Carabiner's Gym - Worst Gym EVER turns to Deception to make money...

Carabiner's Gym in Fairfield, CT is not only likely the WORST climbing gym on the East Coast of the united states... sad to say, they have unfortunately now taken to false advertising...

"$30 for unlimited bouldering and climbing" and they even specify you will need to pay for a belayer... and a 30 min belayed climbing session is included.

And then when you CALL and specifically ask they tell you oh well it was all an error (it was someone else's fault) and it doesn't include climbing, it's just the fitness center and the bouldering...

... this is the type of gym where you are only allowed to set routes with 1 color hold, all the "climbers" left or were never hired, and they wonder why business is horrible?

Caraboner's Fairfield, CT

Sounds like a strip club for climbers...

That place is horrendous! I refuse to give my money to those people. It sucks because the actual gym really isn't that bad, its actually pretty nice but the staff is so bad that I now drive twice has far to go to the gym. You can only be harassed by the staff so many times before you just pack up and leave and never return.

Other gyms around people act like this??

Dmadison has it right... it's a bloody shame, this place has some good walls, esp the lead wall!!!

The problem is entirely limited to the owner, Steve Caton and the Manager, Alicia Aguiar.

wall looks pretty boring from the pic they post...just vertical,,?? about 20 some feet only? Not worth the cash I agree.

i posted after I spoke with alisha and she left a bad taste in my mouth blaming someone else for the false advertising... and then not doing anything to correct it... new low.

Typical of these people at this point. Many people have spoken to Steve about his rules on routes (matching color holds, etc.)... he thinks it makes his gym 'special' really all it does it SUCK.

I was told unofficially when they opened that they were purposefully 'avoiding and not hiring' anyone who knew how to climb or knew what they were doing. I was also told that not a single person in the first gym in New Bedford, MA could stand Alisha and that's why she was sent down to Connecticut. She drives away more business then Steven could image.

whats the issue with routes being of one color? no tape required and it works for several big, highly successful, and well operated gyms out west?

that I could understand.

I thought maybe the owner was maybe trying to force you to climb on the correct color...which would be pretty funny/lame. actually I wish that were the case as it makes for a better story. moral of the MP forum is that CT sucks for climbing in every way?

John Wilder wrote: i would imagine that a poorly run gym not motivated by climbing in general would have an extremely limited hold selection, which probably results in pretty crappy routes a fair bit of the time.

this... and most all the holds come from 1 manufacture and anyone who knows squat about setting was purposefully not hired or left. I recently heard they lost over half the staff too, including head route setter.

I'm hoping they go out of business sooner then later. There are a lot of locals in our area that want a real climbing gym and this one just uses up valuable space so some Masshole can make money on kids' birthday parties.

Paul Hunnicutt wrote: moral of the MP forum is that CT sucks for climbing in every way?

hahaha - yeah theres a lot to shake your head at about climbing in CT. But since it's one of the states where climbing started almost a century ago, it's kinda understandable.

Truth be told, CT has some really amazing climbing just a lot of messed up things have occurred around it!

John Wilder wrote: that said, i am a fan of no tape/same color hold routes when its done right and there is a huge hold selection for route setters.

I think I would be too if I got to see it in place at a real gym, but to do it right on a gym wide scale would be VERY expensive. Worst part is this is Steve's second gym and all the people I know in Mass said his one is Mass is a tragedy too...

John Wilder wrote: i would imagine that a poorly run gym not motivated by climbing in general would have an extremely limited hold selection, which probably results in pretty crappy routes a fair bit of the time. that said, i am a fan of no tape/same color hold routes when its done right and there is a huge hold selection for route setters.

We had a small gym in south suburban Chicago area a couple years ago..had same color, even same brand or same collection of holds to make routes. Was awesome,,,,no messy tape confusion and it was like you were on the same kind of rock all the way up the route. Does limit space and hold use, but you can always get creative on your own and do a mixed up route you decide upon yourself. Gym just was too far south to generate any business, being totally out of the white-bread adventure sports kind of neighborhoods.

Woodchuck ATC wrote: you can always get creative on your own and do a mixed up route you decide upon yourself.

You might think this but they usually only set 1 maybe two routes per area of the wall... so often you don't get overlapping routes to play that game with yourself.

