Climbing outdoors at this time of year is difficult. Even a spot of light bouldering requires an ungodly amount of determination, patience, and a suitably warm jacket. It’s truly testing, but if you do manage to get out on the rock between the constant showers, you’ll have a pleasant experience. Until you start sweating profusely and have to remove your big coat. Only to put it on three minutes later when you’re sat shivering on a crashmat with a sore elbow.
To ensure you have an even remotely enjoyable time climbing during these colder seasons, you’re going to want to make sure you’ve got some suitable garments on. Hardwearing trousers, thick fleeces, and warm hats all serve as a solid insurance policy against having a nightmare day at the crag.
This is where brands like Mellow Clo and Gramicci come into their own. Both brands have long understood the realities of climbing outdoors, shaping their design language around clothing that can withstand the rock but still feels comfortable enough to lounge around on a pad afterward. Their gear shares the same utilitarian design language, making their garments often feel interchangeable. A Mellow Clo jacket over Gramicci pants doesn’t look like a mismatch – it looks like the uniform of someone who knows the exact beta for the move you keep falling off.
With that in mind, we’ve picked out seven choice pieces from Gramicci and Mellow Clo, available now at SEVENSTORE, that’ll help make the cold, wet reality of winter climbing feel a little more manageable.
Mellow Clo Summit Puffer Jacket
When you’re climbing outdoors in the winter, a big jacket is your lifeline. It’s the only significant barrier between your body and the elements, and the elements at this time of year are usually pretty pissed off. As always, Mellow have understood the assignment, and stuffed this winter crag jacket with tons of high-loft synthetic insulation – keeping you warm even when it gets wet.
This Gramicci sherpa fleece looks unbelievably cosy. So cosy that you might spend all your crag time huddled up scrolling on Instagram Reels. Not that that’s a bad thing.
Mellow Clo Everyday Stretch Nylon Pant
Trousers are the only acceptable legwear for climbing in the winter – there are no prizes for wearing shorts, only frostbite. Anyway, these Mellow Clo pantaloons have enough width that you’ll be able to heel and toe hook just about anything, and their colour will hide the inevitable chocolate Digestive stains accrued while resting.
Everyone knows that geckos are fantastic climbers – they literally stick to rock. So surely wearing one on the back of your T-shirt will help you stick to rock too.
Gramicci Plaid Climbing Tote Bag
This is a highly crag appropriate carry-all. More than adequate litreage to haul all of the essentials – toilet roll, sandals, climbing shoes, chalk, portable charger, brush, guide book, and the all important two bags of knock-off corner shop Haribos.
A chalky, windswept mess of hair is not a good look on anyone, so unless you’re bald, you’re going to want to cover your scalp. This Mellow Clo Ramble Cap will do just that, and keep your brain toasty too – important for trying to decipher a guidebook covered in mud and teastains.
You’d be hard pressed to find more suitable climbing footwear than KEEN’s Jasper. It’s no nonsense suede upper can deal with pretty much anything, and the Vibram sole means you’re not going to slip off any slick rock during the approach.
