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March 2024 by Dr. Andrea C.
Best climbing gym for beginner to intermediate climbers in nyc. Facilities are clean and spacious with many different types of walls, including multiple incline walls, a fun cave, and a recent Kilter Board addition. BkB's bouldering climbing grades have definitely gotten harder/steeper in recent years, but I always love the challenge of a having a large, seemingly endless selection of projects to work on that are actually at my level (V3-V4). At some gyms, I will blast through the V3's (and some easy V4's) quickly, but will often hit a difficulty wall when I go up to the next climbing grade, where I just can't find enough problems to work on that are at just the right level for me, a balance between being accessible, yet challenging. At Brooklyn Boulders, this is never an issue. You won't find another gym in the city with this much variety! Also, if you are into solo bouldering and want to do some top roping while you are there, they have many auto belay routes set up if you bring (or rent) a harness, which is always a great way to warm up. Lastly, they have a sauna in both their ladies and men's rooms! An epic way to end a workout, to kick back and relax those tight forearm and back muscles.
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December 2023 by Jason C.
I go a couple times a month. The community is great and the employees are very nice. I like how they always change the routes
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November 2023 by Calpurnia S
Horrible clientele. Antithetical to the values of climbing communities elsewhere. One of your clients threw hot coffee at a child and assaulted his father, then told him she’d like to burn his baby in an oven and yelled racialized insults. No action taken. Disgusted!!!
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October 2023 by Francis Distor
Great climbing gym, routes are very creative and unique since the walls are waxed so smearing is hard to do. The bouldering grades are definitely harder compared to other gyms (like Vital and Cliffs) not because the holds are smaller, but because it requires more technical skills rather than raw power.That being said, this gym gets a lower score due to all the kids and teenagers that run rampant around the climbing areas without supervision or direction from staff. It’s a great and beautiful gym with thoughtfully crafted routes, but the lack of etiquette ruins this place. Also it’s a sauna in the gym throughout the year.
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October 2023 by KAMI Y
I don't think their grading is bad! Literally their rootsetting style is creative, not dependent on only the climber's arm reach or muscle power level. Most tasks require appropriate beta movements to solve those. I think that setting style is more contemporary and interesting. I would definitely visit this gym again. Thanks for the good time!
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October 2023 by Aleena A.
Great LIC spot for indoor rock climbing! $30 for a day pass and $6 for the shoes and additional $6 for a harness which you can share if you'd like to try the rope walls. There are student discounts! Take your rented shoes off before going to the bathroom and you leave your stuff in cubbies by the walls. Friendly vibes and there's a secret spot inside to just chill and do homework. A great addition to LIC!
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September 2023 by Aaron Lee
Toby C. (You are amazing) made my birthday at Brooklyn boulders extremely special. Thank you for taking the time to setup our group and announcing my birthday on the loud speaker as I completed my climb! We had an amazing time and I will definitely be back again.-Aaron
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September 2023 by Hunter Olsen-Hodges
Got mixed feelings about this place. The facility itself is super rad and the vibes are good. Got a lot of cool amenities; co-working space, a sparkling water fountain, huge locker rooms, showers, and more.It’s a unique place and it’s got a good variety of walls from slab to overhang and a cave.However that’s unfortunately where the praise starts to end.The grading of routes in this gym is just straight up bad. It not that it’s just wrong, it’s also crazy inconsistent.There was a top rope route that was rated a 5.10b that should have been easily a 5.10d and another that was rated a 5.10d that was so easy it should have been a 5.8Bouldering is no better. I feel the grading is straight up discouraging and confusing. The ramp up in difficulty from V2 to V3 is wild. The V3s and 4s here would be V5-6+ anywhere else. Most of the routes were in the V0-5 range. I saw one V10 and one was just labeled V Hard.I am by no means a super great climber but I can do V4-5s at pretty much every other gym I’ve been to in the country with 6s being a once in a while.Here though I couldn’t find a single V3 I could accomplish but I found a one V4 that I almost pulled off. The V4 was the only route I did that I sorta enjoy.The walls are also completely slick which is unfortunate but what’s more unfortunate is I feel the routesetters don’t take that into account when making their routes… also they must all like using just their upper body to start climbs cause most of the routes have bad foot holds or none at all at the starts.I got a 7 day pass cause the deal they had was so good and the facility itself is really cool, but honestly I’m so let down by the inconsistent and bad grading that I left frustrated and I don’t think I’ll go back.I really hate to be so critical but I feel it’s better to be honest so hopefully the gym can improve and that also others are aware of what they will experience here.
