Class 5 Climbing

There is some amazing route setting. The gym is extremely clean and very welcoming. Great bouldering, top rope, and lead sections are available.

Class5 is the best climbing gym in the LAX area that can claim it cares about community-building and actually mean it. A true members-driven gym that doesn't rely on a constant parade of overpriced weekend birthday parties and youth programs to stay in the black, so that members have full access to climbing spaces whether on weekdays or weekends. Class5 has clean bathrooms and "working" exercise equipment. Class5 is fully stocked with towels at all times. Class5 has airy bright spaces. Class5 has staff who look like they actually enjoy working there. Class5's gym manager is competent, action-oriented, and genuinely welcoming. Class5 doesn't force members to circle for 30 minutes looking for parking spots, and even comes equipped with an EV charger. Class5 Climbing is awesome inside and out.

As an experienced climber who has visited the gym several times on a day pass or guest pass, I've been frustrated that the gym does not offer lead tests during normal hours. You need to either set up an appointment far in advance or happen to show up when the right staff member is working. If you aren't already a touchstone member, this is pretty annoying. Otherwise, it's a nice facility with unique bouldering walls.

Corporate garbage. I’ve climbed at plenty of gyms in the LA area and class 5 has the most inconsistent grading and least knowledgeable staff I’ve seen by far. At first I thought maybe it was just style differences, but the last straw was when I found a 5.11+ slab that’s just a jug ladder next to three 5.11- slabs that are crimpy and way more technically challenging. I understand that there will be some range discrepancy when you’re limited to the +/- scale rather than a/b/c/d, but it’s comically unreliable at this point. To be clear, I doubt it’s the fault of the setters themselves. Some routes are good, but way too many feel rushed and half-assed which leads me to believe it’s a management issue. Additionally, when my friends and I asked the front desk whether crack is on or off, the lady just said “yeah I wouldn’t know about that. Justin isn’t here today but he would be the guy to ask. Just have fun!” which made it egregiously obvious that they don’t teach their staff anything about climbing. Like girl we’re not asking for permission to use the crack- we’re trying to figure out the intended beta. This is all especially frustrating when you see how state-of-the-art the gym is with their equipment and upkeep. It seems like they care about anything and everything to bring people in except for the quality of the climbing itself. But, knowing how Touchstone treats its setters, I’m not all that surprised. If this gym were not geographically convenient, I would not climb here and neither would anyone in my friend group. We would choose a rinkydink gym with old holds but good routes and management over Class 5 any day of the week.

We visited with our two kids and unfortunately had a negative experience with one of the staff members, who was quite rude in the way she spoke to us. The instructions could have been given in a more polite and respectful manner. That said, the space itself is well maintained, and our kids enjoyed it and were able to burn off a lot of energy.