The IMPRINT Collection: Art, Landscape & Climbing

OP PRESS | 05

We’re excited to introduce a new pad to the collection and restock our boulder bucket. 

We wanted to use this space to share original artwork with a story and meaning; leading to the creation of the IMPRINT collection. 

For this collection, we worked with Arabella Walker, an emerging contemporary Aboriginal artist from a maternal line of Wulli Wulli, Auburn Hawkwood people.

Arabella brings her work across two pieces of climbing gear: our new TOPPER PAD and the return of the OP BUCKET.

The collection is built around Arabella's artwork Essence of Country, presented across three colourways - bush, midnight and ochre.

Arabella Walker

Arabella Walker has always had a connection to the arts, starting with dancing and drawing in her childhood before discovering her passion for painting.

Over the past seven years, Arabella has continued to grow her artistic practice across international festivals, government and local council projects, private gallery exhibitions and commissions.

Across all her experiences, the Australian landscape has remained at the centre of Arabella’s connection with art. She observes the colours, textures and natural shapes of the world around her and brings these elements into her paintings. 

This collaboration gave Arabella the opportunity to explore the landscapes, colours and movements that inspire her and translate them into three artworks that make up the IMPRINT collection. 

Essence of Country

The artwork is inspired by the movement of climbing - the constant push upwards, changes in direction, and the different ways a climber has to read and respond to the landscape around them.

The movement of the artwork takes inspiration from the incredible colours found across Australia’s outdoor climbing environments. Warm, earthy tones reflect sunlit stone and weathered rock, while hints of greens and blues reference the vegetation and water systems that have shaped these landscapes over time.

The smooth surfaces represent those moments when climbing feels natural and effortless - when movement flows and everything feels controlled. In contrast, the rougher, jagged textures reflect the more challenging moments, capturing the physical resistance and demands placed on a climber’s hands and body.

Together, these elements celebrate the richness of Australia’s landscapes and the connection climbers develop with them. The work is about more than just how these environments look; it’s also about how they feel to move through - physically, mentally and emotionally.

Topper Pad

The TOPPER is the second crash pad in our range.

Topper pads are a lightweight and extremely versatile addition to a normal pad setup.

Spread across multiple pads, they cover joins and help turn several individual pads into a more consistent landing zone. They can protect awkward rocks and uneven spaces that can't easily be covered with a bulky crash pad, add protection to tight sit starts and are easily moved around as a landing changes.

Our TOPPER opens to 183 × 120 cm, giving it a large usable landing area while remaining light and compact enough to become part of the normal pad haul.

That large surface also gives us the opportunity to show Arabella's work in its entirety. Each TOPPER carries the complete Essence of Country artwork.

Anti-Slip Base

Rather than using a conventional fabric underside, the TOPPER uses a waterproof TPU base with a high-grip anti-slip finish. As far as we're aware, it's the first topper pad to use this type of base - something we're pretty proud of.

The material grips the pads underneath across a range of different outer fabrics and finishes, helping the TOPPER stay where you've positioned it and creating a more stable landing zone.

The TPU base also makes the underside completely waterproof, meaning the TOPPER can go directly onto wet or muddy ground without soaking through. Our COMMIT series uses the same waterproof base, but for climbers using conventional pads without waterproofing, the TOPPER can be placed underneath other pads to create a barrier from wet ground.

Quad Fold

The best topper is the one you actually take with you, which was the thinking behind our quad-fold design. We wanted the TOPPER to effortlessly slot into a normal pad stack without feeling like another pad to carry.

Folded down, it packs away small, but opens to a 183 × 120 cm landing surface. We've kept the gaps between each folding section as tight as possible, so that packability doesn't compromise the landing surface.

The quad-fold also gives you options, whether that's folding it over for more padding in a smaller area or tucking it into a tight sit start.

OP Bucket

The original OP BUCKET had a great reception, so it's back with a few refinements based on feedback.

Our new bucket is slightly taller, giving the roll-top more material to work with and creating a tighter closure when packed away.

We've added additional magnets for a stronger snap closure and an extra brush holder loop, while also adjusting the size and proportions of the existing brush holders to improve their fit and function.

As part of the IMPRINT Collection, each bucket carries a unique section of Arabella's artwork.

Rather than scaling the complete artwork down onto every bucket, each one is cut from a different section of the larger work. The lines, forms and details vary depending on where each piece is taken from.

No two buckets are exactly the same.

You choose bush, midnight or ochre, but the exact piece of Essence of Country you receive is individual to you.

IMPRINT collection drops in November 2026. 

Open Project Team