I'm a infrequent climber, if you can even call me that lol. Been to this place about a dozen times, and my daughter decided to have her 9th birthday here. I'm not knowledgeable on belaying, routes, difficulties, etc. However, I am knowledgeable on good people and feeling welcomed. RCF is definitely a good place for newbies. The staff is always welcoming, the people climbing are always willing to help when they can, and it's just a good vibe all around. My only disgruntle (and it isn't much of one), is when I called to book my daughter's birthday party, they said they didn't do birthday parties. But there was a birthday party there lol. I'm going to scratch it off as maybe me lacking to disclose it, and as you can tell I won't knock a star off so I'm not upset about it, but know there is an ability to have it for kids lol. RCF, keep up the good work. read more

Awesome to experience and we will be returning. The staff was willing to help us learn the basics of climbing, took us around the facility to teach us what the numbers on the wall meant; the appropriate way to fall without hurting ourselves and exchanging gear that was uncomfortable. The facility was clean, had enough space that you didn't feel on top of people and did not have to wait to climb particular walls. Highly recommended. read more

I have visited this location very few times but every time it just gets better. Patrick one of the employees was generous enough to show us some of the unique walls they offer to climb he was also more than happy to help belay one of us as well. If you're ever looking to have a fun and creative way to get a good work out I recommend this location. It's fitness disguised as fun. read more

Rock Climb Fairfield - Climbing Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

My boyfriend and I get memberships here whenever we are back in CT; It has a good amount of boulders and top ropes for all ranges of experience. I also had great help from the staff regarding fitting for climbing shoes, highly recommend! Mornings/early afternoon are usually not super busy so its amazing to (almost) have walls to yourself at that time read more

Mostly climbed just auto belay here; visiting from out of town. Every climb I did is sandbag graded, easily at least 2 full grades too low for the difficulty. Whereas other gyms grade based on the hardest move on a given climb, this gym ensures that all moves are the hardest move. It's very easy to get fully pumped out without feeling like I've had a complete work out. I'm a 5.11 climber, pushing into 5.12, at every other gym I've tried in several other cities around the country. Here at RCF there's a 5.9 that could pass as a 5.12 at my home gym. After inquiring with an employee about the sandbagging he had a glint in his eye and responded, "yeah we hear that a lot. we just do it a little different here." Beyond the poor accuracy in the grades, the route setting itself is not impressive or inspired. The climbs are uninteresting and do not flow well or present interesting beta challenges. Everything feels like it's just asking me to grunt harder. read more

We really enjoyed our visit. Instructor Julia was fantastic (and very patient) about walking my 6yr old daughter and her 9yr old cousin through all of the safety protocols and getting them setup to have fun. The facility is very impressive regardless of experience. I highly recommend. read more

Not a bad place if you live in the area considering the alternative is to go to New Rochelle or to drive to the city. Climbs range from 5.5 to 5.12b for top roping and lead climbing and v0 to v8 for bouldering. The climbs are color coded by the color of the holds which is not the most efficient use of wall space. New routes are also not set frequently but this may be due to the low traffic. Never really busy which is nice. Day passes for adults are $19 which is pricey so it makes sense to go for the annual membership if you are an avid climber. read more

Rock Climb Fairfield - Climbing Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

BLUF: Awesome gym for a wide range of climbing skills. Friendly staff and clean facility makes this a must go when I am near by. I was recently at Rock Climb Fairfield for a CCS competition and was impressed by my first visit to this gym. First of all, Rock Climb Fairfield is located in a trendy plaza full of fitness gyms including specialities in MMA, cross fit, yoga, and a variety of healthy restaurants and shops. All the buildings and establishments seem fairly new! At first, we were surprised that a climbing gym would be located here since all the buildings seemed to be a bit short. However, Rock Climb Fairfield is tucked away towards the back of the plaza and definitely has adequate facilities. There are two floors to the gym. On the first floor, there's a variety of bouldering walls with ropes for lead and top rope climbing lining the walls. Into a annex, there's a room with a top out boulder. On the second floor, there's an open area with tables and benches where you can rest and lockers to store personal items. There's also more rope climbs on the second floor as well as a few cardio machines. The climbs range from 5.5-5.13 or so with bouldering problems upwards of v7. There's a wide range of problems to accommodate all skill levels so don't be shy if you are a novice. All the employees have unique and skilled setting abilities to continuously set new problems. Additionally, if you need to get new gear, this is a great place to try and purchase since their prices mirror retail. Thanks for the great experience guys. read more

Rock Climb Fairfield - Climbing Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

The vibes are real at RCF. Great hold selection, good variety of terrain, and the setting is based.

