axclimbingxjoey

[axclimbingxjoey]

H.G. Wells, the Oppenheimer of 1914

In 1914’s “The World Set Free” H.G. Wells envisioned an infinitely exploding bomb powered by fission. Once detonated, the bombs left the areas uninhabitable for years because the damn thing wouldn’t, and couldn’t, stop exploding. Though laughable now, This idea came from an educated though imperfect combination of Röntgen’s discovery of radiation and Soddy’s discovery of half-life decay. 

Unlike the real scientist of 1914, The characters in “The World Set Free” could access the vast amounts of energy trapped in isotopes like radium-223, which expend their energy slowly over time through radioactive decay, and release it on command. Many real and important scientists of the next two decades, Oppenheimer included, thought intricate control of isotope energy was probably impossible, but luckily for us readers the ‘probably impossible’ is no issue for science-fiction writers like H.G. Wells, who experimented with the idea of nuclear weapons and their potential effect on humanity nearly twenty years before the all-important discovery of the neutron, and more than thirty years before the first real atomic bomb.

[axclimbingxjoey]

My 40$ climbing shoes finally gave out on me. They lasted for my first year of climbing but it was time for an upgrade, and I choose a beautiful pair of Scarpa Helixes.

I chose them because they weren't too aggressive and weren't too expensive at 120$ from MEC. My friend, a seasoned climber, told me they would force me to have good footwork. They lack any curvature in the sole and asymmetry in the toes that better climbers use and inferior climbers (like me) would rely on too much.

Cons:

These are not performance shoes. They don't make me feel like a monkey scampering up the wall, but I've come to understand no shoes will. That being said, for low-performance shoes the rubber wears away very quickly. The soles of the Helix are 1.5mm thinner than almost every other shoe available.

Yet the Helix is Scarpa's most popular shoe. At all three climbing gym I've been to on Vancouver Island, about 8% percent of people had the same shoes as me. Also, their beautiful blue suede was quickly marred by chalk and dirty.

Pros:

Scarpa Helixes are sexy shoes, and they fit like a glove on my wide feet. I was prepared for the laces to be a pain in the ass compared to velcro but I haven't thought about it since I bought them. The shoes fit wonderfully without much extra tightening, and I don't need to take them off for an hour and a half.

Conclusion:

I didn't need performance, but I wanted style. I find Helixes to be comfortable and classy climbing shoes.