Cool new portaledge: the High Mountain Gear “Taco”
Most photos, shared with permission, are from AMGA Certified Rock Guides Lani Chapko and Sam Boyce, theclimbingguides.com. Connect with them for guided trips and clinics, including big wall instruction. Instagram: @the_climbing_school, Lani: @goatsonropes, Sam: @chossdiaries
Alpinesavvy was provided with a free sample of the Taco ledge for review. This in no way affected my opinion and review. I only recommend stuff I think is great. Whenever I get a review product like this, I'll always tell you about it up front.
Want to get a Taco Ledge? Use the discount code ALPINESAVVY10 to get 10% off your order from High Mountain Gear.
This is not an affiliate marketing link and I do not financially benefit from this deal. I extend this discount as a perk for my readers.
There's no experience in climbing quite like sleeping in a portaledge. After a long day of upward struggle, inching up cracks the width of Donnie Trump’s pinky finger, wrestling both the haul bag and your mental demons, you’ve reached the bivy. Time to set up the ledge, kick back with bare feet and a well-earned tasty beverage, watch the afternoon light fade to evening, and hear the Doppler “swhoosh” of the swallows streaking by. It’s a sublime experience you’ll remember for a lifetime.
For big wall vertical camping, you’re going to probably need a portaledge. Yep, they are solid and comfortable, but you pay a high price in cost, weight, bulk, and (usually) set up hassle.
Here’s an intriguing alternative that addresses all of these issues: the Taco inflatable hammock. It’s made in Seattle by climber and sewing ace Kyle Willis and High Mountain Gear.
It’s a single point hammock matched with an inflatable sleeping pad. The pad adds a lot more rigidity and comfort than a plain hammock, creating a ledge that’s inexpensive, ridiculously lightweight, very compact, reasonably comfy, and super easy to set up.
Cost: $299
Weight: 1 lb 13 oz / 822 grams
Size: 76" x 49"
Packed size: without a pad it packs into a cylinder about 5" diameter by 10" tall (not much bigger than a Nalgene water bottle!)
Pad dimensions: 18"-26" wide and up to 78" long. (Pad is NOT included in the price.)
It’s an intriguing option for certain big wall applications where you want to minimize your load and save money to spend on . . . I dunno, maybe a few more Totem cams?
Now, if a weight under 1 kg is not already light enough for you, Kyle is working on a new model made from Dyneema fabric that comes in close to a ridiculous 1 pound for the ledge alone. Yes, this version will be more expensive, but if shaving grams is important to you, it’s an option.
You can rig the Taco not only as a horizontal ledge to sleep in, but also as a reclining lounge chair. If you're looking at a multi hour belay session, it's hard to get much more plush than this. The Taco is so compact and easy to set up, that you might even want to keep it in the day bag and use it at every belay as a chair, if you're doing long pitches.
One big advantage of the Taco ledge is the ease of setup and breakdown. As anyone who’s tried to set up a ledge in the dark and has been tempted to reach for the wall hammer to persuade that last aluminum bar into position knows, this is a significant benefit.
You insert your sleeping pad and adjust the straps that secure it on the ground before liftoff. The pad stays inserted for the whole climb. On the wall, setting it up is pretty much clipping the Taco to one good suspension point (it needs about 5 feet of hang) and inflating the pad. To break it down, simply open up the air valve, roll it up, fold the sides inward, and put it in a stuff sack. This literally takes just a few minutes.
The base model comes at a very reasonable price of $299 (pad not included) as I write this in Oct 2024. A couple of highly recommended add-ons are a zipper storage pocket (perfect for big wall beverages, headlamp, etc.) and a stuff sack.
Note that nothing on the Taco is rated to be a safety connection. Always stay clipped in with a real tether/rope to a real anchor. (A tip I learned from big wall expert Mark Hudon: take a completely separate short length of rope, about 6 meters of 8mm rope, just for tying yourself in and moving around the bivy.)
Learn more: Check out this in-depth article from theclimbingguides.com with several videos covering installing the pad, hanging the Taco, and setting it up in lounge chair mode.
Below: Taco time on El Capitan. Photo by big wall ace Kevin DeWeese, @failfalling
image: Kevin DeWeese, https://www.instagram.com/p/CdOQBL6rWUu/
Pro tip from Kevin: Twist a carabiner in one of the straps to shorten it a bit if you need to even out the ledge; see photo below.
FAQ . . .
What's the best application for the Taco? Probably longer routes that may have a fair amount of natural ledges, but you still need to spend a few nights out and want to travel light, have easier (or zero) hauling, and hopefully climb in predictable dry weather. Think the nose on El Capitan, NW Face of Half Dome, and classic routes in Zion like Prodigal Sun or Spaceshot. If you're planning a climb longer than a few days, or in questionable weather, you probably want to go with a more traditional portaledge with a dedicated rain fly.
Is it like the G7 Pod ledge? The G7 Pod is another innovative design. That ledge is fully inflatable with no metal frame. Like the Taco, the G7 is lightweight, compact, and is fast to set up. It also appears more durable, and has an optional rainfly. I’ve never tried it, but it looks plush and has great reviews. It’s also $685 (with a rainfly an additional $375). The Taco is $240.
Tell me about the pad. A proper pad, which is NOT included, is critical to the functioning of the Taco. Without a pad, it’s an uncomfortable single point hammock, like big wallers suffered with 40 years ago (see photo below). The optimal pad is 72 inches with horizontal baffles, like the Thermarest Uber Neo Air. Field testing shows a pad with a grid works okay, and a pad with vertical air baffles does not work very well, “taco-ing” your shoulders, which is what we’re trying to avoid. A pad that’s tapered toward the feet and is wider at the shoulders seems to work better than a rectangular pad.
Can I get a double? No. Get two Tacos and stack them vertically.
What about a rainfly? Apparently as of autumn 2023, a rain fly does exist for the Taco! Check out this video.
Schweeet! Where do I get one?
Use the discount code ALPINESAVVY10 to get 10% off!
The hammock concept on big walls has been around for a very long time. Check out this classic photo from 1964 with Tom Frost, Royal Robbins, and Yvon Chouinard on the FA of North America Wall, El Capitan. Nope, that is most definitely not a comfortable way to spend the night. Photo credit, Tom Frost
image: Tom Frost, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tom_Frost_-_Tenement_flat_-_1964.jpg
