This place is a gem. I have been privileged to be a member here for three months, and I have to…read moresay, I can't decide if I am more excited about the climbs or about the people who are so passionate about climbing. The climbs are frequently updated and there is enough variety for every difficulty level. Both I, my friends, and my seven year old have a plethora of top rope climbs and bouldering to chose from. The staff are absolutely invested in ensuring that we make the most of our experience. Outstanding does not being to tell it all.

Fun activity for the kids Came here during winter break and…read morejoined a summer camp where they are engaged for 2 hours A bit pricey but they thoroughly enjoyed the experience - def recommend to try it out Lot of local regulars visit here ... great workout routine and builds core stamina

If you and your climbing partner have a significant weight difference or you like feeling terrified…read morejust top roping - DO NOT GO HERE. This is the literal only gym I've ever been to that just drapes the top-ropes over the anchors, rather than looping them over once. (And I used to climb at the Movement in San Francisco which this was NOT the case at.) This creates a HUGE issue for the lighter weight climber when belaying, and is frankly so scary it's made me not like climbing anymore. All they offer are some giant, dirty kettlebells for you to lug around with you, but that only (kind of) stops you from launching in the air. It doesn't prevent the extreme amount of friction you have to fight through the Grigri. I've never even had this much of a problem lead climbing, because we can use an ohm, which you can't use top roping because it pins the rope to the wall which is unsafe for the climber. When I brought up this concern to someone who works there they shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal, and said "oh well it's better because lowering is faster this way" uh... okay, but it's not better if i'm literally fighting for my life simply to lower my partner and not kill them or be launched into the air?? but yeah, lowering faster is nice, sure. I want so badly to like this gym, but the complete lack of regard for safety is mind-boggling. The biggest shame is that it's the only gym of it's type in the area so it's either climb here unsafely, or don't climb at all. Shame on Movement Corporate for not doing more to regulate the safety at their gyms.

I've only bouldered here so I can't comment much about top rope/lead…read more Staff are very friendly - asking membership questions, lost and found, intro climbing lessons etc have all been positive experiences for me. Climbers also tend to be friendly as well; people are usually more than happy to chat about beta and provide tips when asked. Routesetting is decent. Lots of fun, interesting problems at higher grades. The slab area upstairs is small but usually has some really enjoyable climbs. However, climbs below V2 are almost all ladders, and the routesetters' ideas for "spicy" low grade climbs tend to be worse handholds/steeper inclines rather than provide interesting challenges for newer climbers. Every now and then you come across a climb where the crux seems to be "try not to accidentally use this massive handhold from a different climb located in the most inconvenient spot possible." But overall, I'd say the routesetting is a positive. Now for the main reason that this review is only 2 stars: safety. Or rather, a complete lack of it. People sit/stand directly in front of the wall all the time, even when they're not about to climb anything. Most are happy to move when you ask, but you will get the occasional dirty look. Coaches and off-duty routesetters are often the worst offenders here. Chalk bags, climbing shoes, and phones frequently litter the ground directly underneath the wall. People walk directly underneath climbers in the bouldering area *all the time*, and even when other people are watching usually no one says anything. In over a year of climbing here, I have yet to see a single instance of an employee enforcing a safety rule in the bouldering area. Occasionally, there are horrifically dangerous climbs that almost make me think one of the routesetters has a side deal with a personal injury attorney (see attached photo). tl; dr: Lots of fun climbs, but when it comes to safety you're on your own.

This review is past over due to the great staff at Xtreme Energy in Rockaway! We had our daughter's…read morebirthday hosted by Jay (I believe was her name) and it was nothing short of exceptional from our room decor to how attentive and nice the host was. Mary at the front was very nice as well. Thank you guys!

First and foremost, the place is immaculately clean and there are people all around picking up…read morethings that might be down. Secondly, the staff is incredibly helpful and go a step beyond in trying to make the kids feel comfortable on the equipment. Third I see three-year-olds having a wonderful time and I see 12-year-olds having a great time so it's appropriate for all ages up to 12. The staff is very diligent in watching and making sure everyone is playing safely.

