Tommy Caldwell Gear

Hey, Guys. I have a question. I was reading an article about Tommy Caldwell, and he mentioned how he decided to end a sponsorship with someone he was with for 17yrs. Was this BD? I noticed he’s not listed on their site anymore. I know he is with Edelrid now, but what company does he choose for cams and other gear?

Edelrid seems like a really good company and their environmental stewardship top notch. Not surprised TC would choose them. 

Could you link the article?

Also, a lot of Petzl pros use whatever cams they want.

blackdiamondequipment.com/e…

I spoke to him personally when he came to do at talk at my company's head office. He mentioned that he loved Edelrid's environmental philosophy.

He had recently left Black Diamond and signed with Edelrid. He was still with LaSportiva for footwear.

The following year he and Alex Honnold broke the speed record on The Nose.  For that endeavour Tommy wore his signature Edelrid Ace Ambassador harness and used his signature Edelrid Tommy Caldwell Pro Dry DT 9.6mm rope. As far as I can tell, all the cams, biners, and slings they used were BD. Perhaps they were Alex's?

Khoi wrote: I spoke to him personally when he came to do at talk at my company's head office. He mentioned that he loved Edelrid's environmental philosophy.

He had recently left Black Diamond and signed with Edelrid. He was still with LaSportiva for footwear.

The following year he and Alex Honnold broke the speed record on The Nose.  For that endeavour Tommy wore his signature Edelrid Ace Ambassador harness and used his signature Edelrid Tommy Caldwell Pro Dry DT 9.6mm rope. As far as I can tell, all the cams, biners, and slings they used were BD. Perhaps they were Alex's?

Yeah, I’m not sure. I was trying to search what gear he was using. He mentioned rethinking all of his gear. 

Do people really pick their gear based on what professional climbers use?

Marc H wrote: Do people really pick their gear based on what professional climbers use?

No, but I always like to know why athletes leave or choose certain companies. Is it quality, is it ethics, environmental, do they only care about the bottom dollar. It’s also nice to get an idea of how the product holds up before dumping tons of your own money into it. Not everyone gets stuff for free. I just like reading. That’s all. 

Christopher W wrote:

No, but I always like to know why athletes leave or choose certain companies. Is it quality, is it ethics, environmental, do they only care about the bottom dollar. It’s also nice to get an idea of how the product holds up before dumping tons of your own money into it. Not everyone gets stuff for free. I just like reading. That’s all. 

Let me know if you find anything out; I always thought that TC was really well thought out.  I'd love to hear if he has changed his mind on his sponsors, and what he is reconsidering.

Pete Spri wrote:

Let me know if you find anything out; I always thought that TC was really well thought out.  I'd love to hear if he has changed his mind on his sponsors, and what he is reconsidering.

I don’t think he’s leaving La Sportiva. It appears he’s left BD, though. If I find any info, I’ll post it. 

I’m the same way, I always like to hear why athletes choose to be ambassadors for certain brands. I know I like to support good organizations. Tommy’s values definitely align with mine, so that’s why I was curious about this to begin with. 

Marc H wrote: Do people really pick their gear based on what professional climbers use?

I think siding with one company over another over sponsorships is silly.  However, looking at which shoes in a fleet a particular athlete uses for a certain problem/rock type/angle/etc can occasionally be useful.

I always thought it was really cool to see the rack they used for the speed record:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj_aVw4F4xb/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1jcmd5etbr1w0

Note the bright Edelrid draws, and the sponsors he tagged in the post include Edelrid but not BD, despite the BD gear in the photo

TC is the man. Cares deeply about the planet=much respect! 

I remember when it was such a big deal 15 or so years ago when Caldwell defected from Five Ten to Sportiva.