footwear, jackets, accessories, neoprene material, protective gear

tabi, rain jacket, gloves, vest, gaiter

If you are planning to go on your first sawanobori trip anytime soon, you will hopefully be under direct supervision of an experienced climber who can guide you on what to take with you.  Still, it can get difficult and burdensome to ask about every detail during preparation, so I hope this will act as an easy-to-understand Wear & Gear guide for everyone out there. The posts will be divided into four bulks: Wear & Footwear, Camping (Bivouac) & Cooking Gear, Climbing & Safety Equipment,and General Mountaineering Gear. Please enjoy your trip and feel free to comment with any questions you may have!

∞ = always take items with the infinity mark

Wear & Footwear

shirt & pants ∞

Of course a T-shirt is great during hot summer months, but long sleeves are recommended if you don’t want friends asking you about the million scratches on your arms.  Either way, synthetic fabric is the way to go. Either short pants or long pants, durable nylon meant for water activities should suffice.

 

Sawa shoes or tabi ∞

Generally made with felt soles. This is a must. Shoes have harder soles, making them easy on the feet. Tabis with their soft soles give better sense of touch to your feet, making them more practical when climbing waterfalls.

Gaiters

To prevent pebbles from entering your shoes and overall protection and warmth of lower legs. Made from neoprene.

Rain wear (top & bottom) ∞

To retain heat and protect against the wet & cold. Especially useful when shower climbing. Gore-Tex is recommended but not a must.

Neoprene vest/shorts

In colder regions/seasons, to prevent hypothermia. Essential in climbs where large amounts of time are spent in water. Loss of body heat will tire you out faster than you expect

Gloves

For protection when climbing and working your way through nasty brush, but most essential during belay. Finger cut-offs are your best choice to prevent hand slips when climbing. Choose sawa climbing gloves of neoprene material, as leather climbing gloves stiffen in water.

Change of clothes

They serve two extremely important purposes. When you set camp, if your clothes are wet and won’t dry or if you cannot get warm, you can change into these clothes or layer them on for extra warmth. Also a must, change out of your dirty clothes and into these when coming down from the mountains, if you hope to mingle into the civilized world as a decent citizen.

Please check other posts for an easy-to-understand Wear & Gear guide on Camping (Bivouac) & Cooking Gear, Climbing & Safety Equipment, and General Mountaineering Gear.