Aaron Finch

User Need Statement:

Aaron needs means to retrieve the gear if he wants to abort a climb midway through without losing his gear.

User Background:

•  He got interested in climbing after going to a climbing gym.

• Then joined a team in undergrad that introduced him to different aspects of climbing like outdoor climbing, sport climbing, and trad climbing.

•  A typical climbing day can range from a full-day trad climb involving hiking, climbing for 6-7 hours, and camping overnight, to a short 1-hour bouldering session.

•  Favorite climbing spots are the Shawangunk in New York and Dolomites in Italy.

• Preferred type of climb-Traditional Climbing

• He's been climbing for 10 years.

User Pain Points:

•  Transitioning from indoor to outdoor climbing is difficult

•   it requires a lot of additional gear

•  gear knowledge

•  expertise

•  expensive to access without being part of a team or club.

• Traditional climbing is gear intensive and time consuming.

• There is no way to retrieve gear like carabiners left behind when a climber cannot complete a route, which is a common occurrence in sport climbing.

•  Need both Grigri and ETC devices for climbing and lowering.

• Carabiners have a single point of failure, not much safe.

•  Challenges for beginner climbers.

•   Understanding different types of gears.

•  Which gear is needed for specific climbs.

•   High cost for acquiring full gear setup.

Insights:

• Gears for beginners in climbing have not been explored much and it can be a potential need.

• Two types of gear for climbing and lowering.

•  Need to leave the gear when abort the climb midway.

Requirements for a Product:

• Light weight

• Cost effective

• Easy to use

• Provides a safe experience