Whew! Where do I begin…read more.. I first discovered Gravity Vault from the Hoboken location, which I researched online and loved the aesthetic of the business, but never did get a chance to visit. So recently when surfing IG, I saw a posting advertising their Montclair location's 3rd anniversay; the celebration was being broken up into 2 sessions (1st: 11 AM; 2nd: 2 PM) - I opted for the 2nd. So yesterday, I took a nice drive from Bergen County over to Essex to check it out with my kids. As other commenters have mentioned, parking is rough, but we lucked out with street parking across from the library...whoo hoo! Upon arrival (around 1:45), I waited to be greeted; once a staff member was available I let him know we were checking in for Session 2, which he looked kind of lost about and made me question myself, but I told him about the IG posting and he quickly said "yeah, its $5 all day pass, you can climb as much as you want." And THAT WAS IT. He turned around to another staff member about the waiver form, she ends up taking over and he took off. I completed the waiver form. I asked about shoes for climbing because they didn't ask me, in addition to harnesses and rope. The young lady stated it was all free climb at their location. Didn't know that. They didn't ask if we needed climbing chalk, or even to ask if it was our first time climbing. It was a very poor introduction and subpar customer service for US (may be different pending who you deal with). After that, we moved into the main room where we were given some quick Safety Rules (2-3 min); she pointed to a gym in the back of the space with treadmills and workout machine that were available to use. We were on our own soon after. Everything is pretty much centralized, so the small room near bathrooms was setup with a virtual climb; they also had about 3 pizza boxes and 2 bottles of almost empty drinks. My kids were able to get a gulp LOL which was nice because they needed it after the nice workout from climbing. When we leaving, my kids wanted to get some candy, so we waited online for the person who was checking in another couple to climb, but she took them to the back, so we waited for another staff member who was wrapping up with another person. A couple of guys walked in from outside, and when that staff person was done, she completely skipped over us and took the people who walked in from outside. How RUDE! We left after that. Overall experience, we stayed 45 mins to 1-hr, for the kids first time they got a good workout and enjoyed the experience. Me however, I was very unwhelmed by this location - but I still want to try out Hoboken's location. They are brighter, bigger and hopefully with better customer service.

WARNING: Parking was hard to find. The area had very limited parking availability. I had to park at…read morethe back by the hill and luckily it was freed by someone leaving the space. Otherwise I would have had to park into a private parking spot No top rope or lead climbing. No rope climbing in this gym The climbing area is normal, a bit tight with little space to sit behind to watch over. But it had approx. 3-4 walls for climbing and a nice cave section. The cave section was elevated (not too tall and not too short), wide, and cool. The time that I came here for climbing, most of the walls were set for bouldering competition style with zone and top. I believe there was a competition set for the weekend. So I wasn't able to properly judge its difficulty level compared to other gyms that I have been so far In addition, there is a separate room for fitness area. It seemed big and populated with everything you ever need for bodybuilding/powerlifting It also had a section with moonboard and kittle board section. Pretty nice for training However, the mattresses were old school in which you can notice separation between them. This is no good if your feet was to fall within them, you could get injured. Other gyms that I have been had mattresses continuous which helps you avoid getting injured Overall, this place seems to be a great place for bouldering only. Place is cozy and clean. Definitely recommended!

I've been coming here a whole lot more frequently since joining the recreational climbing team…read more (It's FREE for students, faculty and staff, so what's not to like?!) The routes get changed every semester or so for both bouldering and top rope climbing, and there are two auto-belays if you go there and don't have anyone to help belay you. (The people who go are also super nice--I've had people offer to belay me whenever I go alone!) They offer belay classes here as well--I think it's around $30, and once you're certified (they test you 3 times before letting you do your thing), you can come whenever you want! If you don't plan on getting belay-certified, you can still boulder whenever you want! :] For guests, it's just $5 for admission, which is about 1/4 the price of any day admission to the nearby climbing gyms. Harness rental is always free and shoe rental is $1 each time (free for your first time there though!)

I started rock climbing here about two years ago, and I have been in love with this place. The…read moreprice is unbeatable - FREE for Rutgers affiliates (student, faculty, staff), and $5 per admission for guests. This place has a great variety of top-rope climbing routes. The routes are updated each semester to offer fresh challenges. The staff are Rutgers students who are super friendly and helpful. Check out the Rutgers Recreational Rock Wall Facebook page for more information and upcoming events!

My go to climbing location for almost 20 years! A great location with a variety of route setting…read moreand space for training.

Amazing experience. Shout out to Cynthia who was so patient and knowledgeable. Assisted a 14 yr and…read more49 yr at the same time. Made us feel competent and safe. Can't wait to go again.

