Vegan Mountaineering/Alpine climbing gear

This was a great first post. Thanks every one. Haters are fans too. Alex Caillat, Rob D, Nivel Egres, best help. Any vegans on here with specific brands/gear they prefer to use? Maybe more vegan friendly or a less fucked up company

Tim Sipe wrote:This was a great first post. Thanks every one. Haters are fans too. Alex Caillat, Rob D, Nivel Egres, best help. Any vegans on here with specific brands/gear they prefer to use? Maybe more vegan friendly or a less fucked up company

for rock shoes five ten and evolv are the go-to, though you have to read whether the outer and inner are made from synthetic. EMS brand synthetic socks and base-layers have been my go-to because of price point and the fact that they offer full synthetic on a lot of products (where smart woold/etc generally have a blend). Sleeping bags are pretty easy to find synthetic, pads are a non-issue, camp stove etc. is a non issue. Hiking boots tend to be where I actually have trouble. Super cheap and super expensive boots tend to be from synthetic, but the slightly less expensive boots seem to rely completely on leather, especially the cold weather boots. merrel has a lot of synthetic boots, but they aren't going to make boots that will last you a lifetime.

It's confusing to me that in a website about spending more time in nature, anytime veganism/vegetarianism gets brought up, especially in a non-confrontational asking for advice way, it will immediately turn into a handful of people arguing why people can't be 100% vegan. Of course it's improbable to cut out all animal byproducts in our current world, but it doesn't have to be all or nothing. For me it's simply about doing the best that I can to alleviate my negative impact on the world while weighing the positives and negatives of each choice I make. It weighs on me less to buy a synthetic shoe than one made from leather, but if you point out that our asphalt has a tiny percent that is an animal byproduct it doesn't make me go "well damn, I guess I should start buying leather again". Am I under some assumption that I am doing no-harm to the world by being alive? No, but that doesn't mean I'm going to all of a sudden change the way I live.

The Blueprint Part Dank wrote: Do you think your ethics would survive a societal collapse? Either economic or environmental.

The vegans could always eat people. Humans are easier to hunt than animals. There'll be no government to enforce laws. I would imagine at some point there would be plenty of people to eat but no more animals.

Yeah but post societal collapse what are you gonna do? I mean can you grow your own vegetables? We all know there is nothing but meat in the forest to eat. LMAO most people on this site couldn't catch a bus let alone a wild animal.

Tim,

To add on to Rob's reply, Scarpa tends to have a decent offering of synthetic "leather" boots in the summer mountaineering category. Boots like the Charmoz. OR gloves are great and many don't use leather. Mechanix brand has some synthetic leather gloves that make really nice durable belay gloves IMO. List goes on and it's hard to get into specifics off the top of my head, but feel free to pm.

I forgot to add scarpa. Total oversight because they are the easiest company to find mountaineering boots with.

I've never been fond of leather gloves for cold weather anyway, so I tend to buy what I would otherwise buy for gloves.

I've been a vegan for 15 years and usually do not struggle to find gear. I also am into motorcycles and wrote a few gear guides as well. My problem is socks. My feet sweat and wool was the only thing that kept my feet warm when damp. I suffer with cold feet because I cannot find a good suitable replacement. So if anyone knows of any synthetic socks that stay warm when damp I would love to know of them.

RichBeBe wrote:I've been a vegan for 15 years and usually do not struggle to find gear. I also am into motorcycles and wrote a few gear guides as well. My problem is socks. My feet sweat and wool was the only thing that kept my feet warm when damp. I suffer with cold feet because I cannot find a good suitable replacement. So if anyone knows of any synthetic socks that stay warm when damp I would love to know of them.

Regarding veganism - I get the eating part and I can understand the leather part and animal products in general. Can you enlighten about the wool though? Seems like a renewable resource and doesn't require killing the animal. Yes, I'm certain that a *lot* of wool comes from deceased animals, but if it were sourced from animals that will continue to live?

Marc801 wrote: Regarding veganism - I get the eating part and I can understand the leather part and animal products in general. Can you enlighten about the wool though? Seems like a renewable resource and doesn't require killing the animal. Yes, I'm certain that a *lot* of wool comes from deceased animals, but if it were sourced from animals that will continue to live?

A bunch of reasons, some may not seem rationale to non-vegans. But for me anything that makes living things a commodity, are things I cannot support. Once something becomes a commodity it no longer is treated with respect, but as a dollar sign.
Now for the specific reasons, sheep that are kept for wool, are not often kept in the best conditions. The shearing is done when it is most profitable, not when it is best for the individual sheep. Sheep are bred specifically for wool production and the therefore require more shearing than a wild sheep would.
The worst mistreatment is merino wool, instead of me typing it out I will paste from here advocacy.britannica.com/blo…

"In an attempt to reduce the incidence of flystrike in Australia, the “Mules” operation was introduced in the 1930s. Skin is sliced from the buttocks of lambs without anesthetic to produce a scar free of wool, fecal/urine stains, and skin wrinkles. Over 20 million merino breed lambs are currently mulesed each year. Most will have their tail cut off and the males will be castrated (“marked”) at the same time."

As much as I want everyone to live my lifestyle, I do my best not to preach, and never try and force my opinions on others, but if someone wants to know more, I will answer.

RichBeBe wrote:But for me anything that makes living things a commodity, are things I cannot support. Once something becomes a commodity it no longer is treated with respect, but as a dollar sign.