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September 2023 by Neil Basu
Would still be good if they didn't close down the cave area periodically so some kids can throw a ball around. Second time this week I've been wanting to climb cave but not allowed to
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August 2023 by Nic Thibodeaux
I've been to BKB Queensbridge 5 times now, and it's one of the more unique gyms I've visited. The route setting is much more challenging than any other gym I've been to - I would say I'm a solid V3 climber usually i.e. I can do most V3s and maybe 1/3 of V4s in other gyms. Here, I am more like a solid V2 climber - their V3s are much more challenging, and I've been unable to top a V4 so far.Other thoughts: I really enjoyed the free chalk stations, but the last time I went they were all removed, hoping they return in the future. Lack of smearing makes the betas a bit less fun, and you can only really rely on the holds. However, the routes here are some of the most interesting I've ever experienced, and the sheer amount of real estate is impressive for NYC. Overall a pretty solid gym!
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July 2023 by Matt F.
Best indoor rock climbing gym in the city hands down. No competition. Tons of space, lots of different style courses and lots of other exercise options here. Staff is very friendly and the place is very clean. Also the extras you can buy near the desk are all very reasonably priced (comparable to amazon prices)
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July 2023 by Sebastien Waltzing
My recent experience at Brooklyn Boulders left much to be desired. My primary issue was with the front desk employees who seemed uninterested in providing a solution for a booking problem I encountered. I had purchased a day pass online which, for some reason, wasn’t reflected in their system.Given that I had taken the time to commute to the location and had proof of my purchase, I expected that they might offer to honor the pass regardless, or at the very least provide some form of compensation. However, such flexibility was disappointingly absent. The staff appeared apathetic about the situation, showing a lack of compassion for the inconvenience caused.While I understand that technical issues can arise, the response from the employees seemed to reflect a lack of commitment to customer service. A simple gesture, such as offering a day pass, would have gone a long way in remedying the situation and showing goodwill. Instead, I was left feeling undervalued and dismissed.In conclusion, while Brooklyn Boulders may have a lot to offer in terms of facilities and climbing experiences, they need to seriously reconsider their approach to customer service. The quality of customer interaction can greatly impact the overall experience, and in this case, it left a sour taste in my mouth.Update: their management team has been very proactive in rectifying this issue by email. I look forward to my next visit.
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July 2023 by Laila J.
I went to Brooklyn Boulders today with my little brother and we had a blast. I believe his name was Paulo, he checked in, gave us a tour of the building, and few demonstrations on how to use the gear. Me and my brothers are absolutely beginners with like 0 upper body strength so even V0 was challenging. We were sweating so much and huffing and puffing. The people here are really kind and didn't laugh at us for falling but helped us and gave advice. The building is huge and very clean. They have lockers with a shower and sauna, yoga room, ping pong table, a workspace area and even free weights. On the walls I noticed they offer many classes and clubs such as the BKB Run club. We decided to get a family membership so we can come more frequently.
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July 2023 by Isobel Ojalvo
My normal gym, GP81, is in the middle of relocating so I am touring the rest of NYC’s gyms. Overall, I quite liked this one. I visited in the day time during the week so it was not too busy. The problems are a bit hard for the grade but interesting and technically challenging. The gym itself was a nice temp and they have some unique and high quality amenities like a flavored water refill station and a salad vending machine. The day pass at $25 is much more reasonable than the Cliffs or Vital. I’ll happily return until GP81 is back. :-)
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June 2023 by Su L.
This gym is a bunch of massively sandbagged one star climbs with a few three star gems. Pretty fun...and very strange! The climbs demand tons of tension and some of the sequences are very, very bizarre. I visited this gym twice when I was visiting NYC (I usually climb at the Touchstone gyms in LA). I think I prefer the setting because it was so unique. FWIW, I'm a boulderer and I've tried four other gyms in Brooklyn within the last year. I usually climb V6-8 indoor and V5-7 outdoors. At this gym I could climb V3-V5. I projected one V7. That being said - if I lived in NY and I was new to climbing, I might not become a member at this gym. Not necessarily because of the "hard" grading, but for some other factors: 1. Because the climbs aren't very straightforward, it might be hard to develop foundational technique or see a linear progression via grades. This might make it harder to assess your actual weaknesses in climbing 2. There also aren't a ton of different angles to climb on, and many of the routes are four to six moves maximum. 3. Some of the holds very old and are SO slippery they need to be retired. The walls are also glossy and don't allow for smearing, which is an important factor in outdoor climbing! 4. No boards. There is a spray wall but no Kilter, Moon, or Tension Board at this gym. Every other gym in the area has at least one of these and the standardization is an extremely helpful tool to assess progress as a climber. All in all, a fun experience at a cool gym! Just wanted to share some thoughts - happy climbing!
