Photo: Dan Krauss

What’s In Your Pack is a series where we speak with some of climbing’s leading athletes to learn about the gear that fuels their success.

In this feature, we caught up with Brad Gobright —a low-key, unassuming crusher who unbeknownst to many, has completed some of the most challenging and iconic testpiece trad climbs across Yosemite, the greater Sierra, Squamish, Red Rock, and Eldorado Canyon. He has completed the El Cap Triple, holds the sub 30-minute record on Eldo’s Naked Edge route, and is working to establish a new speed record on The Nose of El Capitan. Aside from his impressive roped ascents, Brad has been called the “next great free soloist” of our time.


BlueWater 9.1 Icon Rope

BlueWater Icon 80m 9.1

Brad’s go-to rope is BlueWater’s slender, yet durable 9.1 Icon—a rope with a tightly braided 35% sheath mass, which reduces drag and floppiness and prevents abrasion from running over rock. It also features BlueWater’s double dry treatment to endure any unanticipated wetness while climbing.

It’s light and extremely durable. I just retired one that I took up El Cap 13 times in a two year period! I prefer the 80m because you can do mega pitches and usually get away with rapping with one rope.

At a mere 55 grams per meter, an 80-meter Icon weighs in at only 9.7 pounds.

When asked about his favorite crash pad, Brad also deferred to the Icon …

My BlueWater Icon piled into a heap when the first clip is especially high. [It’s great because] people don’t ask me what that strange bed is for.

Watch footage from Brad’s sub 24-hour linkup of Zodiac, The Nose, and Lurking Fear:

Metolius Safe Tech All-Around Harness

Metolius Safe Tech All Around Harness

The Safe Tech All-Around Harness from Metolius features four gear loops, a rear haul loop, dual belay loops, and reinforced tie-in points. Particularly useful for multi-pitch endeavors, the integration of dual belay loops minimizes disorder and improves organization at rap and belay stations. A simple buckle adjusts not only the leg loops but also the distance between your waist and leg loops for the ideal fit.

You can adjust it to fit perfectly and it lasts forever.

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Evolv Defy

Evolv Defy

They don’t edge like high-performance shoes but they’re super comfortable and they have good sensitivity. Plus, the simple design helps them hold up for a long time.

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Metolius Ultralight Master Cams

In 2016, Metolius released an ultralight update to their already popular Master Cams. We featured an extensive review of the updates and wrote a comparison guide between these and BD’s Ultralights.

They’re super light and they fit nicely into cracks. I recently took a huge whipper on the purple, 0 size.

Brad Gobright

Photo: Cheyne Lempe

Metolius Bravo Quickdraw

Metolius Bravo Quickdraw

The Bravo Quickdraw, made of Metolius’ Bravo wiregate ‘biners and a Dyneema sling, weigh just 2.5 ounces each. They’re also the draw of choice for Jonathan Siegrist.

They’re light and they clip smoothly. They’re also still going strong after two years of heavy use.

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Gramicci apparel

Grammici Original G Pant

Grammici Original G Short

I climb in Gramicci clothing. They made the first pants and shorts made specifically for climbers. They last forever and provide good protection in offwidth and chimney climbing.

Check out footage from Brad’s speed record on Eldorado Canyon’s,  Naked Edge.

Paydays

PayDay Candy Bar

Not that caramel-y peanut-y goodness even needs a justification, but nevertheless, Brad explains that he likes to pack

Paydays because they don’t melt and I have a serious sweet tooth.

A golf ball

Golf ball

No, Brad’s not hitting up the driving range after the crag. Instead, he’s using this bad boy as a recovery tool.

I broke my ankle early this year and I ended up doing a lot of massages and stretches. Rolling the bottom of my foot out with a golf ball felt amazing!

#safetythird

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