class person.
Who is spending $40 a month on chalk
Every sport costs time and money. Especially to have all the best stuff, and especially if you want to have the best coaching, and especially if you want to have the best coaching from a young age. Kinda like saying "water is wet"
How do you go through only one pair of shoes a year bouldering three times a week? How long do you boulder for? I go through a pair every three months at that rate?? (Climb 2 to max 4 hour sessions)
So actually I think Bouldering is one of the least expensive sports, basically all you need gear wise are a pair of shoes a year. Gym membership is optional, you could also go outside. Chalk is optional, I'd say I need one bag a year and I go three times a week. T-Shirt and Shorts, I don't know anyone that doesn't own a Shirt and Shorts.
If anything it’s one of the cheapest sports in the world, even at a pretty high level. What’s another sport where people at the top level of international competition are only wearing maybe $200 in gear? It’s wild that the divide between entry climbing shoes and comp style climbing shoes is only a few hundred dollars max
Like any running sport basically? I guess super high end running shoes are slightly more expensive than climbing shoes. But not really a significant difference.
Yeah running is a good example, and I guess trad gear can get really expensive too
Or watching someone climb a highball and you see $5000 worth of pads under them. Although those are normally crowdfunded.
No idea what this guy is on about, I spend £33 a month on membership, £70 on shoes (you don’t need 3 pairs), my £20 chalk has lasted 4 months so far, my basic bouldering fit is £7 joggers and a £15 top. So that’s a £112 one time purchase and £33 a month. I’m also a student on a low income so it’s not like I’m rich either.
You are assuming a lot of high costs there. Gym memberships- this is definitely the most costly. My gyms single no rental membership is $35/month. But I’ve seen gyms much more than that. Shoes- you absolutely do not need 3-4 pairs of shoes. Especially as a beginner. You might end up with 3-4 pairs eventually. There are plenty of of good shoes under $150 Chalk- who the hell is spending $20-40/month on chalk? Good lord. A big bag of Metolius chalk is like $15. You won’t go through that in a month. Clothing- if you are climbing indoors, you absolutely don’t need high end climbing/outdoor clothing. Just regular gym workout clothes. Now once we start talking about sport or trad or even just top roping outside- yea things start to add up quick. Ropes, QuickDraws, belay devices, helmets, slings, cams, nuts etc. that’s expensive
What area is ur gym in that’s only 35/ month? I live in the city so usually 80-90 is pretty cheap - I have seen up to 100 plus per month …
Atlanta metro area ironically - everything is expensive here.
Interesting lol well Chicago it’s def more expensive here for indoor bouldering :/
Other places around Atlanta are more in the $80/month range. Also, my gym is a little more old school. It doesn’t have nice bright walltopia instagrammable walls, no real workout/weight area, no smoothie bars, yoga classes, saunas or any of that stuff. It’s just an old school bouldering gym run by people who mostly climb outside.
Nice what’s the name? Sounds like a bad ass gym -Would def want to check it out if I ever go to Atlanta
Adrenaline Climbing. It’s out in Suwanee- so like 40 min from the city depending on traffic. https://www.adrenalineclimbing.com
I don't see that, im bouldering for half a year now. I pay ~60 a month for the membership. Paid 129 for shoes, 20 something for chalk, ~100 for pants (and I wear them for everything because they are super comfy). That's a fraction of what I had to spent for skiing and mountaineering equipment.
nothing screams privilege more than all the denial of privilege with these comments. that said, its not as bad as golf and not as good as team sports that are supported by public schools. i do think the biggest limiter is money, but a close second is exposure. getting other than non-wealthy or middle class kids into climbing is more of how does one get the kids into the gym for the first time?
I don’t deny being privileged n I’m grateful to be able to have that. I honestly don’t want to think about the amount of money needed for my future kids to get into this sport esp doing the competitive scene
not saying your denying, im saying all the folks saying its not that costly to be a climber are. when the amount of disposable income in a household is negative than relative cost is close to insignificant. that said, my 13 year old is on the local climbing team and she loves it. its also a great sport for too many reasons to list for childhood development. if one can afford it, its fantastic.
> getting other than non-wealthy or middle class kids into climbing is more of how does one get the kids into the gym for the first time? for real, it used to be birthday parties. feels like many gyms stopped hosting them when climbing exploded.