I really like how frequently they change up the routes so I can fall in a completely different way each time!!! My partner rock climbs a few times a week, and I've witnessed the sense of community and good natured attitudes even the most skilled climbers have. Reasonable prices, and they have discounts for students! The rental gear is also very clean, as are the bathrooms and facilities in general. read more

Rock Climb Fairfield is a massive climbing facility with a huge amount of potential. The holds, equipment and setup are all very impressive. The major downfall of this gym, however, is the route setting. There seems to be a trend where harder routes are graded higher because they are less intuitive, involve unnatural moves, or just do not make sense. A proficient setter will create an intuitive, challenging, and flowing climb which incorporates advanced techniques which dictate the grade. There seems to be a lot of "body chucking" moves at this gym which increase the grade of the climb while the remainder of the climb might be on the lower range of difficulty. read more

Very cool gym but I had a bad experience with one of the staff members. I am new to rock climbing, I have done it before but need guidance. The staff member teaching me belittled me and made me feel like an idiot. I was struggling with some of the hand movements and he kept saying "it really isn't that hard" or "this is so simple you should've got it by now". Why would I keep coming here to learn with people who are not encouraging or helpful. I left feeling like this wasn't for me. But a friend got me to try a spot in new haven. Friendly staff and they have helped me hone in my skills. So if you're new to rock climbing I wouldn't try this gym. read more

This place is great! The geometry of the walls are super awesome, if your heavy, they might creak though. Super high ceilings, long routes. Top Roping is easy..with hard stuff too, of course. For TR they use colored holds, nice for beginners. Sport stuff is cool, with the high ceilings, great holds, and a CHERRYPICKER.... its more room for creativity. Bouldering is great there, lots of setters coming from all around. More holds than I thought was possible. Hard stuff to work, llegit setters, JAJ, NEESH, RIPPER, to name a few. Allot has changed since it opened, especially the routes and problems. Sweet place on a rainy afternoon or to get your pump on or learn to belay. Check it out... read more

So... I was bored on a Sunday and wanted a change of pace... I then decided to take a drive up the street (25 miles away) to this place. plus.... plenty of parking easy to find immediately of the I95 (and still easy to find off the Merit) inside... clean friendly enough staff tons of walls (these walls are higher than Brooklyn Boulders) a pretty open gym area negatives... none!!! is it worth the drive, yeah, will I go back... most definitely... this place is more a solid 4 1/2. A 5 in my book is to see how they handle a crowd... but yeah, if you're bored and don't mind the drive... check this place out!!!! read more

Had my daughter's birthday party here and was very impressed. The staff were great with the group of girls. lots of things to try and do. I wish I lived closer to it! read more

If you are looking to have a fun day of rock climbing, come here! We had Samori as our instructor. He was friendly and professional. We both felt safe and learned a lot. We did the "Personal Belay" 1 hour session, and had a good workout and would definitely recommend it. read more

Always wanted to try this and now I'm just sad it took me so long! Great place, clean and inviting when you walk in. Rachel, our instructor, was funny, engaged, motivating and made us comfortable right away. The hour sped by and I'll def be joining the gym - I'm totally hooked!! Such a great way to use your body and achieve something every wall you try! read more

After a successful and fun first visit, we returned with friends. Henry was great. This is a great activity for cold winter days. Kids and adults had a great time. Also, great location for brunch, drinks, and shopping after. The difficulty level goes up To 5.13. 5.7 is pretty difficult for beginners. 5.5 is fairly easy for beginners. read more

5/5 stars for the climbing walls, route setting, and basically everything! Will definitely come back.

