Boulder Planet

The motto is Nothing Out Of Reach. The wall is designed to make you fall off it.

If you have never climbed and want to start without an audience of chalked-up regulars, Boulder Planet's Starter Pack is the sensible way in, and Sembawang is the branch to do it at. It suits anyone 13 or over, a weeknight with colleagues or a weekend afternoon with a teenager. The compromise is commitment: the class must be booked at least a week ahead, and the value is in the two weeks of climbing that follow, so you need the diary space. Book online, pick Sembawang, plan the follow-up sessions before you pay.

Boulder Planet is a homegrown gym, launched in 2021 with first-timers in mind. Its motto is "Nothing Out Of Reach", which is ambitious on a wall built to make you fall off it, but the idea underneath is sound. There are two branches: the basement of Sembawang Shopping Centre and the second floor of Grantral Mall in Tai Seng.

Why Sembawang

Sembawang is the bigger gym with more lower-grade problems, which makes it the kinder first wall. Tai Seng's smaller set of boulders is a harder place to start. If you live in the east and like a challenge, Tai Seng will still have you; if you want early wins, the trip north is worth it.

The Starter Pack

It opens with an 80-minute guided onboarding class covering safety, gym etiquette, footwork and how to read a route, which means working out a climb before you touch it. Then you get two weeks of unlimited entry at both branches, climbing shoes included. The terms are strict: new customers only, one purchase per person, minimum age 13, and booking closes a week before your class. The two weeks are the real value, because the second and third sessions are when moves start to click. Price and current terms are in the facts box.

Both branches have hangboards, dumbbells, showers and a shop where you can try on shoes. Sembawang also has tables, for anyone who wants to answer emails between attempts (we admire the ambition). Routes are reset often, so the problem that beat you one week may be gone the next, and route-setting workshops are there for anyone who catches the bug badly.

Under-13s

Younger children go a different route. Kids' classes, run by trained coaches with games, climbing challenges and school-holiday camps, are held only at Sembawang and need an assessment first. Book that rather than trying to slip a ten-year-old into an adult class.

Wear sports clothes you can move in; the gym asks you to skip dresses and skirts. Bring modest ambitions and a friend who will cheer the small stuff. The first problem you top out clean is the moment you will remember.

Good to know Sembawang: Sembawang Shopping Centre #B1-22/23. Tai Seng: Grantral Mall, 601 MacPherson Road #02-07. Starter Pack classes must be booked online at least a week ahead, and the age minimum is 13; check current prices, terms and class times on the official site.

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Boulder Planet | Sembawang Shopping Centre, 604 Sembawang Road, #B1-22/23, Singapore 758459 (also Grantral Mall, 601 MacPherson Road, #02-07, Singapore 368242)