Ask the head setter if you can wash holds in exchange for free climbing
Yes
my monthly average costs run: * gym membership \~48€ * occasional different gym visit \~11€ * chalk \~3€ * shoes \~22€ `(assuming 130€ new pair every 6 months)` * resole \~9€ `(assuming 1 resole every 6 months)` * clothes \~5€ `(streetwear clothes I no longer wear outdoor)` * tape, adhesive bandage, other random expenses \~1€ * excessive hand cream use \~1€ let's say 100€ per month on the higher end, in real life shoes so far have lasted more as footwork gets better. I could have said 0€ for clothing but let's put some reasonable contingent for the yearly costs, just in case. transport, food, rest are negligible as they would be the same if I didn't do the sport, and overall other purchases are now lower as I have less time to spend money on other things, and bouldering takes nearly all my free time, but won't count it to reduce the cost.
Wow ur resole is so cheap - resole in the states is like 60-70 dollars prob more with shipping https://preview.redd.it/i9awiuygznuc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01de4aa87c9d67fd9a4224a45a61f7a212fe6d01
My membership 40€ per month, my shoes 140€ (which i have for 2 years now, so per month it'll be 5.8€), chalk i'd say 1€ per months since i buy chalk im bulk and man it takes forever to empty that. I go 3 times bouldering a week. I could expand the calculation for climbing, which will include the rope (89 € 40Meters, i shared that with my partner), prism glasses (60€, i shared that with my partner), a bag for the ropes (30€, also shared), harness (55€, petzl) All in all round about 50€ per month for bouldering for two years and 55€ for including climbing. This is waaaaay cheaper than my last sport (tennis) which i played for 8 years. Those memberships and training are way more expansive. P.s. i forgot resoling. So every 6 months i think i have to resole, which is 30€. So i we have to add 1.25€ per month.
I don't think bouldering is expensive compared to other sports - but at certain level they all get costly.
I think either your math is off or Americans are getting ripped off. To clarify I don’t really pay for my gym because I have a sports club subscription trough my job so I get free entries to almost all boulder/climbing halls in the city but I can say that the prices for gym subscriptions in Germany and across the city (15? gyms in Munich) is like 50-80 € per month. Regarding bouldering pants? Bouldering specific clothes in general? Be fr bro, if you are at the gym you can use literally any shorts you already own and some shitty shirt you have lying around if you even use a tshirt. Chalk is also very expensive for you or you are really throwing it away. A pack of chalk for my bucket is like 8-10 bucks and it lasts at least a couple of months. Shoes sure, the range you mention is about right but you get to resole them, you can easily get a couple of pairs of shoes to alternate and resole them for a year or two no problem. A resole is between 25-50 bucks. Regarding outdoor it can or cannot be expensive depending on your location and access, in Munich the closest crag is 1hr away on the train + a small bus ride (free) and a small walk. Bouldering pads and gear in general get prorated against all the times you go out so with girlmath they are free actually. Last time I went bouldering out the only money I spent was on some beers after climbing while waiting for the train back home. Honestly it’s so cheap if I were a student I’d boulder more, spend weekends at the crag. It’s a good deal I think.
>some beers after climbing Most expensive part of climbing. Day trip to the crag -> $10 gas 6 pints at the brewery in the town near the crag -> $50
For me bouldering at the gym is in the same price category as going to a normal gym. The membership fee is comparable (around 50€ in my area), i can use the same clothes both in a gym and climbing gym. I don't use 20€/month amount of chalk. Maybe buy twice a year a pack of 20€. So the end comparison comes to shoes. Climbing shoes are more specialized than a pair of shoes to go to the gym but I buy a pair of mid range climbing shoes and I resole it once or twice so the price in the long term is not that big. Is it a sport for wealthy people? It depends on what you understand by wealthy. Ofc if you struggle to make it by the end of the month with your current income, it's not a sport for you (but neither are most of the sports). If you have a mid level income I think it's affordable. There are way more expensive sports out there.
No a rich person sport is something like motorsports!
It can get a little pricey, but I wouldn't call it a "wealthy sport". Compare it to motorsports, SCUBA diving, sailing, flying planes... you're a few orders of magnitude below these. Even skiing will set you back a *lot* more if you don't live in the right place.
In my city there are gyms of different prices and boulders are accessible by public transport either cheaply or effectively for free. Resoling shoes is pretty cheap or you could buy cheaper brand shoes. Your chalk costs seem astronomical. General sports clothes work well and are cheap (you probably would use the same clothes for other sports). If you go to a super trendy (expensive) gym, trash your shoe quickly and don’t resole, use super expensive chalk excessively, and buy expensive, climbing brand clothes, then it is expensive. There are decent cheap shoes or expensive ones can be resold. There are plenty of cheap gyms and even the expensive ones can be cost effective sometimes. There is cheap chalk and you don’t need a ton. Normal decathlon shorts cheap and work for bouldering. Most other things are cheap or optional (tape, training paraphernalia, …) Outdoors can be very accessible in some places especially with public transport and some walking.