Avid climber and have been to rock gulf all over the US - this gym and staff are 10/10! Highly recommend! Excellent bouldering, tall walls with auto belays, and challenging lead routes. Membership prices are very fair and gym is clean. Great for beginners as well!! read more

After climbing in gyms all over the East Coast, I must say this gym is doing it right !!!The overall comfortable community feel and excellent staff made the night pretty awesome. The gym was very well set by the setting staff, the kids club was training and very well behaved and everyone was super cool. They really have the full package of everything I would ever need to climb and train. They have a complete pro shop and a really good selection of places to grab a bite to eat close by. Thank you keep up the good work. read more

Did the personal belay course with José as our instructor. It was for one hour and I think we did a handful of different courses within that time period (although this will vary with experience and comfortability--how fast you get through each course to move on to the next). José was very friendly, informative, patient, and encouraging. We kept our personal belongings in cubbies under a bench on the second floor. He showed us how to tie a figure 8 knot and encouraged us to tie it ourselves every time we started a new course. He also showed us how to use the climbing machine/equipment if we wanted to come back and use the day pass with no instructor. As we moved to a different course, we had a positive engagement with another instructor. He asked us how we were doing and how we were liking the personal belay so far. Front desk staff were nice and helpful. Facility was busy but not overcrowded. We went on a Saturday at 3pm. There were a lot of kids there at the time which made the atmosphere even more fun in my opinion. I would definitely recommend stretching especially hands and arms. Expect to be very sore the next day haha. Personal belay was purchased and scheduled on their website. Deposit was charged at the time and at the end of our course the remaining balance was paid. Also, don't forget to tip your belay instructor! read more

Rock Climb Fairfield - Climbing Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

Here's a tip, when someone of a different shade of color dark skin, light skin, anyone of a different race religion comes into your establishment asking about prices don't give them dirty looks and give them the side eye because they aren't of that said color you expect to walk into your business. You just made a woman cry with her kids and overcharged them from what was posted online and the kids (KIDS) took it personally because of their skin color because of whoever is running the place made the kids feel very uncomfortable and it was because of their skin color. We don't play that here in Connecticut we voted Blue this isn't Arkansas. Keep your personal beliefs indoors at home! That is if you want to make money. read more

Love this gym. Best climbing gym in the state. Lots of great walls, relaxed atmosphere, great friendly, diverse (all shapes, sizes, colors, ages and genders) talented staff. Will be a member for a long time to come! read more

I went here a couple days ago. I was impressed by the amount of space the gym had. Some of the staff are encouraging and kind. Other staff members were cold and acted like they didn't want to work there. Overall, this place is a decent place, but nothing to get overly excited about. read more

This was one of the best experiences I had. My friends and I decided to go rock climbing for the first time yesterday and boy was it wonderful. Jose and Chris B were such great instructors. They explained everything to us very clearly and made us all feel safe . One top of that we had fun and did not feel discouraged during the hard climbs. I will definitely recommend this place. read more

Awesome staff and awesome climbing for all ability levels. From what I hear, this place has made HUGE improvements since first opening. If you haven't been in a while I'd certainly check it out! read more

Unfortunately, this was placed in the middle of Fairfield, Connecticut for a reason: Money. The gym appeals to unexperienced families with young children as a "family experience." It is not meant for those in the area who are serious about climbing and love to do it. I figured this out when I discovered the outstanding difference in price between the Fairfield Carabiner's and MA one. Also, I am not an employee at this gym but I still get a pit in my stomach whenever I walk in and see their manager, Alicia at the desk. Her personality and overall "vibe" sends a bitter cold through the air that makes you want to flee the other way. She was incredibly nice when I first met her but once she realized that I was becoming a regular, she did not need to be nice to me anymore and treated me like she treats her employees -- with as little respect as possible. Do not be fooled by her fake energetics. As for the owner, I've only met him a few times but the way he watches women like a dog watches a piece of steak on the grill is extremely unprofessional and uncomfortable. I've watched many friends, many positive, exceptional, talented friends leave their jobs at Carabiner's because of the management alone. If you like to climb, want to be treated with respect, and not spend every dollar in your wallet, do not go to this gym. read more

I always have a good time climbing at Carabiners. They play great music which adds to the experience. I climbed a few times at the New Haven Rock Gym which is now gone. But Carabiner's is much closer and way more convenient. I took a beginners belay class here and my instructor was great. Everyone that works there is very nice, helpful and easy going. I'm a fan. read more

