UKH

On another thread Brown challenged my view that worrying about old kit might hold you back mentally. On second thought I think they have a point.

In climbing (and other sports) I've experienced a boost in performance after buying a new and shiny big of gear, which I've put down to a mental boost in confidence rather than the tiny physical incremental improvement in my new kit. Crucially I've always thought of this as a positive. Is it? Is it a bad idea to use gear to "buy" confidence? Should I be training my mind to be confident in its own right?

Anyway, I may only be a bimbly VS climber but I think I need to pay more attention to the mental aspects of climbing.

A brand new snappy Camalot vs. an old HB Quadcam 3 that fell out of a crack under it's own weight, having been slightly bent and with old floppy springs - yes

Shiny new 8mm dyneema sling thread vs. a slightly furry 25mm nylon - not so much

I get what you mean, knowing you've got your fancy new micro cams or fancy tiny offsets can definitely give you a confidence boost but I think that's more down to having a bigger rack and therefore more gear options.

The biggest confidence booster I found is to take a fall on gear, in the same way that getting used to falling sport climbing gives you a big boost to push yourself the same applies to trad. My first fall was onto a shockingly under-cammed micro cam with only 2 lobes touching the rock and the psychological boost I got from seeing a worst case scenario piece of gear catch me was immense.

To answer your question though:

I don't think so, if having more gear makes you more willing to commit to a route then fair play but if you're not willing to climbing easy stuff without micro nuts/micro cams where you can place gear every 2 feet as you move onto harder grades where gear becomes sparse you might find you've shot yourself in the foot a bit and missed out on that mental development of getting used to exposure.

New kit will make a difference to confidence if it's replacing kit which should've been retired a long time ago (which perhaps you understandably didn't place much trust in). The latest cams/quickdraws etc replacing perfectly good other ones? I really don't believe that will make any difference to performance. 

Also, buying new kit is fun. Which is what we’re all doing this for, isn’t it?

By the way, try asking this question on the bike forum!

The culture of replacing things for "fun" is a large part of the reason that the earth will soon be unable to support human life...

I know, and I agree.

But the other day, after a great day’s climbing, I stopped off at Joe Brown’s to buy a WC rock 8 and it added a little bit to my enjoyment of the day. I can’t deny it. 

I don’t know about new kit giving a mental boost but using kit which is getting tatty (slings, harnesses and ropes) can certainly lead to a psychological disadvantage. If you aren’t sure about something, replace it. 

over 20 years I have only 'upgraded' a few times, its the weight that helps. So just buying a new cam doesn't necessarily help even if it does give you a mental boost because you'll have to carry it up to the crag and possibly up the route too. Throw out the old heavy gear and take only the light gear and you should be fine. a few bits and pieces have been brought for specific routes, having read the beta. by #7 cam weighs so much I always think about leaving it behind but when it used it is invaluable. UKC Logbook - 'All the Shakespearoes' (ukclimbing.com) at subliminal for instance gets E3 for its 'unprotected' start where you'd have to pivot around a featureless rib 1m above the ledge but 10 meters over the seething waves. perfectly protected by a # cam and drops the grade to an amenable E2. 

I'm old enough to recall the introduction of sticky rubber. I got my first pair of Fires in 1986 and expected a dramatic and immediate lift in my top grades. Didn't quite work as well as hoped for but they were a definite morale booster on small, smeary holds.