Latest BMC skills DVD reviewed plus we have five to give away in a simple competition.
We've been highly impressed with the BMC's excellent series of skills DVDs in the past and now there's a new addition to the line-up with the latest in the series Climbing Wall Essentials and not only do we have one to review, we're also giving five of them away to lucky OM users.
So What's It Like?
One of the things we've always like about the BMC DVDs is that they break down the essentials of a particular area into easily-digested chapters and the Climbing Wall edition is no exception.
There are ten sections which range logically from a Beginner's Guide right through to a chapter on transferring your indoor skills to the crag with lots more in between. It's not just aimed at beginners – in any case most walls will run induction and skills courses – but it's a good start if you are considering getting into climbing.
And the big plus of a DVD is that you can keep coming back to it for a refresher or to confirm that you're doing a particular thing right. The content is really clearly and thoroughly presented generally with an experienced climber or instructor explaining the basics, followed by a demonstration of the skills in action on the wall.
As you'd expect, the beginner's section covers the basics of tying on, belaying, basic equipment and so on, but from then on in, there's plenty of stuff that's equally useful to more experienced climbers. The section on movement for example, which explains the basics of climbing technique in an easy to follow and clearly illustrated way.
Then there's the Indoors to Outdoors chapter, which among other things, has an excellent and very clear section on how to lower off safely from the final anchor on bolted sports climbs. Oh, and a great 'mistakes' section that shows you some of the potentially dangerous errors you can make on the walls and how to avoid them.
In other words, another impressive skills class from the BMC. We reckon beginners and intermediate climbers will benefit most, but even if you're fairly experience, you may still pick up a few pointers along the way. It'd make a great Christmas gift too, maybe coupled with a few months membership at your local climbing wall.
The DVD is available direct from the BMC for £16 or as a download for £11 – see www.bmcshop.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=327_209&products_id=6295
Win One Of Five DVDs
We have five copies of the BMC's Climbing Wall Essentials DVD to give away to five fortunate OM users.
All you have to do is answer this simple climbing wall question: How many climbing walls are listed in the new BMC Climbing Walls Directory 2012?
Is it:
A) 33 walls
B) 333 walls
C) 3333 walls
Once you've decided, just pop your answer down in an e-mail and send it to email tina@thebmc.co.uk with subject heading “OutdoorsMagic DVD competition”. You have until Monday 5 December, 2011 to get your entry in. Good luck!
