Likes
Chris Mac says, "I used these a ton and never managed to wear them out. And that was after my friend Mark used them a ton." These are the most bomber aiders we tested. One big advantage of not having urethane or big steps is that this aider is less bulky when clipped to your harness for free climbing. Also, this aider won't get stuck in cracks as easily and is easier to free when it does. This aider is only sold in the 5 step length. If you are going to do a lot of free climbing, like on The Nose or Touchstone Wall, cut off the bottom step. Five steps is really only necessary for hard aid or if you are over six feet tall.
We really recommend against using four aiders when aiding in our How to Big Wall online guide. That said, if you are a die-hard to the four aider method, this is one of the best aiders to have. Having four urethane aiders or four ladder style aiders will be very heavy and bulky.
Dislikes
With no urethane the sides squeeze in more than on the Metolius so it scored a little lower for comfort. This aider is comfortable, but not as comfortable as an aider that has extra large steps like the Yates Aid Ladder. If you are climbing efficiently you won't notice the difference much. But if you are hanging out for hours on lead, you will notice unless you use four aiders (which we strongly discourage). While this aider is fairly easy to walk up, it takes a little more "fishing with your foot" to get your foot in because the steps don't stay as open as with the ladder style or an aider with urethane.
With no sub step in the top step, you are limited in how high you can top-step. This was one of the reasons Chris Mac eventually switched to the Metolius 5 Step. On the Fish website this lack of sub top step is addressed thusly: "Unless you are on a slab, that kookie step in the top of other aiders will be virtually impossible to use." We would disagree. We use that kookie step a lot. It makes things much more efficient on a route like The Nose where even when not on a slab, you can often get good jams and want to be able to step as absolutely high as possible to make fewer placements.
One option is to have the grab loop custom made to make sure you can fit your foot in it. In fact, the price of the aiders ($47) does not include the grab loop, so if you are going to have the extra grab loop option ($3 extra) then you might as well have it made big enough so that you can squeeze a foot into it. This isn't an ideal fix, but it will help in situations where huge reach is mandatory for example, doing the left variation on the Changing Corners pitch on The Nose).
A Note About Ordering
If you want to buy these new, you need to order them directly from Fish Products. Unless there are a pair lying around, they will be made to order and might require a wait of 3-plus weeks. The good news is you will probably be able to order some custom features such as length of grab loop. Hell, he might even sew you a sub top step. The downside is that you can't get them immediately.
Best Application
This is a very versatile aider. It will work on hard aid or climbing The Nose in a day.
Value
This is the most aider for the money. Period.
