First Look: BiotoxinPro Micro-Touch Infinity Suit
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Sending routes and problems is fun, but the most important priority in gym climbing, whether roped up or on the bouldering wall, is staying safe. With the novel coronavirus ravaging our country, however, safety no longer just means getting a solid spotter, tying a proper figure-eight or calling out the correct belay signals. COVID-19 can last for up to three days on surfaces, and particulate matter from infected coughs, sneezes, and breath can stay suspended for up to three hours in the air. Yikes.
But climbers are known for innovation. There were sore buttocks from hangdogging and whipping, and then there were padded harnesses. There were strained necks from belaying, and then there were reflective belay glasses. There were people who couldn’t understand the Hueco scale, and then there were routes graded with shapes and dots.
There was COVID-19, and now there is the BiotoxinPro Micro-Touch Infinity Suit. Climbers were begging for protection from infection, and now we have it. Retailing at $420.69, the Micro-Touch Infinity is a full-body, ultra tactile hazmat-style suit custom-made for climbing during the coronavirus pandemic.
With a full-face fog-resistant visor with anti-chalk coating, the Micro-Touch infinity gives almost 75% range of vision with minimal smearing or disruption from chalk. The hood comes with an adjustable head strap, and also has a state-of-the-art audio mute feature that I found useful for minimizing spray from gym bros. The suit’s built-in gloves fit like a second layer of skin and grip well, thanks to Advanced Expert Triple Threat microfiber-engineered rubber on the palms. I had no problem crimping or pinching. That said, contact on slopers is still a bit difficult, as I found my hand often slipping back into the sleeve despite the wrist cuffs.
The Micro-Touch Infinity has built-in ultra-thin super-flex booties that fit snug to your feet, allowing climbers to put their shoes on over the suit. This gives a “socks with shoes” feel that is less than ideal, but it allows no point of entry for microbes. With protection as the primary concern here, we aren’t docking points too much. The access point is a zipper on the back, similar to a wetsuit. This does require the suit to be almost completely taken off for bathroom breaks… so for male wearers, urinals are basically off limits.
The only real downside though… this suit is incredibly hot. After a couple V2 laps I was already completely soaked in sweat. The quick fix for this is to go commando, no clothes at all. “What?” you’re probably thinking. But relax… no one will know you’re naked under your Micro-Touch Infinity. It’s just like climbing nude in public, without the social backlash. In some ways, I found this experience to be the best thing about wearing the Micro-Touch Infinity, so don’t dock it until you give it a chance.
All in all, the BiotoxinPro Micro-Touch Infinity Suit is a must-have for COVID-19 climbing. There simply isn’t any other product on the market to compare. As the only hazmat suit out there custom-built for climbing, we can’t advise you to do anything else besides shell out your $420.69 and suit up.
Gym Climber vigorously tests all gear it reviews for either 50 days or 50 pitches. This is a time-consuming process and limits the amount of new equipment we can present to our readers. Every year hundreds of new products hit store shelves, and most of these aren’t reviewed due to our stringent selection and review process. To better keep you more up to date on what is new, we present First Look. Gear in First Look has not always been field tested, but is gear we think you’d like to know about as soon as it is available. Some of the gear will be reviewed using our 50 days/50 pitches criteria, in future print and online editions of Gym Climber. We have opted to use affiliate links in our gear reviews. Every time you buy something after clicking on links in our gear articles you’re helping support our magazine.