JPL - filter? you betcha... here's how i think it goes:

Climber? no thanks. Birthday party? yes, right this way. Birthday parties have always been the bulk of gym revenues around here, but they are not mutually exclusive as they are treated by this business.

Worst part is they are less then a mile from Fairfield University - so much potential squandered...

So open a gym.

Get investors, put your own money into it, hire and train staff, get insurance, find a building, build the walls, set routes, and run them out of business. If they suck that bad and won't address customer needs, should be an easy go for you, right? Right?

Btw, I agree about setting on hold color/no tape. Deal breaker for me. Sucks. Dimly lit building, little chalk on holds, 40yo eyes...can't tell red from pink or grey/black/purple, teal/green/blue doesn't help when they set similar color problems next to, or crossing each other either.

Hangar's gyms here in SoCal do that, and I train at Threshhold because of it, despite the terrain and size being much better at Hangar.

Will S wrote:So open a gym. Get investors, put your own money into it, hire and train staff, get insurance, find a building, build the walls, set routes, and run them out of business. If they suck that bad and won't address customer needs, should be an easy go for you, right? Right?

Lol, no, none of that is easy and u know it :) I grew up working at a gym, and owning one in my life is not something im interested in doing... the business model sucks and you are vested for a very very long time! I have a buddy who is trying to open one in the area right now actually and his investor/partner just backed out on him. Space for a 40ft wall is REALLY hard to find and extremely expensive.

I would like to see a co-op bouldering area actually but being the suburbs of NYC means space few climbers and prohibitive startup and operating costs. Startup costs for full sized gym in this area are well over $1 million. More like 1.5 MM to 2 MM. This is the most or 2nd most expensive county in the country.

The Phoenix wrote: Lol, no, none of that is easy and u know it :) I grew up working at a gym, and owning one in my life is not something im interested in doing... the business model sucks and you are vested for a very very long time! I have a buddy who is trying to open one in the area right now actually and his investor/partner just backed out on him. Space for a 40ft wall is REALLY hard to find and extremely expensive. I would like to see a co-op bouldering area actually but being the suburbs of NYC means space few climbers and prohibitive startup and operating costs. Startup costs for full sized gym in this area are well over $1 million. More like 1.5 MM to 2 MM. This is the most or 2nd most expensive county in the country.

yeah, imagine all the good old buildings with loft' style insides are being sold for condos at a couple million each. tough to get a cheap suitable building anywhere, and one you can hack up and build wall inside of without later paying for removal and repairs when you leave.

The problem with Carabiner's using same colored holds to mark their routes is that they leave the routes up a really long time before changing them and the gym (at least New Bedford) is poorly lit. So the holds get covered in chalk over time and in the dim light you can't figure out which hold is on route and which isn't. They also require that you use a GriGri and that you provide your own or rent one.

The only plus side of Carabiner's (New Bedford) is they have 65 ft walls.

I'd argue that a few of the gyms I climb at are world class, and all of them set all routes with just one colour hold. To most climbers in the world (at least in my experience), tape jobs are amateur.

But yea, sounds like that place is probably just a bunch of holds bolted onto a wall inside a fitness center. Hardly a climber's gym.

Local park district had a multi bucks wall built in corner of their building,24 ft high complete with 2 ropes and 2 autobelays. Wall came with a box of boring holds which they had no idea what to do with. I offered my route setting services for a fee, and sorted holds, set up 4 routes on the 4 distinct areas where routes could go. One was probably 5.9 at toughest. Last I saw, they pulled them down and reset in a 'left-right' kind of ladder ascent for all available wall space. No climbing background, no instructors, using it like a climbing treadmill for laps I suppose, IF it gets any use at all now days. Purpose of wall is completely different to the uninformed non climber, that's for sure.

yeah but does anyone want to go TR with me at the gunks anytime soon? I have a proj I'm headpointing in the uberfall area right now and I think after another 20 tries I may nail it. its 25' tall BTW in case height scares you like it does me.

on a steep gym wall I only want the same colored holds, once you cross that line you never want to go back. 30 bucks for what? whats a day pass at that gym and are the women hot(not in the porn kind of way cause I dont do that) is what I want to know.