Bouldering pads come in two main styles: hinge and taco. Both can be worn on your back for the walk in.Hinged pads fold in half (or thirds) meaning they pack up easily and lay nice and flat. Unfortunately the hinge is a ‘failure point’, though new models place the hinge on an angle or add more foam to help solve this.Taco pads solve the hinge problem by bending the foam around when stored. They don’t store as well and don’t lay as flat, but they’re better on uneven surfaces.If you’re fairly new then you can probably expect most bouldering areas you visit to be pretty well developed and flat beneath the climbs, so a hinged pad is probably a better choice. As for size and firmness, pads that are on the smaller side are easier to store and easier for your mates to spot you with, so don’t go too crazy. You shouldn’t need to go too firm either, unless all your local problems are highball climbs.Read more: Bouldering for Beginners