VITAL Climbing Gym - Brooklyn

I've been here multiple times as a guest and it's always been a great experience. The setting is great across multiple grades, from beginners to advanced. The gym itself is super well equipped and then the rooftop is of course the gem in the summer.

I've only been here 3 or 4 times, but it is my favorite climbing gym in the western Queens/northern Brooklyn area. I prefer bouldering on my own. This place is cool and has good vibes. Like most climbing gyms, everybody (staff and users) is friendly. I came here years ago not long after it opened and since then, they have offered me a free climb on my birthday each year. It's not much, but it does keep me coming back and reccomending it. My birthday is coming up, and they just sent me another "come and climb for free" offer. It is the day that I get to shirk all my responsibilites and get to do this for myself. Thank Vital - my favorite recreational activity on my birthday! I'm only sorry that I don't get to come in more often. Update: I’m here in my birthday. Thanks again Vital! Great bouldering facility (only some of the first floor is pictured). Even the individual bathrooms are clean and smell nice! Gotta go climb!

This gym is epic. The day I went they had a citizens comp that morning. They had reset 3/4 of the gym with compstyle boulders labeled 1 to about 45. The higher the number the harder the bolder. They had really good quality comp style problems in the v3 to v6 range, which is incredibly rare to find. All of the popular movements and styles were represented. I was able to climb up to about number 30, which felt around v7. The other part of the gym with the more traditional boulders was also excellent. The quality of the route setting in this gym is just about the best I've ever seen in over 50+ gym visits. It's a modern climbing style, not like the stuff you would find out west, but really high quality gym style climbing with the latest and greatest holds, the largest and most exotic assortment of volumes I have ever seen, stacked and inverted and doing all kinds of crazy stuff. There's a rooftop open-air bouldering area which is insane, but I went in November and you could only really climb in the middle of the day. However at night they had a huge fire pit blasting away and you could sit and look at the city. For architecture and amenities this gym was outstanding. Unfortunately the bathrooms were dirty, and the gym seems understaffed. The day pass is $35 but because of the citizens comp I only paid $20. It seems expensive but if you love climbing and have the chance to check out this gym, it'll be a legendary experience.

Great bouldering-only climbing gym that has an expansive selection of bouldering routes on the first floor and outdoor climbing on the rooftop as well. They also hold classes for yoga, cycling, and general fitness, and have a long picnic style table for people to get some work done by the entryway. A few pros and cons below: Pros: - Very large area of bouldering walls offering varying difficulties and terrain. - Outdoor climbing on the roof with great views. - Communal workspace. - 24/7 access for members. - You don’t need to bring a lock (combination lock lockers are available in the hallway that are free for everyone to use). - Super friendly staff. Cons: - There’s no designated changing areas. Instead, there are a 3 single stall bathrooms (with no bench inside, making changing difficult) and 4 bathroom/shower single stalls with benches. In both instances the floors can be wet and there can be a long wait to get an available stall. It’s manageable, but would be nice if there was a designated space just to quickly change clothes. (Side Note: I’d just quickly change in the hallway by the lockers which I’d be totally fine with, but I was told by staff that that would be frowned upon lol.) - There’s no designated room/space for bike and e-scooter parking. Would be nice if they opened up a storage closet or something to put e-scooters in since they’ll just get stolen when locked up on the sidewalk. Overall, I really like this climbing gym and I’m looking forward to membership here. If they fixed the 2 issues above, this climbing gym would be easily 5-stars.

My friend and I went to Vital on Saturday! Our first visit to an indoor climbing gym. We both loved how polite the staff and people were to us. We came during Vital Brooklyn’s birthday, so it was busy. For a busy day was decently cleaned. My only criticism is on the rental shoes section. A staff member told me to pay for rental shoes. Yet, I paid already with a different staff member upfront. While it’s not the second staff member’s fault. He could’ve double confirmed with me if I had to pay for a second time. Thankfully, I am trying to get a refund from that error.