UKH

Hi Folks, 

I am about to invest in a new, full rack of sport climbing specific quickdraws.

The ones I chose are available in 11cm, 17cm and 25cm and I wondered what people's thoughts were on split/mix between the lengths. I've heard many people saying great things about the 17cm ones over the 11cm since they reduce rope drag. Some people even only rack the longer ones. 

I will aim to get 18 quickdraws as that is what I need for the crags that I go to, and I was thinking about something like the following split> 

• 7 x 11cm
• 9 x 17cm
• 1-2 x 25 cm

Ive only ever had the "regular" 12cm ones, so no idea what its like to have l mix of longer ones. 

1. Do you guys have any experience with these lengths for sport climbing, and if so what have been your preferences?
2. Have there been any lengths you gravitate to more after having used them all or other you tend to leave behind?
3. How often would you use the really long 25cm ones, and are they specifically worth it?

Thanks in advance

Whatever you choose, not odd numbers of them that’s just weird!

A couple of long ones are useful, otherwise I don’t really care much myself.

How good and confident are you at sport climbing?

I regularly see a couple of the local Peak District super wads climbing with a rack of exclusively 25cm draws which absolutely makes sense if you're super confident.

For those of a more nervous disposition, a majority of short always seems to feel like the best option. Mine are DMM Alpha Sport and I currently have 10x12cm, 6x18cm, 2x25cm. However when I'm actually climbing well and doing loads of sport I generally feel that I'd have been better going for the majority of 18cm, perhaps 10x18cm, 4x12cm and a couple more 25cm.

Like most things - it depends...

I would say I'm a fairly confident climber, and in terms of grade, I'm around 7b level. 

Why do you say it makes sense to have longer ones if you're super confident? You mean because the additional weight doesn't make a difference?

Cheers, 

I‘m guessing he’s talking about the slightly more than 26cm longer potential fall distance (2x(25-12cm), plus a bit more rope stretch because you’ll be falling a bit faster when the rope comes taut).

Psychology. Does the prospect of 20-30cm longer falls have any adverse effect on your climbing.

If you're confident climbing above bolts and taking marginally longer falls when working routes then there is no point in having a lot of shorter ones. The rope will generally run a bit smoother with longer ones.

In some situations falling another 20-30cm will absolutely matter, especially on shorter routes or those with ledges. However, if you're climbing in the 7s and not the 5s, most of the time there will be no safety reason to use the shortest draws. 

Having had another think about this, all my climbing partners who consistently climb high 7s almost exclusively use medium and long draws.

However, like most things with climbing and gear, it will ultimately come down to personal preference

Don’t bother with the 11cm ones. 
Some people probably say they weigh less and are slightly less clunky on your harness I guess. 

17cm are really practical. Both for not feeling like your wearing a grass skirt on your harness, but also often making up for slightly less than ideal bolting on routes where it’d be handy if the draw was slightly lower to clip. Also doubled up they make a good sized extender. Where’s the 11cms doubled up are pretty pointless. 

Having 2-4 of the 25cm ones is a great addition, they are super practical for hard to clip bolts and for reducing drag.  

It really depends on where you climb. If you're going to be going abroad regularly, get 18+ cm ones (abroad we get longer routes). If you primarily climb in Scotland, get 12cm ones. 

In Scotland i find my 12cm ones are ideal for everything. When I go abroad, which is very ofen, I end up extending loads of them, so recently invested on 6x 25cm ones.

Can't speak for what you'd use in England cos I haven't done sport there, but if you're into Kilnsey/Malham/Chee Dale sort of climbing, get 18cm ones.

Surely the length of quickdraws only makes an overall difference in fall length if you are putting them on the bolts as you climb; if they are already on, then the clips are the same distant apart whatever the length of quickdraw. So really only relevant when onsighting putting the draws on. 

Bolt spacing is only relevant to the (worst case) fall distance if you actually fall whilst trying to make a clip.

The rest of the time, for any individual hard move, the longer the draw on the bolt below you, the further you'll fall.

Yes

My normal sport rack is 10x medium, 2x short, 2x long. Long ones good for if it's under a roof/off to the side and will reduce drag (but you're unlikely to need more than 1 on a pitch). Short ones good for if your medium ones leave a krab loaded over an edge. It's also useful to have short and long if the belay bolts are staggered one above the other so you can equalise them a bit better in event of someone having a toppy afterwards. 

Other than that, I'd recommend the medium ones for your bread n butter draws. 

Take that as you will though, as I'll onsight 6b+ on a good day and climb sport probably twice a year. There's a similar thread already on the go and I got told off for saying short draws are pointless, so some people must like them!

You’ll prolly want a few of the long ones, either for tricky clips (on redpoints, to have then placed nicely), or under roof/overlaps and/or when the bolt is off to the side of the other bolts. 
 

As for the short vs mid-lenght, depens on many things. If you’re mainly onsight climbing, then perhaps a bias on the mid lenght. As you really don’t know How it is going to climb… If you’re redpointing a more even split or even bias on the short ones is perhaps a good strategy (After all, you can always link two shorts to get one long one).

where I climb, it’s mostly short QDs and at times the long ones (see above). This is mostly for onsight climbs. When heavily working on a line, I tend to prefer the mid lenght ones, as they are nicer to grab.

Another one who prefers medium draws as the core of your rack, I like long pitches and have a couple of short draws, about 5 long and the rest medium.  Tbh I don't really see the point of short draws beyond a few very specifc situations and mainly use them for extending other draws on long wandering pitches.