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Black Diamond was formed in 1989, when employees bought the assets of Chouinard Equipment - the outfit that pushed climbers off pitons and onto removable protection like the Camalot. The range has stayed narrow ever since: climbing hardware, harnesses, helmets, headlamps, trekking poles, and alpine kit. Wild Earth stocks it across climbing, hiking, lighting, and snow, with free shipping Australia-wide (bulky items excluded) and 80 days to return anything, sale items included.
Three things decide this: what the grip is made of, whether the pole folds or telescopes, and whether you need to change the length while you're moving. Almost everything else is detail.
Most hiking, most of the time: Pursuit
The Black Diamond Pursuit Trekking Poles are the pair we'd put most people on. Aluminium shafts, natural cork grips, and FlickLock+ levers you can work with gloves on. The cork matters more than it sounds: it absorbs sweat instead of getting slippery, and it doesn't wear through the way foam does. There's a grip extension below the handle so you can choke down on a steep pinch without stopping to re-set the length.
They come in two sizes rather than one universal length - S/M and M/L - so check your height against the size range before you order. Two variants sit alongside: the Black Diamond Pursuit FLZ Trekking Poles fold into three sections for packing, and the Black Diamond Pursuit Shock Trekking Poles add damping, which some people find takes the sting out of long descents.
Out most weekends, carrying weight: Alpine Carbon Cork
Carbon shafts, the same cork grip, and a single adjustment range wide enough that one pair fits most adults and can also pitch a trekking-pole shelter. This is the pole to buy if you use poles constantly and want them to last years. Carbon takes more of the jarring out of hard ground than aluminium does, and the weight saving is real over a long day.
Packing small, or moving fast: Distance Carbon Z
The Distance poles fold into three sections like a tent pole instead of collapsing into themselves, so they pack down to roughly a third of the length of a telescopic pole and disappear into a daypack or a carry-on bag. The trade is that the Carbon Z is a fixed length - you choose your size when you buy, and you can't lengthen it for a descent or shorten it for a climb. Foam grips rather than cork, and thinner straps.
In short: Pursuit for most people, Alpine Carbon Cork if you're out often and want carbon, Distance Carbon Z when packed size matters more than anything else.
Lumens is the number everyone compares and the least useful one. What matters is how long it runs at the brightness you'll genuinely use, whether it charges or takes AAAs, and how much weight you want sitting on your forehead at 5am.
Camp, reading and the walk back to the car: Astro 300-R and Cosmo 350-R
Small, light, rechargeable, and enough light for cooking, tent admin and a well-marked track. The Cosmo has a bit more output and a bit more weather sealing than the Astro. If a headlamp is something you own rather than something you use weekly, one of these is plenty.
The one to buy if you're only buying one: Spot 400
400 lumens, red night vision for reading in a tent without blinding the person next to you, and a sealed housing rated to survive being dropped in a creek. It's compact enough that you forget it's there, and the beam is good enough to walk uneven ground on half brightness. The Black Diamond Storm 450 Lumen Headlamp is the near neighbour: 50 more lumens, a bit heavier, shorter runtime, and it takes either three AAAs or Black Diamond's rechargeable battery pack. On a long remote trip that dual-fuel flexibility is worth more than the extra lumens - being able to buy AAAs at the servo beats carrying a power bank.
Off-track at night, alpine starts, long winter nights: Storm 500-R
The Black Diamond Storm 500 Lumen Rechargeable Headlamp is the serious one. Bigger battery, so it holds high output for hours rather than minutes, plus green and blue night vision alongside the red. It is properly waterproof, and it is built to be dropped.
Two honest caveats. It's heavier than the Spot, and you notice that on a running strap. And it charges over micro-USB rather than USB-C. Most hikers don't need it. If you're navigating off-track after dark, starting climbs before light or running long into the evening, you do.
In short: Spot 400 for most people, Storm 500-R if the dark is part of the plan, and a dual-fuel model if you can't count on charging.
Most people's first harness, and a lot of people's only harness, is the Momentum. Four gear loops, a pre-threaded waistbelt buckle so there's one less thing to get wrong when you tie in, and trakFIT leg loops that adjust for a thermal underneath without needing re-threading.
It comes as a Black Diamond Momentum Mens Climbing Harness and a Black Diamond Momentum Womens Climbing Harness. The difference is the rise - the distance between the leg loops and the waistbelt - which is cut longer on the women's version, so it sits where it should rather than riding up. There's a kids' full-body harness in the same family for younger climbers, which is the right call for anyone light enough to invert in a sit harness. If you're between sizes, sharing a harness across a family, or want one harness that works over summer shorts and winter layers, the Black Diamond Momentum 4S Climbing Harness has four buckles and a much wider fit range.
If you end up projecting hard sport routes and hanging in the harness for hours at a time, you will eventually want something lighter with fixed leg loops and thinner padding. For gym sessions, top-roping, trad and the occasional alpine day, the Momentum is enough harness and will outlast the phase.
