Finally: A Featherweight Backcountry Bouldering Pad

Bouldering pads, a.k.a. crashpads, are not a particularly innovative corner of the climbing industry. I purchased my first pad—a Mad Rock Mad Pad—from Eastern Mountain Sports in 2004, and 20 years later, Mad Rock’s moderated updated Mad Pad is not just still for sale, it’s one of most common pads out there.

But there have, of course, been a few important changes to the pad landscape over this period. Some pads have gotten bigger and heavier, designed to save your life on unreasonably tall problems.