No updates in years, model changed
Paid $250 for the founders pass and now they don’t even seem to do rock climbing anymore. App has always been buggy and no fixes ever released. I don’t recommend the app and I would not give a cent to this company
Great intel for climbers
I love using this app, it’s wonderful and easy to use. It’s helped me find and identify many routes that would have been nearly impossible to get to without a local guide.
Real deal innovation
The app still needs some love, but I’m super impressed with the thought, creativity and attention to detail. Clearly built by people who know climbing and the community. Well done… keep the updates coming!
Huge potential… lacking inclusivity
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.
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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So cool!
Please add rumney to the guide book and I’ll totally use it! Wish the scrolling was faster but otherwise it’s so cool! Love it so far even though I’ll probably have to make a trip of it with the locations available so far.
I really hope this takes off!!
Such huge potential, my only ask if you mark fixed anchors along multipitch
Nevada
Not sure if it’s me.
Missing Nevada
Missing Nevada
Extremely cool for where it is!
This app totally outclasses mountain project and any other online guidebook I’ve seen.
You can definitely tell it’s still in beta, but the what they have already done is incredible. Can’t really recommend it to actually use as of right now unless you plan on climbing in Utah or Arizona, but very excited to see where this thing goes.
You can definitely tell it’s still in beta, but the what they have already done is incredible. Can’t really recommend it to actually use as of right now unless you plan on climbing in Utah or Arizona, but very excited to see where this thing goes.
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Utah and Arizona only
I’m sure its great if you climb in Utah or Arizona. Very limited crags, looking forward to expanded areas!
A game changer
Forget the old guidebooks and Mountain Project: Rock Garden is the future. This is what every digital guidebook will aspire to. 3D models with incredible detail make route planning and ID so much easier. I can’t wait until they expand their routes—as amazing as this app is, it’s only going to get better.
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Upping the game
This app is definitely setting the bar high. As a visual person I look for subtle details on my route to locate how far Im up and making sure im staying on track to be safe. The incredible detail provided is mind blowing. This is definitely the future of guiding. It’s about time we use the technology we have to our advantage.
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Super buggy but I’m holding out hope
So far, in my experience, the app is slow, unresponsive, and crashes pretty frequently. And there aren’t very many areas in the database. As lots of other people have mentioned it’s a really cool idea and I’m excited to see it get more fully fleshed out with more areas and a performance boost.
Nav issues
I really want this to be one star, but it’s a killer idea, and the devs are definitely headed in the right direction. Honestly, this is probably the next evolution of the guidebook, and it’s sick.
That said, I don’t think it was ready for publication. Both 2D and 3D nav are more complicated than they need to be, and 3D isn’t using established methodology for navigating a 3D space with a touch device. It’s much more intuitive to control the camera as opposed to controlling the 3D object.
That said, again, those are just wrinkles and the idea is awesome. I loved being able to zoom in on a route and start trying to think my way through it. And being able to find routes quickly is almost game changing if visiting a new area. I wish there was some sort of scale on the route so i understood what I was looking better, maybe bolt placements would fix that. It really is a cool idea, Just maybe released a bit early.
That said, I don’t think it was ready for publication. Both 2D and 3D nav are more complicated than they need to be, and 3D isn’t using established methodology for navigating a 3D space with a touch device. It’s much more intuitive to control the camera as opposed to controlling the 3D object.
That said, again, those are just wrinkles and the idea is awesome. I loved being able to zoom in on a route and start trying to think my way through it. And being able to find routes quickly is almost game changing if visiting a new area. I wish there was some sort of scale on the route so i understood what I was looking better, maybe bolt placements would fix that. It really is a cool idea, Just maybe released a bit early.
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A little buggy but pretty cool
Interface is nice, but doesn’t run as smoothly as it maybe could. I like the actual 3d renders though, pretty cool and I could see this being useful for visiting new crags. However, I’d like a little better features to navigate the 3d models. And of course being mainly based in Arizona and California there are nearly no routes so it’s not that useful to me. I’d love to see some Sedona formations! Very cool concept and great work so far!
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No routes / app crashes
Cool concept. Hope you guys can continue to add routes and develop the app further.
However I doubt I’ll know because I uninstalled. Good luck, however.
However I doubt I’ll know because I uninstalled. Good luck, however.
So Much Potential!
This app is so exciting. I can’t really use it since there aren’t any local crags logged in the database yet, but I’m so excited for when there are! This is going to be a gem for the climbing community. I’m sure it’ll save me a lot of bushwhacking and confusion trying to locate routes.
Good potential
As it stands this app is really buggy and crashes consistently. It runs quite slow and it feels like frame rate plummets as soon as the app opens. The idea is super solid though. I’ll keep it installed in hopes it gets a few more facelifts
Buggy, but great idea
Pretty buggy at this point (even creating an account required me to relaunch), but also a great idea. Not sure how it will scale, since adding areas and climbs will take a lot more work than on user-submitted sites/apps like MP. A “view/hide gear beta” option is needed for trad routes, unless you want to spoil onsights.
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Maybe some potential, currently just bloatware
Why is this app so heavy and cumbersome? I should not run into performance issues on an iPhone 12 when simply scrolling the menu. It has tried to be too flashy and fancy, which hinders ease of use. Mountain Project is minimal, maybe even ugly, but it's a smooth and quick experience. IMO this app's menus need to get rid of the high-res photos, move to a list view rather than a card view, make the menus quicker to navigate (MP-style filtering), and get rid of the obnoxious animations (e.g. when loading). I'm a sucker for aesthetics, so I really appreciate the sleek design, I just think it isn't necessary, and really takes away from any usability that would make this app worth long-term usage. The 3D topos are cool, but it took me lots of clicking to find one. Plus, the database is obviously too small to be used by most people, but assuming it remains small, I think it really needs to interface with MP in some way to make it any more than a novelty.
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It’s like MountainProject - but GOOD
It doesn’t just tell you where the climb is it SHOWS you exactly where and what the route is…WTF hasn’t anyone thought of this before?!?
