Hangar 18 Indoor Climbing Gym - Long Beach

2599 E Willow St, Signal Hill, CA 90755, USA

Address:	2599 E Willow St, Signal Hill, CA 90755, USA
Phone:	+1 562-981-3200
Site:	climbhangar18.com
Rating:	4.3
Working:	10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–8PM 10AM–8PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

Ben Sweeney

This review is for Hangar 18s 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 shouldnt go if youre looking to boulder. Heres why: Most of the routes havent 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 theyre 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, its a free for all. It felt like every move was supposed to be another crux move. Thats not to say that every move was a crux move, theyre not all that hard, theyre just all that awkward and unreasonable. Its 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 about doing that.

Stephanie Han

I got their Black Friday deal, which was $5 for one month membership (fyi, you give them a credit card # and theyll start charging you reg monthly membership price after the promo month, unless you cancel in writing). Id 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 Id have to say its not bad. Its close and convenient, which has been motivating me to go 1-2 times a week (something Id 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 Ive 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, Ive been enjoying the challenge of becoming a better climber and getting a workout that complements my running. Some things to note: - Ive learned the basics of top rope climbing at other places so I wasnt 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 dont require a belay test or anything so they just assume you know what the hell youre doing if you dont ask.

Nicolas Wilhelm

BACKGROUND I was visiting from out of town and stopped by here for a bouldering session. I boulder V6/7 and have climbed at rock gyms in UT, CA, NY, DC, CO, NJ, and PA. DESCRIPTION The gym is relatively small and bouldering oriented, with shorter 30ish foot walls. Thick pads cover the entire gym and protect you on higher bouldering problems. There is an entire ceiling that is set and bolted for lead. The bouldering features a large central Boulder and routes around its exterior. GRADING Grading is relatively stiff as compared to larger more franchise gyms, so dont expect to climb the same grades as at Earthtreks. SETTING Setting is more dynamic and often features a big reach for crux moves. There is a shortage of technical climbing here, in favor overhanging routes. Holds are well used and routes are not taped in favor of color coded holds. It was sometimes confusing identifying what holds were on for a route because similarly colored routes were set next to each other, so I found myself asking local climbers which holds were on. AMENITIES Pretty barebones, no locker room but cubbies to store gear, a yoga room, and a weightlifting area. VIBE The music here was chill and fun to climb to. Locals were very friendly and the staff was very helpful. This feels like a nice local gym I would climb at if I lived close-by.

Matthew Flewelling

This review is for the bouldering. I hate to give bad reviews but hopefully someone will see it and fix it. First off, I am by no means and expert climber, I can blunder my way up a V1 if Im having a really good day, and can on-sight VBs and most V0s. Well, usually. I was going to be in long beach for the day so i grabbed my shoes and my chalk and figured Id check out the Hangar 18 on my way through for a quick bouldering. Maybe I just suck but WTF!? First of all not many low level routes and the ones that are marked as VBs and V0s are way above anything Im used to. Second, the routes are marked with same color holds, sadly the colors are not much different. Swirly white and blue looks alot like swirly white and grey when youre on the wall. Secondly, back to the difficulty level just cause you have a bunch of jugs it doesnt make it a V0. The reaches are awkward at best and the footing is, well, crap. As mentioned in other reviews its all weird dyno moves, even on the "easy" stuff. That said, didnt get a chance to top rope, and it looks like thats their main offering. Dont mean to s*it all over the bouldering, just hope they relay some of the routes and offer more for mushy noobs like me.

Bradley Johnson

Great little gym! Its not as big or flashy as some of the gyms in LA, but they also arent charging $80 a month or an initiation fee. I think a lot of the negative reviews on here might be from a while ago, because the gym has changed quite a bit over the past year. Theyve made a lot of improvement on both the climbing holds and the route setting. They reset a large swath of holds (approx 20-30 ft wide) every Monday so the gym is constantly changing. Theyre also continually adding new styles of holds. Some of them Ive never encountered at any other gym. The grading is on the stiff side. After climbing here for a while I started checking out other gyms, and realized that routes are typically a full grade lower (v4 here is about v5 at most other gyms). Staff is friendly, and so are the local climbers. Amenities aside from climbing are pretty minimal, but they do have yoga classes for members. Theyve started setting a World Cup problem as well for those who want to test their skills against the pros. Good luck!

Morison Woo

Came here with my friend, Shanon, because we had a groupon deal for a 1 month membership. Ive been to the Hangar in Upland twice, and my third time was to this location. I loved this location a lot more than the Upland one. The staff here are all really nice, and I took the Top Roping class. The staff was very patient as they taught every step, from tying the knots to securing the hooks. The bouldering section has a lot more variety too. If you are a beginner like me, you will find this gym to be more exciting than the other one. The beginners section also has inclined walls, so you can already challenge yourself in a variety of different ways. The mats here are also softer, so you dont have to worry about falling for higher heights. They also close at 10pm, but unlike the other one, the staff here dont really rush to kick you out on the dot. Theyre actually pretty chill and just enjoy their work time there as much as the people who go there to climb. I do recommend checking them out!