One of today’s most popular sporting activities both outdoors and within indoor facilities is rock climbing. While it often seems like all rock climbers are professionals or seasoned veterans of the sport, everyone started right at the bottom of the cliff or mountainside, just as you may be planning to. One of the most important things people are likely to forget is what to wear, frequently assuming they intrinsically know what to wear or just not knowing any better. While your climbing gear is obviously the key to saving your life in the event you slip or fall, from head to toe, your apparel could save you from painful scrapes, bruising, and pain caused by climbing gear irritation to the skin and body.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

For your noggin, a good choice for beginners — depending on the nature of the climb — is a helmet. While many rock climbing enthusiasts will suggest a helmet no matter what conditions are, this is a personal choice, but a wise one for most. Sunglasses or other eye protection are also a good call: especially when rock climbing outside, you never know when a pebble, stone, or sand could fall in your direction.

Your upper body apparel is a personal choice. For some, long sleeves feel like a restraint while for others they feel like a necessary protective layer. If you plan to rock climb in cold locales, a long sleeved shirt is called for — if you feel you absolutely can’t tolerate it, at least ensure that your short sleeved shirt offers some kind of thermal compression to keep your core temperature where it should be. In warmer areas or indoor facilities, less upper body clothing is needed. For those who are comfortable baring all, going shirtless for men and wearing supportive, athletic sports bra for women is a perfectly acceptable choice. If you’re doing a high climb and using upper body-type harnesses (rare) then you will want to wear a t-shirt, as the harness would otherwise rub against your skin, causing irritation that could force you to quit your climb short.

For the waist below, choices can be based on personal preference, but to enjoy your climb, there are a couple of essentials to keep in mind. To begin, a gusseted pouch-type pant is best — this will keep your garments from gathering and wrinkling under the pressure of the harness, causing an unpleasant climb as well. Many newcomers to indoor and outdoor climbing wonder what length of pant or short is best for climbing. While many long time aficionados can really get down to next to nothing, for those new to climbing and even for the pros, a Capri style pant for climbing is probably your best bet. Why? A couple of reasons: to begin, a full-length trouser could catch on shoes, crags, rocks, and so on. Conversely, an above the knee short or short-shorts do not protect your knees, thighs, and upper calves, which are the most likely areas to be scraped or cut, especially during outdoor climbs.

Your feet and toes need serious protection too. The proper shoes are very important — i.e., don’t go climbing in your penny loafers. In addition to the right climbing shoes, high quality sporting socks inside those shoes are the keystones that hold the whole ensemble together. Usually a sock that has a compression arch band are your best choice to keep your socks in place so they don’t slip or rub around inside your rock climbing shoes, which could cause some seriously painful blisters. Socks that fit your feet are important — borrowing large socks will cause chaffing, while borrowing smaller sporting socks could cause issues with circulation to your feet — not a fun sensation when you’re 50 feet off the ground. Socks should be your size, non-slip, and made of nylon and spandex for best results.