Whew! Where do I begin... 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. read more

The Gravity Vault - Montclair - Rock Climbing Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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WARNING: Parking was hard to find. The area had very limited parking availability. I had to park at the 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! read more

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An employee assaulted me and pushed me and also said that people of my ethnicity are gross and that he will "definitely stay away from me because of that." I had to go through tooth and nail just to get the employee to give me the manager's contact to report him. The lower-manager would not give me the name of the employee nor the manager's contact before the police had to come. Really such a ridiculous situation all around. When I finally got in contact with higher ups at gravity vault they didn't care, and cancelled my $150 membership for misgendering an employee which scared her. This is an insane place. If there were no employees it would maybe be alright, but the staff (these ones in particular) makes it not worth the potential of being pushed by an employee with face tattoos and having an employee tell you that he doesn't like your ethnicity, trying to get a contact to report this leading to the interim manager calling the police on you, the police finally getting the manager to give me the contact of the higher-up, and then having the higher up say that none of this matters because their security footage doesn't capture sound, and the push is captured on the video, yet they do not care about that but rather the misgendering and cancel my membership of $150. It really makes no sense at all. Completely inept staff and managers, and their politics take a precedent over pretty much anything else. If you are Jewish do not go here, since that's what I am, and if you don't want to have an employee with face tattoos push you and tell you he doesn't like your race, be yelled at by employees, have the manager withhold information, and then have the higher ups not take any of this seriously and then cancel your $150 membership while keeping the money, then avoid here. I mean it really is an insane place. I can't believe this happened but it did. Crazy. 1/10. read more

Had a great time at the members' preview today for GV - Montclair. I was most excited for the anticipated fitness section, and it was worth the wait! There are dumbbells, kettle balls, medicine balls, treadmills, elliptical machines, benches, squat racks, and rowing machines. There is a fair, dedicated space for this purpose which is definitely great. The walls had some great climbs, including beginner levels to some tougher ones. I can foresee space being an issue - there isn't much space between walls for people to sit and watch as they tend to do. But, I think GV definitely did the best they could with what they had and they delivered. There were some table spaces with outlets for work, so a plus for anyone who's looking to climb and get some work done. The staff is really nice and explained some stuff that will still be coming, including this VR/game room, fitness classes including yoga and pilates, and lockers in the bathrooms. Also saw a shower in the women's bathroom. Parking was difficult, but that's to be expected in Montclair. I believe the gym is looking to remedy that issue as well. All in all, we had a great time here and can't wait to be back more often! read more

The Gravity Vault - Montclair - Rock Climbing Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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I had my son's 8th birthday here today, the staff was amazing and accommodating. It was so nice to have a kids birthday that wasn't overly crowded and the kids had time to play games and climb the walls. The staff was so amazing, they did everything, set up, clean up and keeping the kids occupied. Thank you so much! Enjoy the cake and pizza there is so much extra! read more

If anyone loves the Gravity Vault chain and want to visit one of their pure bouldering locations, I would definitely recommend checking out Montclair. Upon entrance, you immediately notice one of the best in gym stores in NJ and you'll be surrounded by bulletins of flyers and activities. It really aids to the community feel of the place, and I gotta say, it's a pretty cool community. Everyone was super chill and friendly. The staff were incredibly helpful and accommodating. The facilities itself was top notch. The gym was stocked with every piece of equipment you can think of and it still had a lot of elbow space despite the small area. The only downside was that there was only one of everything so when someone took something, you had to move on to another exercise while waiting for them to finish. Also, there wasn't any music playing in the room, and it's pretty closed off from the rest of the gym so it was pretty awkward when someone else came in. But those are small things that are easy to move on from. As for the setting, I would say that it was harder than other GV locations. At Hoboken, the setting is pretty versatile, but consistent with the style. At Montclair, there is a learning gap between certain grades is huge and I sometimes found myself thinking it was incorrectly graded. Not to say the climbs were impossible or not fun, but it can be deceiving when you first go. Overall though, it's a great workout and there are many technically challenging climbs there. read more

The Gravity Vault - Montclair - Rock Climbing Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

Been here since it's grand opening! One of my favorite places to go bouldering. Many climbs for all skill levels from just starting out to the more advanced. I love how there's literally endless climbs, unlike some other gravity vaults where you there's maybe 2 walls of climbs. No top rope or lead climbing, if you are looking for that. Fitness area has everything you can ever need for bodybuilding/powerlifting. Highly recommended! read more

The Gravity Vault - Montclair - Cave bouldering - Rock Climbing Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

I had my daughter's 8th birthday here and all the kids had a blast playing the interactive climbing games and their own private party room. The staff was super friendly & helpful setting up everything for the party and taking care of the children! I definitely want to look into my kids taking further classes here for fun. read more

Stopped by today to try the gym and shop for some climbing shoes and the staff was fantastic. Natasha was phenomenal with helping us find the perfect fit of shoes and in general being an A+ kind human being and the other crew members were really nice and friendly. Gym was clean and nicely varied and spaced, would recommend. read more