{"id":3370,"count":7,"description":"<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bouldering is its own niche within climbing, and bouldering pads have become the iconic piece of equipment that clearly identifies boulderers from other climbers. \u00a0From the outside, most bouldering pads pretty much look alike with the exception of the designs on the material. However, what distinguishes a good pad from a great pad is what\u2019s inside. \u00a0The quality and combination of the foam inside can really make a difference in one\u2019s bouldering experience outside. In addition, simple features like a nice closure system and a comfortable way to carry the pad can make it more attractive. \u00a0We researched well over a dozen different pads and honed in on the top six that we really liked. Our crew of testers used five different criteria to evaluate the bouldering pads based on creating the best bouldering experience: quality of foam, shell durability, functionality, carrying systems, and maneuverability. \u00a0So we spent several weeks in the deserts of Utah and Nevada, and the mountains of Colorado, on scree, on dirt and on rocky foundations to find some answers to our questions.<\/span>","link":"https:\/\/gearinstitute.com\/climbing\/crash-pads\/","name":"Crash Pads","slug":"crash-pads","taxonomy":"category","parent":2438,"meta":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Best Crash Pads \/ Bouldering Pads Gear Reviews | Gear Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our experts extensively field-tested the best Crash Pads of the year and rated the best based on transparent, objective criteria. Here are the results.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gearinstitute.com\/climbing\/crash-pads\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Best Crash Pads \/ Bouldering Pads Gear Reviews | Gear Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our experts extensively field-tested the best Crash Pads of the year and rated the best based on transparent, objective criteria. Here are the results.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gearinstitute.com\/climbing\/crash-pads\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gear Institute\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gearinstitute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"CollectionPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gearinstitute.com\/climbing\/crash-pads\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gearinstitute.com\/climbing\/crash-pads\/\",\"name\":\"The Best Crash Pads \/ Bouldering Pads Gear Reviews | Gear Institute\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gearinstitute.com\/#website\"},\"description\":\"Our experts extensively field-tested the best Crash Pads of the year and rated the best based on transparent, objective criteria. 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