Don't be stupider than you already are. Either quit bitching (which you have been doing for ages) or fuck off. Reread Trask's post a few hundred times if you don't get it.
J_B if you don't like it, go to mtncommunity.org, rockclimbing.com, or some other PC shithole. Nobody makes you spray, likewise, nobody keeps you from leaving. Shut up.
I support the small shops. I had some bad experiences with overseas euro shops. They're too damn far away to deal with if you don't get what you want. Besides, I only buy expensive stuff when it is on sale. So the price difference isn't that big.
I second Lambone on BD. I like nearly everything that BD makes. Sure, my Drytool gloves started falling apart, but I whipped out the sewing machine and sewed that seam up good. Their ice tools are really nice, though I don't know about their crampons. Their pro is the shit. I love their biners. And I have never had any of my gear recalled.
Take it easy, finding climbing partners here is really not hard. Like I said, you'll be set as soon as you meet a few people at pub club. What information do you want?
Did you do that search for Amber yet?
pub club? you mean a bunch of drunk spraylords with 25% body fat
Wasn't Whillans more like 95% body fat? He still got up stuff.