Magazine Subscriptions

[Ken P]

Hey All - My Rock & Ice subscription is due within the next month. Not sure if I will renew or or switch to something else. The obvious is Gripped. What others? Or is R&I and Gripped the way to go.

Thanks to all!

Ken

[Scooter]

Gripped is by far my favourite. It's more canadian than others, has good columnists --> like milton & trotter

I also have Urban Climber, which is good if you in to the more urban scene, with some sections devoted to climbing buildings and such. The good thing with urban climber is they send you free schwag and it's cheap.

I've never had a Climbing mag. subscription, but I hacve read a few while working/ climbing in gyms, and I think it's a pretty solid magazine. But not quite as good as Gripped,

Rock & Ice (no offense to those loyal readers out there) is way down on my list. Never really taken a liken to it for some reason.

[Fred]

Gripped sucks. Go for 'Climbing'.

[chossmonkey]

We don't get any magazines anymore. There was a period of about ten years that I got both R&I and Climbing.

While Gripped is way better than it was a few years ago, it still normally leaves me feeling empty and ripped off. You can normally read all the good stuff pretty quick at the store.

R&I is a lot of fluff. At one time they had mini-guides to different areas in every issue. They have gone down hill a long way since I first started reading it. When I first started getting it they were worth holding onto, now they just seem like another disposable entertainment device with bad writing.

Climbing is still okay, but I just don't get much out of it either anymore.

Alpinist would be a nice magazine if the price was even close to being reasonable.

I've never really cared much for Urban Climber. Maybe I would have liked it more if it came out when I was 19. I got an issue for Christmas, thankfully it came with a free DVD I really wanted.

I would just take a look at the stands and see each month or two what you want to blow your money on. If there isn't anyplace to buy them and need a subscription I'd go with Climbing.

[Ken P]

[quote="chossmonkey"]We don't get any magazines anymore. There was a period of about ten years that I got both R&I and Climbing.

While Gripped is way better than it was a few years ago, it still normally leaves me feeling empty and ripped off. You can normally read all the good stuff pretty quick at the store.

R&I is a lot of fluff. At one time they had mini-guides to different areas in every issue. They have gone down hill a long way since I first started reading it. [quote]When I first started getting it they were worth holding onto, now they just seem like another disposable entertainment device with bad writing.[/quote]

Climbing is still okay, but I just don't get much out of it either anymore.

Alpinist would be a nice magazine if the price was even close to being reasonable.

I've never really cared much for Urban Climber. Maybe I would have liked it more if it came out when I was 19. I got an issue for Christmas, thankfully it came with a free DVD I really wanted.

I would just take a look at the stands and see each month or two what you want to blow your money on. If there isn't anyplace to buy them and need a subscription I'd go with Climbing.[/quote]

[Ken P]

I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Trying to quote you Choss.

Anyhow I agree with the writing in R&I has sucked over the past year or so.

I should put the cash somewhere else.
Expensive porcelain chair reading

[martha]

At one time we subscribed to R&I, Climbing, Gripped and Urban climber.
We quit Urban Climber after one year... it sucks.

R&I I didn't renew partly because of the new size format. It just doesn't fit with the rest of the mags...and the writing has sucked of late.

We didn't renew Climbing either as I hadn't been terribly happy with it lately but we will likely pick that one up again.

We still have gripped, but a lot of the writing sucks. Some is really good...but what isn't.. is terrible.

On another note, we subscribe to a parenting magazine now.. haha.

[Zamboni]

I've received a subscription to UC mag, and find that there is very little valuable reading involved. I loose interest quick. I will not renew my subscription because it seem like they are in the business of selling add space, and not interested in getting the real goods.

I've purchased the last few issues of Gripped and would purchase another.

By far the best read for me is Alpinist! Yes at 16 bucks for a mag its crazy expensive. But if you want to drive a Corvette, don't pull off the lot in a Cobalt!

[Shawn B]

Gripped sucks. Go for 'Climbing'.

Yep...my subscription to Gripped...which was a gift...expired and I'm not renewing. It was usually good for about one trip to the throne...which makes it a rather expensive piece of crap (pun intended). I used to scan through the mags at the climbing shops and buy it if a couple things of interest caught my eye. Haven't bought one in probably a few years. Sometimes one article that is decent which I'll read in the store. Save your $$ for better things IMO.