The Momentum shoe in men's and women's is the one to learn in. It's built on a flat shape - no downturn through the toe - with a soft midsole and a breathable upper, in velcro and lace versions. That flat shape is what makes it wearable for a two-hour gym session, and what stops it edging on small holds once you're climbing harder.
On sizing: climbing shoes are meant to fit closer than street shoes but not painfully. Most people take a half to a full size down from their street size in the Momentum, and the answer is less aggressive than the internet suggests. If you can get to Burleigh Heads or Brisbane, try them on.
Carabiners get chosen by gate and by shape. Wiregate biners are lighter and less prone to the gate flicking open under vibration, which is why they end up on the rack end of quickdraws. Screwgates and other locking biners are what you use for belaying, anchors and anything you'd rather not think about twice. A quickdraw is a pair of carabiners joined by a stitched dogbone, and a hybrid draw - keylock carabiner at the bolt, wiregate at the rope - is the sensible all-round choice.
For trad, the Camalot C4 is the cam most Australian racks get built around. The double-axle design gives each size a wider range than a single-axle cam, which means fewer cams for the same coverage. Sizes run from the small end up through the big #5 and #6. The useful thing nobody tells you when you buy your first set: doubles in the middle sizes beat one of everything, because the middle sizes are what most routes actually eat.
Helmets are sized by head circumference, not by hat size, so measure around your head just above the ears before ordering - and if you wear a beanie under it in winter, allow for that. Hardshell helmets take repeated knocks and abuse better and cost less; foam-construction helmets are lighter and cooler and are what you want for long multi-pitch days where you'll forget you're wearing it. MIPS versions add a slip layer designed to reduce rotational force in an angled impact rather than a straight-down one.
One thing that applies to every helmet regardless of brand: a helmet that has taken a serious hit is finished, even if it looks fine. Replace it.
Climbing: climbing harnesses · carabiners · quickdraws · anchors and cams · belay devices · climbing ropes · climbing slings · climbing helmets · chalk bags · chalk · crash pads · hangboards · climbing shoes
Hiking: hiking poles · folding hiking poles · telescopic hiking poles · hiking pole accessories · gaiters
Lighting: head lamps · torches
Snow and Alpine: crampons · ice axes · snow helmets · snow gloves
Packs: daypacks · hiking packs
Free shipping Australia-wide, bulky items excluded, and 80 days to return anything including sale items. Full detail is on our shipping and returns pages.
Climbing safety equipment is the exception, and it's an important one. Harnesses, ropes, carabiners, quickdraws, slings, cams and helmets can't be returned unless they're faulty. That isn't us being difficult - it's so that the next person buying a harness knows with certainty that it has never been out of the shop, never been loaded, and never been stored somewhere we can't account for. If something is faulty, that's a different conversation and your rights under Australian Consumer Law are unaffected - contact us and we'll sort it out.
If you'd rather size a harness, helmet, or pair of climbing shoes on before you commit, both stores carry the range. You'll find opening hours on the store locations page.
What size Black Diamond trekking poles do I need?
Most Black Diamond poles come in two size ranges rather than one adjustable length - commonly S/M and M/L - and which one you need depends on your height. The check that matters: set the pole so that when the tip is on the ground beside your foot, your elbow sits at about a right angle. Shorter than that on climbs, longer on descents. If you're between the two ranges, the telescopic poles give you more room to move than the fixed-length folding ones.
Do Black Diamond climbing shoes fit like normal shoes?
No - they're meant to fit closer. Most people go a half to a full size below their street size in the Momentum, which is a gentler drop than aggressive performance shoes ask for. Shoes with a soft, flat shape like the Momentum stretch a little with wear; stiffer shoes stretch less. If you can get to a store, try a pair on.
Can I return Black Diamond climbing gear if it doesn't fit?
Not for climbing safety equipment - harnesses, helmets, ropes, carabiners, quickdraws, slings and cams are excluded from the 80-day returns policy unless they're faulty. Everything else in the Black Diamond range, including trekking poles, headlamps, climbing shoes, packs, and gloves, is covered by the standard 80 days. If you’re unsure about a harness or helmet size, ask us first.
What's the warranty on Black Diamond gear in Australia?
Black Diamond's own warranty terms vary by product line, and hardware with a rated strength is treated differently to a headlamp or a pair of poles. Separately from anything a manufacturer offers, Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply to everything we sell and can't be signed away - if a product fails when it shouldn't have, you're entitled to a remedy. Contact us with your order number and photos and we'll handle it for you.
How long does climbing gear last before it needs replacing?
Soft goods - harnesses, ropes, slings - have a finite life whether you use them or not, because the fibres degrade. Metal hardware lasts longer but is not immortal, and anything that has taken a big fall, or a sharp impact should be retired. Every piece of Black Diamond gear carries the manufacturer's guidance on inspection and retirement, and it's worth reading once properly rather than assuming. If you've bought second-hand gear and you don't know its history, don't climb on it.
Is the Momentum a harness or a climbing shoe?
Both. Black Diamond uses Momentum as a family name across their entry-level climbing kit, so there's a Momentum harness in men's, women's and kids' versions, and a separate Momentum climbing shoe in velcro and lace.
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