Fun, active and motivating! Tried Method Climbing and loved it. The playlist was on point, staff is…read morecool, the environment felt super chill (no intimidating gym energy), and perfect to hit with a group of friends. I went Monday 9pm-11pm and we were able to rotate through most of the walls, which made it feel like we got the full experience. Pro Tip: They offer first responder, student and climbing club discounts. Pricing is pretty solid: Day pass: $23 (unlimited climbing and access to gym for the day) Intro Package: $50 (2 week trial membership,unlimited climbing for 2 weeks, free intro classes, free rental gear and no initiation fee) Rental Gear: shoes $7 | harness $4 | chalk $4 | full package $12 If you want something social, challenging and fun.. this is it!

I have yet to actually practice in this gym, but I was invited for a tour and I was welcomed with…read moresuch warmth and excitement! I can't wait to follow up this review once I've tried it out!

An amazing climbing gym with friendly staff! It was my first time rock climbing and John was…read morehelpful giving tips and reassuring us the entire time to help us feel safe during our experience. The equipment was very easy to use and without a doubt, the guided session was a big help. There are many different rock climbing paths and levels of difficulty, plus bouldering as well. The gym is also very spacious. 10/10 experience, I didn't even want it to end. It's also such an amazing full body workout! I've been looking forward to going rock climbing again ever since!

[Updated Review from 5 stars to 3 stars to 4 stars]…read more Been a customer since its opening, i guess that makes me a 2+ year customer of this place. After spending this much time, I guess my review should be a legit and honest review There has been good and bads, most of the bads have been fixed, i.e. wifi password issues, scheduling, etc. What remains are the good. Tho, there are still some tiny room for improvement like: adding a weight scale in the workout area, add clothing racks into restroom doors to facilitate changing, add couple more rope anchors as they become scarce when its crowded at the corner, etc. These are minor, simple, and inexpensive suggestions to enhance customer experience... I come here for a workout and mostly stick to rope climbing. The length for the climbing are the tallest in the area, 60ft. And some overhang. Which is amazing for endurance workout. Most of the times this place hosts rope competition and perhaps building the next generation competitive youth/young athletes. Kudos contributing back to the community and helping parents help their kids grow and to have a shot at the big stage. A side effect of hosting competitions is that the settings left are compy style and spread out. They do their best to fill the routes afterwards, good work takes time, so lots of patience is needed. Compy routes might not be suitable for the recreational climber, as they are challenging and tailored to people who have been training consistently. Bad luck to you if you make a long trip and find closure and/or compy routes only, I guess should check social media for these kind of updates. For the normal routes, most of the times they put a lot of thought in the route and flow. I like that. Because the gym's size might be limited, they only have about thirty-ish leadable routes, sometimes I wish they could put three climbs in one route to maximize the number of climbs, like how they do it in other places in Europe and in Asia. Just a wishful thinking. In terms of the route style it can somehow be predictable. The recipe is usually reachy holds that requires deadpoint, and compy holds (perhaps next to the greatest holds), which might not work for people using the gym to train for outdoors climb and short people. Well, not everything is perfect and cant be picky in everything. I think it is good as is at the moment In terms of bouldering, I do not boulder often in here because of the limited bouldering space, hence limited offering and grade variability the gym provides. I've come to realization that the style is not suitable for me and can be very predictable. From v0 to v3, its quite straightforward, either too easy or just a staircase. From v4 onwards i feel they want you to cut feet. Most of the routes are either jumps, dyno, coordination, or reachy that you have to deadpoint or can barely reach it statically, with holds spread out without any holds in between. Feels like most are compy style that they aim to build the next generation for and for the big stage. Nothing wrong with the MO of the gym and what they are aiming for. Its actually good that they are aiming for specific customers, and they would know it best because I see other people getting rowdy, cheerful, and excited about all the jumps and dynos... But, this is definitely not for me. I've got too much at stake to get injured and become decomissioned for long time... So, I end up going to other gyms for hardcore bouldering: gp81, vital les, and sometimes even method climbing gym. It is just me tho. This place has a tension board 2 for training. I used to train with it until i realized it conditions me to those holds and makes me useless at rope climbing and bouldering. So i stopped using it. But it can be a great tool for core training and to get stronger. Overall, its a great gym for rope and not so much for bouldering. My two cents. If you never been here, i'd say its definitely worth coming to check it out. : )