![Hauling the pig with the Sterling WorkPro static rope on Prodigal Sun, Zion National Park. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/sterling-workpro-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz recently used the Sterling WorkPro static line to haul a 100-pound bag on his first solo big wall. The WorkPro was supple, strong and durable–everything you’d want from a static rope. Five stars.
![Corey Flynn starts the first pitch of Scary Canary (5.12b/c R), Eldorado Canyon, Colorado. [Photo] Chris Van Leuven](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/black-diamond-atc-pilot-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Chris Van Leuven used the Black Diamond ATC Pilot to catch gear-ripping falls and liked its simple design and smooth rope handling so well that it became his go-to belay device for single-pitch cragging. Five stars.
![The author enjoys the comfort of the Mountain Equipment Xeros 800-fill, Russian Goose Down sleeping bag inside his bivy sack on the second morning of his solo ascent of Prodigal Sun (V 5.7 C2, 900') in Zion National Park, October 22. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mountain-equipment-xeros-sleeping-bag-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz used the Mountain Equipment Xeros 800-fill, Russian Goose Down bag in warm, sweaty conditions as well as cold, wet ones, and the bag kept him remarkably dry and comfortably warm. “I have never experienced a more efficient sleeping bag,” he reports. Five stars.
![Whitney Clark explores unknown terrain on a peak above Sphinx Lake in Kings Canyon, California, this past August. [Photo] Tad McCrea](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/sterling-fusion-nano-ix-1-2-930x620.jpg)
Whitney Clark takes the Sterling Fusion Nano IX along for some rugged granite adventures in Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountains. The 9mm rope can be used as a thick half-rope or a skinny single rope, and features Sterling’s new DryXP treatment, which exceeds the UIAA certification of less than 5 percent water absorption, keeping the rope light and durable in even the wettest conditions. Clark put those claims to the test and awarded the Fusion Nano IX five stars.
![The author starts up Annunaki (5.11+) in Indian Creek, Utah, wearing the redesigned Petzl Sirocco helmet. [Photo] Macie Brendlinger](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/petzl-sirocco-helmet-1-1-930x620.jpg)
BJ Sbarra reports on his experience with Petzl’s redesigned Sirocco helmet, and reflects on the evolution of climbing’s head protection. The new Sirocco is more durable and lighter than ever, making it one of the best all-around helmets available.
![[Photo] Jeremy Joseph](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/la-sportiva-trango-tower-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Photographer Jeremy Joseph used the La Sportiva Trango Tower GTX boots for miles of hiking to access the most scenic locations in Colorado’s fourteeners. He was mostly happy with the boots’ performance, and he awarded them four stars.
![The BASU eAlarm can be used in a variety of ways. Here it is rigged on a food sack so that it will be set off if an animal were to tamper with it. [Photo] Clint Helander](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/basu-ealarm-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Clint Helander lives, works and climbs in Alaska, where the risk of bear encounters is a regular hazard. He tested the BASU eAlarm and found it to be a versatile and helpful device.
![The author and her husband with the Hilleberg Nammatj 2 GT on a backcountry ski trip in Colorado. [Photo] Mary Harlan](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/hilleberg-nammatj-2-gt-3-1-930x620.jpg)
Mary Harlan, an AMGA-trained rock, ice, snow and ski guide, compares the new Hilleberg Nammatj 2 GT to the Hilleberg design she used on Denali in 2012. She and her husband stayed comfortable in the tent on a spring backcountry ski trip but would have liked to have had more interior pockets. Four stars.
![Whitney Clark wears the Patagonia Nano-Air Light Hoody while leading a pitch on the first ascent of High Fashion (5.10, 1,000') on a peak near Wales Lake in the Sierra Nevada Range. The team found a tiny pill container that contained a summit register and identified the mountain as Wales Lake Peak. The register only had two ascents from teams who walked up the backside, Clark said. [Photo] Tad McCrea](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/patagonia-nano-air-light-hoody-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Alpinist contributor Whitney Clark tests the durability, warmth and water-resistance of the Patagonia Nano-Air Light Hoody. It did its job but she longed for a built-in stuff sack that would have allowed her to clip it to her harness. Four stars.
![Beth Goralski takes shelter from sharp points while David Roetzel starts up Saphira in the Rigid Designator Amphitheatre Vail, Colorado. [Photo] Chris Van Leuven](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/grigri-plus-2-1-930x620.jpg)
The new GriGri+ is heavier and packed with new features, such as a switch for toprope/lead-belay modes and an anti-panic function. Chris Van Leuven learns why the GriGri+ doesn’t replace the GriGri 2 yet still adds a worthwhile option to the family of Petzl belay devices. Four stars.
