Hangar 18 Indoor Climbing Gym - Long Beach — Attraction in Signal Hill

In short, the quality of customer service and class instruction offered at this facility varied greatly between the associates. So if you have a subpar experience w/ an associate/instructor (like we did), you may want to sign up/deal with a different staff.

On 1/2/2023, my partner (beginner climber) and I (a complete novice) showed up for an intro to rock climbing class. 3 other participants joined us; all got outfitted on time and waited.

The instructor (light brown, curly hair, bespectacled male) began the class 10-15 min late and w/o the usual introductions (e.g. the instructor’s name/qualifications, participants’ names and asking about our prior climbing experience, etc.). After a few min into the class, he mentioned his name.

The instruction was roughly divided into four parts: 1) tying a figure 8 knot; 2) taking in slack using the gri gri and the 4 point safety checks; 3) how to use the gri gri lever and hold the brake side of the rope to help a climber descend; and 4) basic commands between the belayer and climber.

Overall, the pace of the instruction felt rushed. Trying to squeeze in all the necessary information and the actual climbing/belaying demonstrations by all participants in the allotted 45 minutes resulted in: some key instructions being left out, -some participants not receiving adequate oversight by the instructor, -not allowing sufficient time needed to mentally digest the new information and become comfortable with manually working the ropes and gri gri, and creating panic (at least for me) and a potentially unsafe climbing environment for some participants.

There were definitely some noticeable gaps in the instruction and supervision. For instance, we were NOT instructed on the following: Proper belay stance *(prior to climbing) What the climber needs to do with his/her arms and legs when descending. *Whether there is any maximum safe weight differential between a belayer and climber. I had no idea if I (95 lbs) could safely belay my partner (190 lbs). *No explanation of the effect of rain/moisture (it was raining that day and a few days preceding) and how it could greatly increase the friction between the rope and gri gri, which would have explained why I had such trouble taking in slack (On our second visit (another rainy day), a very helpful and friendly female associate came over and explained this to me and to another female belayer and suggested that we use a thinner rope, which immediately solved the problem. She also showed us the proper belaying stance, watched us closely and gave us helpful feedback while we practiced belaying. I went back to the gym on a dry day and had absolutely no issues with taking in slack using the thicker rope. Air moisture matters!) *No live demonstration by the instructor that included both a belayer and an actual climber, to show how the whole thing came together. All of the demonstrations by the instructor involved a free hanging rope. *No bouldering basics or auto belay basics (Per their website, these are to be covered in the intro to rock climbing class.)

The worst part and the area needing the most improvement was the instructor’s communication. The class ended with the instructor saying to each participant, “you’re okay” to indicate his blessing. When he turned to me, he said sternly, “AND YOU, YOU SHOULDN’T BE BELAYING! I DON’T WANT YOU BELAYING UNLESS YOU’RE BEING OVERSEEN BY AN ASSOCIATE.” I agree that it was not safe for me belay that day using the thicker rope, which I should have been told before our belay session, not afterwards. And I indeed needed the instructor’s full attention while belaying, which I did not get. Having said that, there are so many, more encouraging and supportive ways to get the same message across than how he communicated.

Honestly, despite having purchased annual memberships, my partner and I would have hesitated returning to this facility, had we not received the help and support from the wonderful female associate. And I’m...

This review is for Hangar 18's bouldering; I did not top rope or sport climb today. Based on my experience, this place is terrible. The bottom line is that you just shouldn't go if you're looking to boulder. Here's why:

Most of the routes haven't been changed in over four months - the most recently updated one had been set sometime three months prior to my visit. This alone makes me not want to get a membership, which I was originally planning on doing before seeing the gym today. The routes at this gym are completely disorganized. Hangar 18, for some reason, insists on using only a couple different colors of tape (and a black sharpie, sometimes, when they're getting really creative), and the trail-colors often merge with one another at various points throughout each route making it almost impossible to determine where you are supposed to climb. There is one wall that is decently organized at the front entrance, but outside of that, the rest is very, very poorly crafted. It seems that whoever was responsible for setting most of these routes has an affinity for awkward, dynamic moves. In a good bouldering gym, each route will let you explore a combination of dynamic and static movements, and will test your abilities on a few of those moves in particular. But here, it's a free for all. It felt like every move was supposed to be another crux move. That's not to say that every move was a crux move, they're not all that hard, they're just all that awkward and unreasonable. It's like someone arbitrarily attached each piece and then threw a bunch of tape on the wall and called it a day!

This was a long and negative review, and I wish I could say this gym had some redeeming qualities, but after paying $16 to find only a few decent routes, you could say I am less than enthused...

I got their Black Friday deal, which was $5 for one month membership (fyi, you give them a credit card # and they'll start charging you reg monthly membership price after the promo month, unless you cancel in writing). I'd never been to this gym before I got the membership, but since a trusty friend said it was all right I decided to give it a try. So far I'd have to say it's not bad. It's close and convenient, which has been motivating me to go 1-2 times a week (something I'd definitely have to keep up to make it worth my while once the regular membership kicks in at $48/month). The facilities are decent and the monthly membership is some of the cheapest around for a climbing gym (compare to the $79 for Sender One in Tustin, which, admittedly, is an amazing place).

Plus, I get access to other Hangar 18 facilities, and I've been meeting up with friends at the Hawthorne location, which is better than this one. I have yet to take advantage of their classes or the friend pass, but hopefully all in good time. In the meantime, I've been enjoying the challenge of becoming a better climber and getting a workout that complements my running.

Some things to note: I've learned the basics of top rope climbing at other places so I wasn't a total n00b coming in here, which is good. It seems seriously understaffed here all the time, so depending on how many people are needing instruction/help you might have to wait a while

related to above: they don't require a belay test or anything so they just assume you know what the hell you're doing if...