Climbing gear specialty store Summit Bound Outfitter stresses its commitment to providing quality goods and services locally. — Photos courtesy of Summit Bound Outfitter

By Cassidy Duncan

Summit Bound Outfitter prioritizes local in business. Started as an in-person solution to solve the inconvenience of buying rock climbing shoes online, they offer a specialty selection of climbing gear, adorning their walls with carabiners. Retro climbing films play on a TV, a wall of windows brings nature into the store, and folk music plays happily in the background. Unique, curated outdoor gear fills the space.

Seated across from me on the crash pad turned couches is co-owner Colin Maneval. He seamlessly waves to customers, friends, and colleagues passing by Summit Bound while earnestly answering my questions. Pina, Maneval’s dog, who makes an occasional appearance at the store, accompanied our conversation.

Rooted in local

Prior to opening Summit Bound Outfitters in 2024, Maneval always wanted to be a local business owner. A consistent and dedicated patron of small businesses, he spoke intently and convincingly about their enrichment to communities: “There’s something genuinely different [about] an experience when you know the person cares about the thing they’re selling. They care about the customer’s experience. They’re providing something that is not just a job for them, but something that is part of their life.” This spirit now extends to his ethos as a proprietor.

Seeking the appropriate spot to open a climbing specialty store, demographics led Maneval to Somerville, and culture settled Summit Bound Outfitter into Union Square. “Nearly every restaurant or store in this neighborhood is local… there’s also a really strong community among those business owners,” described Maneval.

There is even a section on the Summit Bound Outfitter website dedicated to Maneval’s favorite spots in Union Square.

Climbing, community, and curating third spaces

Roughly 25,000 people in the Boston Metro area are members of a climbing gym. Summit Bound has sold climbing shoes to thousands of those people, from brand new climbers to seasoned vets.

For the team at Summit Bound, their passion is evident. Alex, the Chief Sales Aficionado (according to his bio on their website), promptly joined our conversation as it turned to discussing the climbing community.

“I think the role that we want to bring is the personalization back into [retail]. We want to be part of the community and be like the cool skate shop, you come in, the people there love what they do. You’re going to get good, curated stuff for the activity that you want to spend time and money and effort on,” Alex said.

Riffing off his colleague, Maneval describes his vision for the store to be an intermediary between climbing gear designers and customers, supplying the product information that is often lost at big box stores. The team is eager to answer questions and talk gear and climbing with anyone who wants to learn more.

“We spend on average, depending on the customer, anywhere from 15 minutes on the low end to three hours with people,” Alex added in. “I feel like there’s very few places where that is the model. And I feel like for a lot of people, it’s huge, because it makes the activity way more accessible.”

“Climbing is for everybody.”

The people make the place

Maneval praises rock climbing’s physically and mentally stimulating components and knack for community building. “It’s socially weird to start conversations with strangers at most gyms, but it’s not at all at a rock climbing gym. It’s very normal to ask someone else for their advice… I think it is a great kind of third social, third space in 2026.”

The inherent community in climbing is modeled in Summit Bound Outfitter. Public yoga sessions, movie nights, and gear demos are frequently advertised on their Instagram (@summitboundoutfitter). They are planning climbing night meet-ups meant to weave different members of the community, whether you are looking for a climbing partner, are new to the sport, or just want to meet some passionate climbers.

Through working at Summit Bound, Alex shares his appreciation for getting to occupy different spaces in the community and the ability to weave people together. He describes the customers, turned climbing partners, turned friends, and consistent small interpersonal interactions that enrich his day-to-day.

“[Work] never feels soul-crushing,” Maneval said. “I come in, and I’m like, this is cool. This is a cool thing that I’m glad I’ve built, and the people we work with are awesome, and our customers are awesome. And whenever someone walks in the door, I’m like, excited to see what aspect of the product we sell are they interested in, that they want to learn [about] and try on.”

As he finished sharing his gratitude, Maneval fittingly waved to a regular passing by.