[Scooter]

yeah i don't think ive ever read a full article in UC. it just as lots of pictures and wasted space for designs they use.

[The Mitt]

Don't buy any of that CRAP. Spend your hard earned cash on gear and trips Who cares about who just pulled off the next v19 or 5.20d. Most of it is over hyped pro climbers and manufacturers who are trying to take your money. Think about it 40 bucks a year thats 3 draws or a tank of gas for a road trip. What will you get the most enjoyment out of?

Gripped = Magazine that used to have great stuff but now seams to wanna be UC.
Urban Climber (UC) = Urban Poser.
Climbing = The pro climbers diary. Lets read about the stuff that we will never do ourselves.
Rock and Ice = Used to have a killer section called 5.9 and under. Spoke about awesome alpine routes that are achievable by mortals. Cut all those to be more like Climbing.
Alpine = Great writing, great articles. One issue = one draw. I'd rather get the draw.

Look at the old issues and count the ads. Look at the new issues and count the ads.

My 2 pennies

Mitt

[Mountain_Marc]

In my opinion, all the climbing magazines out there suck the big one! Ever since bouldering became mainstream, it seems that's the only thing they talk about. Who flashed so and so's V57, OMG, new V95 established in Zimbabwe.

Don't get me started on ads, half of the magazines are ads these days.

All fluff, no substance and mostly ads is how you can describe the mags these days.

The only mag i'd ever consider getting is a subscription to is Alpinist. Now there is some fine quality writing that gets your mouth watering for some adventure. It's the only I buy but I only get it once or twice a year.

[mathieu]

When I was in High school I had a whole schwack of Snowboard mags, then one day I noticed, all ads no articles. So I started saving my money to go on my own road trips. Then I got into climbing, liked the mags that showed good destinations that had grades I could climb. When I started the gear reviews helped me make a few choices. Then the exotic locations got more and more pages (which I can't afford) then the name dropping and grade inflating started. Now a days if I want porn I just stop at a news stand for 15 minutes, flip thru a Gripped or whatever is on the news stand and get my fix.

The tips and tricks which I thought were good when I started are really no substitute for real life experience or get you the satisfaction of figuring out your own system.

end babble

[mathieu]

Why a magazine subscription when you can get all your info and more on CEC

[granite_grrl]

Why a magazine subscription when you can get all your info and more on CEC

I remember one user on Rockclimbing.com had as their signature: "I get all my news from rockclimbing.com". How true.

I guess if I had to get a mag subscription that I could afford (read "not alpinist") I would go for Gripped, but it seems that almost all the mags suck these days and so we have no magazine suscription.

[Mountain_Marc]

I guess if I had to get a mag subscription that I could afford (read "not alpinist") I would go for Gripped, but it seems that almost all the mags suck these days and so we have no magazine suscription.

Technically, there are about the same price. You just get less issues during the year.

And it takes me the same time to read 3 Gripped Magazine compared to 1 Alpinist.

So it all evens out!

So affordability does not come into play.

[szymiec]

I'm not sure what you're into but i would recommend Aplinist. There is no bouldering stuff in there but the articles, photos and lack of ads more than make up for the price. Plus the mags are printed on archival paper as well so they are a little more than a magazine.

Just my thoughts
C

[granite_grrl]

Actually I heard that if you're a member of the Access Fund then the subscription price for Alpinist goes way down.

Hmmmmm, Nathan is a member of the Access Fund, maybe I should look into this a little more.....

[martha]

Actually I heard that if you're a member of the Access Fund then the subscription price for Alpinist goes way down.

Hmmmmm, Nathan is a member of the Access Fund, maybe I should look into this a little more.....

and let us know!

[Matt Peck]

Just to chime in:
Climbing's new layout is pretty nice, but loooooots of filler and adds. The old Tech tips were just about all that I used to get that rag for anyway, and now they've changed for the worse. And the spray section takes up the first half of the mag.

UC I just hate on principle, having not read a single issue.

Rock and Ice has always been pretty lame, though the latest issue had some cool info on climbing in Guilin, PRC.

Gripped has the occasional good article, but only one per issue, and it kinda way sucks otherwise. Too much bouldering and spray.

Alpinist is a droolfest. Awesome photography, quality articles, Large as life, and a price to match. MEC members get a decreased subscription fee too.

I know which one I'll go with.