I had a great experience. Very friendly staff and climbers. I was there on a week night so it was not real busy (not sure about weekends). Getting by belay test was efficient and didn't take long. A LOT of climbing! You can even dry tool "ice". The colored holds have a bit of "sameness" to them but the fact that you aren't looking over your shoulder for tape colors (or mising tape) almost makes up for it. read more

I second many of the other negative reviews of this place. I have been waiting a very long time for this place to open since Go Vertical in Stamford closed. The routes and boulder problems are rarely changed, and often set by individuals with extremely limited climbing and setting experience. The color coded holds to denote routes means they often lack variety in their routes. There are many routes which are not set well/properly due to lack of foot holds purchased by the gym and lack of variety of the holds purchased. The 'hard' routes and problems are hard usually due to poor setting rather then difficulty of movement. It has been stated on several occations that this gym specifically does not hire expeirenced rock climbers. I know for a fact this is true so I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT TAKING ANY COURSES AT THIS GYM LOCATION. GO WITH AN EXPERIENCED GUIDE LIKE EMS GUIDES OR AN OUTFIT IN NEW PALTZ, NY. read more

Great to see this gym under new ownership and moving in a great direction. Staff seems awesome and facilities are improving. Routes could still use some work (ie footchips). Hopefully on the list are some quality hold purchases over the long run. . . The original owner bought 100s of the cheapest holds he could find and they leave a lot to be desired for the veteran climber. Would be cool to see them sell off the junk and slowly get more new holds and focus on higher density of routes on their walls (maybe switch to taping all routes). Go Vertical used to have a huge climbing community supporting it... would be cool to see that sort of thing grow around this gym now that the old owner and manager are gone. read more

Awesome experience, clean facility! Friendly staff and customers. Rock climbing is definitely harder than it looks but the friendly staff is great at encourage you to push your limits. This place is great for people of all ages and reasonably priced! read more

Great place to learn! The staff is very friendly and helpful. You can pay for a personal 1 hour belay, take a belay certification course, and once you're certified, can climb climb climb to your heart's desire. The walls and heights may seem intimidating a first, but once you start, it's so much fun. I hope to come back soon! read more

Went here for a date night with my husband on a Friday. The staff was very helpful, genuine, and courteous. They also maximized our time for the hour climbing block by getting us ready before our hour began so that we could use the full hour to climb. I had never climbed before and felt very comfortable with my instructor (David) after the first climb. read more

Great staff, awesome climbs, and good music. Great for beginners or experienced climbers. Been a member for over two years and I travel 25 minutes to get there and is always worth it. I never feel like the holds are worn out or routes have been up for too long. Highly recommend trying out climbs put up by Alan (AK); His climbs are right on grade and always have great movement. Also lots of great food spots close by. read more

Great gym, friendly staff (although I'm surprised at how many teens there are working there), and super fun routes! I've been to a number of gyms in the northeast and Pacific Northwest, and Carabiners is one of my favorites. I only give 4 stars because it looks like a lot of the routes that were up in December had been there since summer. Filthy holds (but I'm a climbing dirtbag, so it's okay) and I would've gotten bored climbing the same routes for months. Fun for the occasional visit when I'm visiting the east coast, though! read more

Rock Climb Fairfield - Who doesn't love a stemmy 5.9 to warm up on? So fun! - Climbing Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

We loved it here! The staff are so friendly and the place is incredible. I've never done this before and thought I would have a hard time climbing but I was surprised! The walls looked intimidating at first but our belay made it so much fun and less scary! I'm definitely coming back! read more

Great gym, super helpful staff. Took a one on one class to learn about climbing so I could belay on my own and the woman who ran the class was phenomenal. She was fun and kind, and made it more fun because of her shining personality. The gym is clean and the variety of difficulty is great for beginners as well as professionals. Can't wait to go back! read more

Had my son's 5 yr old birthday party with 20 kids and it was great. The staff were very helpful and facility was wonderful. Most all of the kids had a wonderful time. Overall a great experience. AND I climbed in Ca. years ago in gyms and this gym is as good or better than any I've been in. Large/many climbing areas. Helpful staff. Clean. Well maintained. read more