by Randall Chapman | Feb 24, 2019 | Homemade Gear
One of the first things I built when I bought the local climbing gym was a low ropes course. I was the director of the Orange County Challenge Course for about 4 years when it first opened and wanted to have something more to offer kids during our summer camps. Camps... 
by Randall Chapman | Feb 10, 2019 | Homemade Gear
Several years ago I made a set of ice tools and a mountaineers axe, I can’t recall when exactly but it was around 2006 or 2007. I was working at the shop that had the water jet. The shop I worked at used to make sand blasting cabinets for a local company that... 
by Randall Chapman | Jan 27, 2019 | Homemade Gear
The Grand Junction Climbing Center was one of the dungeon gyms of old. Built in 1996 by a couple of local climbers it was built in an old industrial building that used to be used by the rail road to work on train engines. This was how most gyms were built back then,... 
by Randall Chapman | Jan 20, 2019 | Homemade Gear
When I was around 20, I started a small side business building custom speaker boxes for car audio for competitions. I mostly did work for friends and got paid in beer more often than money but it was fun and I learned a lot. I was obsessive about making good boxes so... 
by Randall Chapman | Jan 6, 2019 | Homemade Gear
For those that don’t run rivers a fire pan is a leave no trace way to have a campfire. It may be used in other places but many of the permitted rivers out west are requiring them as part of the required gear, even when there’s a fire ban. I’ve brought it with me on... 
by Randall Chapman | Dec 23, 2018 | Homemade Gear
I learned to climb at Rock City in Anaheim Hills, California in 2001. I took a college class and after retaking the class a few times for the cheap membership I got hired on part time. I pretty much lived at the gym since it was close to where I worked and went to...