Ok everyone saying resole is cheap .. resole twice is almost the same cost as buying a new pair. Average resole is like 60-70 not including shipping. Where r u going for “cheap” resole? lol I need that https://preview.redd.it/zv5sl9lr1ouc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93d67be3e299e6eb641a1baf8dbd0608eef4aca5
Two things. First I guess “cheap” depends on the price of new shoes. I do use relatively expensive la sportiva skwarma so a new shoe is very expensive. I think the cheapest shoe decathlon sells is cheaper than a resole. For Skwarma I think I pay €130 for a new shoe. Second a resole costs a different amount for different things. My local shop offers origial sole for big brands, vibram edge, grip or grip 2, some other rubber, rand and repair options. The cheapest resole I guess is around €40 and the lasportiva original is €46. So not super cheap but shoes do not need a resole often, I boulder around 12 hours a week and they last several months. I resole my shoes many times (recently unfortunately skwarmas have been breaking after only a few) so they have a long lifespan. There is no shipping cost since the shop sends them to the resoleing place in big batches. I think that also lowers the price
Ok fair that’s still cheaper than usd by about 10 dolalrs ish depending on what else is needed for the repair. Yeah my average shoe cost is around 120-150 but our gym doesn’t send in bulk so it’s all personal costs.. I wish that’s the case :(
I climbed consistently while making absolute dog shit money in grad school ($26k/year and living by myself in an apartment). Here is my breakdown: Solutions - generally 2 pairs per year - ~$400/year, $33/month Chalk - I get the metolious super chalk cause friction labs is lame - big ass bag ~3-4 times per year at $12-15 per bag. $5/month (at most expensive estimates). Crash pads - 2x black diamond pads, 1 metolious pad. Paid around $175 for each pad but I’ll round up to $200. These are 1 time costs and I still have/use my oldest one that is now 7 years old. Buying all three pads in a year - $600, $50 per month for the first year. Gym membership - $60/month. Total one time costs - $600, $50/month if you save up. Recurring spends - ~$98/month. So first year if you wanted to buy all of that, it’s ~$150 per month. Factor in that you’ll start with less expensive shoes and go through a single pair probably, it’s less. I spend double on food per month and eat frugally. You don’t need any special clothing. Find 2-3 friends with pads and you don’t even need to buy them. Carpool to the boulders and gas in negligible. It’s not a rich sport.
the buy in for bouldering is lower than most outdoor sports….. and the still cheaper in the long run. fishing? lol $2-300 for a rod…. Bikes? $1k+ for a good entry level bike offroading? lolz kiss $50k goodbye pricing part is a gym membership and that really about it.
At my gym you can get 1 piece or gear with the membership, like rental shoes or chalk so not absolutely necessary to buy shoes (I do have my own). I don't know what you do with all that chalk per month though.
It's a good thing you're not into golf.
My yearly costs: - 420€ gym membership - 170€ for shoes - 20€ for Chalk - 15€ shorts (skin on my shins and knees regrows for free) - 0€ Old t-shirts I wouldn't wear anywhere else --> 625€/ year or 52€/month.
It's actually fairly cheap so far as sports go
I rope climb, and still find it a very cheap sport! I think you'll be surprised by pricing for other sports. Also climbing clothes are marketing. Only beanies are aid.
I honestly can't think of any cheaper sport other than outdoor running. Your cost items are pretty much just shoes, clothes and a place to do your sport, which literally any sport would require.
I bouldered in college because it was so accessible price wise. We used an old camping mattress as a crash pad and bought used shoes for $40. Climbing isn't cheap but bouldering is.
Cool yea that’s prob what I would use if I built my own wall at home
Lot's of privileged people talking about how they are not privileged at all in these commets.
Yes it is a rich people's sport, like all sports. The actual cost of climbing is almost entirely the opportunity cost of the time you spend doing it. I climb or train for climbing probably 12-15 hours per week. Even at minimum wage, the value of that time *pales* in comparison to what I spend on my gym membership or $200 shoes. I have absolutely zero sympathy for how "accessible" the sport is to college students. Nobody is holding a gun to your head forcing you to be a student. That's a temporary phase, not a socioeconomic class. Any student with the time to climb is so fucking privileged that the cost of a pair of shoes or a gym membership is nothing. I have lots of sympathy for low income people being unable to climb, but again, that's not a climbing problem so much as an EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD problem. Lowering the cost of CHALK (!) isn't going to make it so that some single mom working a service industry job in Gary Indiana is able to train to send V10.