Boulder Planet (Tai Seng)

Boulder Planet at Grantral Mall in Macpherson is the chain’s compact branch, a few minutes from Tai Seng station, and it sets harder than its Sembawang sister.

The walls here skew steeper — competition-style panels and aggressive angles — and the route-setting follows suit, so the middle and upper grades are where most of the interest sits. There is strength and conditioning equipment alongside the climbing. Day passes run around $30, and it closes earlier on weekdays than some of the CBD gyms.

Being small has an upside people mention often: you end up talking to other climbers rather than disappearing into a crowd, which is not true of the bigger warehouse gyms. It suits intermediate climbers and anyone who wants a session with some bite after work. Complete beginners are better served at Sembawang, where there is more space and a wider spread of easy problems.