The Gravity Vault Brick, NJ — Local services in Brick Township

I had been climbing at this gym consistently for about a year, but in the past six months I have decided to stop giving this facility my support. My last few visits in those six months have been a continually overall negative experience. I will leave what I thought were some of the pros and cons of the gym.

Pros: -It is a rather new facility that is relatively clean.

-The walls and angles vary enough to keep the climbing engaging and not feel mundane.

-They have a lot of new and interesting climbing holds and volumes

Cons: -Although the gym is a decent size, the space was utilized poorly. An example would be the very tiny training area, or the never used yoga studio.

-The Kilter board section is placed in a very precarious spot. On the kilter board if you go for a hard move high up, you will be met with a vertical wall to your left or you will fly off the mat if you go right.

-The bouldering area is rather small

-The setting is very hit or miss, majority of the lower end grades (V0-V3/5.7-5.10+) are boring ladders. Unfortunately as the grades increase the quality of the movement does not.

-The grading seems to be very inconsistent

-The turnover for the boulders and ropes is very slow for how small the gym is (there are some sets that are almost 5-6 months old). Leaving many climbers with more to be desired from the setting.

-The staff seem unmotivated and undertrained

-for what they offer as far as climbing goes, the day pass and membership are way too expensive.

doesn’t really seem to have a community feel or vibe

When I first started climbing at GV Brick about a year ago, it seemed promising. Even though the gym was not the biggest and it had some flaws the gym had some good qualities, the biggest one being the awesome route setting, I don’t think owners realize how important quality route setting is for the success of their facility. I was engaged by almost everything I climbed from boulders to ropes, there was a great variety of styles, the grades seemed way more consistent and the climbs were being reset a lot more frequently. I remember vividly coming in one afternoon last fall while three of the setters were finishing up setting a new set in the bouldering area. The climbs were fantastic, from V0-V8, that was probably the one of the best sets that bouldering area had seen to date. I’m not sure what happened but since last December/January I have seen a steady decline of this gym especially in the setting. I hope the gym owner/owners and head route setter/setters see this review, the many similar reviews like this one and makes some changes to provide the community with the best possible product they can offer. Otherwise in a couple years or less this gym will be just like the many other GVs out there, just another cookie cutter gym that doesn’t care about it’s community, only the...

I can only say amazing things about our time at gravity vault! My daughter started there when she was 5 in one of the kids classes, she loved it from her first day! But the reason she loved it so much was because of this amazing instructor Crystal! Crystal noticed how much my kid enjoyed her first class and really made sure to encourage her. She was so great we signed up for private lessons and are still going strong 2 years later. Crystal goes above and beyond to support and encourage my child and all the kids i see her with to try to go that one more step higher and to hold on for that second longer and you can see after a class spent together how hard these kids work to reach their goal! Mandy is about to turn 8 and joined the intermediate team at brick and has made some friends that have encouraged her climbing even more!

If you have any hesitations about enrolling yourself or your kids in a program here i say go for it and ask for crystal! She is amazing and i can’t recommend her or gravity vault enough to my friends for their kids to have an activity that stimulates their bodies, brains , social activity and their self determination and self esteem! It’s truly an awesome sport with...

The theme of Gravity Vault: Brick is “Pay It Forward.” As an 8-year-veteran of the sport, GV: Brick is a gym that I would’ve expected to find itself lost near a literal ocean of clueless jersey shore beach-goers. Instead, it is supported by a group of engaged and discipled staffers trying to make a safe, clean and focused environment centered around a firm respect and passive acceptance of the dangers that come with introducing a climbing franchise into an uninitiated area. One of the setters, Mike, seems to cooly stare down a growing community of fresh over-eager climbers, but understands that to tame this town, GV: Brick needs to meet each new member with a refreshing amount of honesty and a desire to see them become healthier together before they become stronger climbers. As he told me during a brief chat, “It’s all of us versus the wall, not each other,” which is a shockingly mature statement to come from a serious climber in this part of NJ. I won’t be here for long since I am only on vacation for the weekend, but I am interested to see what kind of community I will find should I come back to this gym next summer....