Bouldering Crash Pad Round-up Review - 2010 Editors' Choice Winners

First off, we defined a "medium crash pad" as being about 36" x 48". We also put pads that were 41" x 49" info the medium pad category. A medium pad is the most common size because it fits in most cars, is relatively easy to carry, and is a good size for most low to medium height problems.

High Fall Test
Our favorite foam to fall on was the Organic, which was not too stiff but also prevented us from bottoming out. While most companies use standard open and closed cell foam, Organic uses a unique "memory style" foam that is both durable and impact absorbing. Other top contenders generally scored based on how thick the foam was. The Mad Rock Mad Pad had the thickest foam (five inches), which gave us confidence on the big drops. It was also really stiff, which made it the pad least likely to bottom out. The Metoliud Boss Hogg and Voodoo Highball 4000 also did well on the tall problems but got noticeably softer over time. The Black Diamond Drop Zone started out great but after a few months it got really soft due to its thin foam (3.5 inches). It remained a great pad for shorter problems but we were scared to take big drops onto it.

Low Fall Test
Our favorite pads for repeated low fall were the Black Diamond Drop Zone and the Voodoo Highball 4000. Both had slightly larger surface areas and had softer edges. The softer edges were key to making the pads less likely to cause a rolled ankle. For the same reason the Drop Zone was not ideal for tall problems, but it was nice on short problems because it was so soft. The Voodoo, with its custom felt, was especially nice for when floundering around on sit starts. The Organic pads and Boss Hogg were also nice on repeated low falls. The Mad Pad was the only pad that was too stiff when brand new. We joked that you had to pad the Mad Pad. If you landed on your back from a low sit start, you really felt it. One option was to flip the pad upside down and land on the softer side. However, then you had a big gutter in the middle and had to deal with the suspension system. Ultimately, the best solution was to just let the Mad Pad break itself in by falling on it a lot from up high.

Uneven Terrain Test
We put the pads in uneven terrain to see how they handled when you feel right in the middle of them. Not surprisingly, the taco pad with medium-stiff foam did the best: The Highball 4000. For a hinged pad, the Boss Hog also did well because of the angled hybrid hinge. The Mad Pad did well because it had so much foam; it was hard to get rocks to come up through the hinge. All hinged pads acted like bear traps (see photos above). If you fell in the middle, the pad folded in half around you. This is more annoying than dangerous, but there is always that chance that your foot can find the hinge and then find a rock underneath.

Packing Big Stuff
The pads that hauled the bulkiest, heaviest loads were the Drop Zone and Highball 4000 because of their larger size (41" x 48") and taco style. Both pads also were in unique in that they had burly sewn-in straps (no Velcro) and handles on top of the shoulder straps. These handles make it much easier to put the pad on when it’s heavily loaded with gear. Most other pads did okay with the big stuff. The Metolius Boss Hogg was the only pad that failed to handle a big pack. Its velcro closure burst open (see photo at the Boss Hogg Review). We didn't find a big difference in the comfort in carrying big loads. One difference was the Organic's shoulder straps have two levels of height adjustment. If you are less than 5' 6", you might appreciate the lower suspension setting.

Packing Small Stuff
The Drop Zone and Boss Hogg both have closing flaps that keeps the small stuff from falling out the bottom. The Organic Full Padd does not have a closure flap on the bottom but does have a big pouch to stash the small stuff. Most other pads have neither closure flaps or pockets, which means you need to put your stuff in a backpack or bouldering bag.

Buckles
The Drop Zone hook buckles are the best we tested but we liked all the buckles. They are all more or less indestructible and easy to use. All are much better than the old plastic buckles that broke or the Velcro closures that eventually wore out. All pads used similar plastic waist buckles. The only pad without a waist belt was the Mad Pad. We generally don't care much about the waist belt unless the pad is heavily loaded or your are doing a long approach.

Straps
The straps were all about the same on all pads – generic nylon webbing. All the pads had padded shoulder straps. The Mad Pad has extra long straps that make the pad into a lounge chair, which is a cool feature but also means you have extra long straps that dangle around.

Top Materials
The Voodoo has by far the best top material. It's a cozy velvet that is comfy to hang out on and great for cleaning your feet. Even once the foam is beat down, this is still a great pad to hang out on. The Metolius Boss Hogg comes with auto upholstery up top that makes it the second most comfy pad to hang out on. It is great stuff to wipe your feet on and hang out on. The only down side is it seems to be a magnet for little grass and twigs. Most other pads used similar burly topside materials. The mad pad was the only pad that used more slippery top material. This was not ideal when falling on problems on a slope because your feet were more likely to slip.

Custom features
Most pads had a few custom features. However important many of these features are is debatable compared to the big deciders like foam quality.

Metolius Boss Hogg: Hypalon reinforced corners and hinge. Hypalon is a durable rubber-like fabric and will probably keep the corners from blowing out. That said, we find the foam goes limp long before the corners on a pad blow out completely. The more innovative feature was the hybrid angled hinge that does a good job of addressing the issue of a rock sneaking up through the hinge.

Black Diamond Drop Zone: very cool, rubbery Batman-suit-style bottom side that is technically called Anti Slide waterproof EVO (PVC Free). This keeps water from soaking into the pad and helps it "stick" to sloping rocks and hillsides.

Mad Rock Mad Pad: comes with a handy square of carpet for keeping the feet or butt clean and dry when the pad is stationed at the landing zone and not at the start. It also comes with Velcro attachments to connect multiple Mad Pads together. This is a great idea. If you are torn whether to get a giant pad or a medium pad, you can buy two of these, lash them together and have the best of both worlds.

Voodoo Highball 4000: custom velvet topsides. So comfy.

Organic Pads: awesome "memory style" foam. No other pad has it.

Editors' Choice Award
We chose the Organic Simple Pad and Organic Full Pad as our Editors' Choice because we liked the foam the best and liked how it held up over time. In the end, we felt that when considering all the features, it is the foam that matters not only the most, but much more than any other consideration. We also recommended Voodoo Highball 4000 because we liked the taco design, awesome topside material, and sewn-in shoulder straps.

The Drop Zone was originally a favorite because of the taco design and it was clearly the best pad for carrying stuff. It has that cool backing material and bomber suspension. But after a month the foam was too soft for high problems. So ultimately we couldn't recommend it. However, we are going to try and find some "Organic-like foam," replace the beat up BD foam, and see if we have constructed the ultimate pad.

Best Buy Award
The burly thick foam on the Mad Rock Mad Pad edged it ahead for the Best Buy Award. Not only do you get a ton of foam for $140, you get some cool features like the little carpet square, lounge straps, and ability to mate it with other Mad Pads. This is a great option for anyone who is on a budget and does not mind the sharp edges (beware of the angle roll) and stiff foam (give it a few hundred falls to break in).