Review: The Black Diamond Hot Forge Heated Chalk Bag

Update: They sold out in one day. More coming in early May.

On April 1, Black Diamond released their newest and most ingenious idea to solve cold fingers at the crag: the Black Diamond Hot Forge Heated Chalk Bag.

On April 1 of 2017, Black Diamond released the HonnSolo climbing pack with Alex Honnold for April Fools.

And this year, Black Diamond and Honnold teamed up again to produce the first available heated chalked.

“After soling El Cap, I decided to focus all of my energy on sport climbing,” said Honnold.

“But the transition wasn’t as easy as you’d think. I mean, soling El Cap is one thing, but sending a heinously crimpy 5.14 in sending temps? Now, that’s burly. I tried everything to keep my fingers from going numb,” he said.

Combining the technology of its heated gloves, Hot Forge jackets and amazing chalk bags, Black Diamond has changed how climbers will plan their road trips.

Just because the temps are cold, doesn’t mean you can’t get after it.

Despite appearing as a joke, the Hot Forge Heated Chalk Bag is very real and we tested it on April 1 at a cold crag in Ontario.

It features fully rechargeable AddHeat Technology, which provides three-level warmth that’s controllable via an integrated LED switch. To heat your fingers, the button is intended to be squeezed while chalking up.

On the exterior, you’ll find 80 grams of baffled down insulation to keep the warmth where you need it—inside your chalk bag.

It includes a lithium-ion battery and wall charger with international adapters.

The battery life with a full charge will last up to eight hours on a low charge, and two on high.

It was the most effective chalk bag we’d every used. Our testers all said that in between crimping cold rock, their digits warmed quickly in the new chalk bag.

We highly recommend the Black Diamond Hot Forge Heated Chalk Bag to all you Canadian rock climbers.

This is an exclusive item so head to Black Diamond to get your Hot Forge Heated Chalk Bag now here.