So much potential for this app, even in its current state I can see it being really useful for navigating crags compared to mountain project. A few things I’d love to see personally:
Inclusivity:
The climbing and outdoor recreation space is already lacking diversity and inclusion. Women and people of color still aren’t given the same respect in these spaces and it would be great to see more companies acknowledge and market themselves as being conscientious of that. So far the app and website show a very familiar demographic, even the rendered climber on the 3D boulder map is a male figure. I get that development is ongoing and much of this can change, I hope it does, because it would be great to see an app that felt welcoming to all demographics to get into this space. Not putting any effort into it in 2022 just seems like the developers don’t care much about it, which is really unfortunate and an old familiar story in the outdoor rec space.
3D maps:
Great concept, really in need of some adjustments. As another comment mentioned the camera controls are not intuitive at all for anyone unfamiliar with 3D software. The perspective being locked to the object rather and controls operating from this perspective rather than the camera which is much more intuitive for most people is a pretty big oversight and could turn people off all the awesome features this view offers. Also the render shouldn’t let users pan underneath the map. It’s confusing and immersion breaking. Overall I still figured out how to navigate the 3D maps but that’s with having some familiarity with 3D software, the average user could get really frustrated by this (my partner was) and not return to the app. Streamlining these few areas alone would make a huge difference.
Hopefully some of these updates are already being discussed and in development as I’d love to update this review and rate much higher down the line. Would love to see this app take off and be a new standard for the climbing industry that is welcoming and representative of anyone seeking to enjoy it.
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ElJefeTX
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