So does that include living things like plants?

RichBeBe wrote: A bunch of reasons, some may not seem rationale to non-vegans. But for me anything that makes living things a commodity, are things I cannot support. Once something becomes a commodity it no longer is treated with respect, but as a dollar sign.

I want to live on your planet, it sounds soft and fuzzy.

Ray Pinpillage wrote: I want to live on your planet, it sounds soft and fuzzy.

Me too. I get it's fantasyland like Scientology and libertarian party. It would be nice to care about the well being of the Planet and everything on it.

Bill Kirby wrote: Me too. I get it's fantasyland like Scientology and libertarian party. It would be nice to care about the well being of the Planet and everything on it.

Do you suppose Rich breaks into hives when his customer service complaint is forwarded to a call center in india?

I also feel like treating sentient beings as a commodity is wrong and it's why I don't wear wool. Is it unrealistic utopian thinking? Probably. But I'd rather try to live in a way that has as little a negative impact on the earth as possible and I feel like keeping sheep as an item that only has monetary worth is wrong. If that makes me "soft and fuzzy" then whatever, I guess I am. Again though, the whole "what do you mean you eat plants, don't you care about them!?!" or whatever is straight-middle-school-arguments only put forth by immature teenagers, and anonymous people on the internet.

If you're playing devil's advocate then just stop. Anyone that's been vegetarian or vegan for any time has had that one obnoxious friend who just wants to point out how we're making no difference/do something marginally un-vegan/hurt the earth by breathing and at some point it becomes just as boring as an atheist who just wants to point out what's wrong with the bible or a christian who wants to tell you about all of the sins you're committing. I feel like when someone posts about a "christian climbing club" it rarely involves four pages of people posting richard dawkins articles or calling christians names, but maybe I'm just being optimistic.

I'm not sure how sentient your average domesticated sheep is...

youtube.com/watch?v=QcE5aDT…

Rich, I appreciate your thoughtful opinion.

Rob D. wrote:I also feel like treating sentient beings as a commodity is wrong and it's why I don't wear wool. Is it unrealistic utopian thinking? Probably. But I'd rather try to live in a way that has as little a negative impact on the earth as possible and I feel like keeping sheep as an item that only has monetary worth is wrong. If that makes me "soft and fuzzy" then whatever, I guess I am. Again though, the whole "what do you mean you eat plants, don't you care about them!?!" or whatever is straight-middle-school-arguments only put forth by immature teenagers, and anonymous people on the internet. If you're playing devil's advocate then just stop. Anyone that's been vegetarian or vegan for any time has had that one obnoxious friend who just wants to point out how we're making no difference/do something marginally un-vegan/hurt the earth by breathing and at some point it becomes just as boring as an atheist who just wants to point out what's wrong with the bible or a christian who wants to tell you about all of the sins you're committing. I feel like when someone posts about a "christian climbing club" it rarely involves four pages of people posting richard dawkins articles or calling christians names, but maybe I'm just being optimistic.

Domesticated livestock exist because they are commodities, should we destroy them in order to return to a moral and virtuous state? The livestock damages the environment by producing more animal waste, consuming finite natural resources, and crowding out the natural habitat used by indigenous species.

Ray Pinpillage wrote: Domesticated livestock exist because they are commodities, should we destroy them in order to return to a moral and virtuous state? The livestock damages the environment by producing more animal waste, consuming finite natural resources, and crowding out the natural habitat used by indigenous species.

I understand your reasoning, but I believe that keeping animals as a way to profit off of them is wrong, therefor I choose to not buy products that enable these practices (enter the "but don't you buy products by companies/eat at restaurants that aren't strictly vegetarian/etc." arguments). I don't know what a better long term solution is, nor am I under the impression that the world will wake up one day and decide to live with the same morals that I have. I just live in a way that is in line with my values and assume everyone else does the same.

You know, I respect life. And if you respect life, you got to respect that lions, wolves, sharks and the like are 100% carnivorious. Humans evolved from hunting. Meat = fat and protein, = higher brain function, stronger body. Language evolved from hunting...man standing around a fire telling stories about hunting. Society evolved from hunting. Meat ain't a sin...it's who we are. But I totally understand people turned off by things like brutal factory farming and freak-breasted chickens with no beaks. I think if you really want to help animals, spend your money at sustainable farms where animals get to live like animals. Ever see free-range meat? You know why it's "dense" that's muscle! That's a healthy animal. Talk to a farmer who employs traditional and sustanaible practices. Talk to a hunter (yes, a hunter) who can explain conservation and habitat. Don't get your info from a Hipster.

Ok, back to work...

ahh MP ... where some folks will bash you no matter what ... especially if you arent like them and dont believe the same things

i like tasty critters ... i enjoy wokking dat dawg ...

but i dun really care what you eat or dont eat ... providing you arent a militant vegan who tries to take away dat yummy sashimi

if there are folks who only want to buy "vegan" products and eat wabbit food ... thats totally their choice and folks (not MPers of course) should respect that

there a likely a market and smart companies will likely cater to it ... you wont see em putting down their potential customers ...

heres a bit of reading for ya "wabbit fuud" folks from a famous climber on veganism and climbing ..

highinfatuation.com/blog/ta…

ill be back ... off to cook a tasty blue rare steak

;)