UKC

I'm past my first trad lead and, I'm hooked - time to accept a life of poverty I guess......

Joking aside, I've made a start and intend to get odd bits each month and as they come up on decent offers etc. Like many, I'll be starting out on Derbyshire grit and I'm sure that'll influence any recommendations;

So far, I have;

A 6pc set of cams (dmm)
A fairly large set of nuts (15 or so)
A set of hexes
A couple of slings
Several screwgates

And a rope that's been cut to 40mtrs (but I intend to get a new one and keep the short one for indoors).

Next will be several quickdraws in several sizes (so, roughly 10) along with some wire gate krabs for organising everything but, beyond that, I'm a little bit stumped if I'm honest. The idea was that it'd take a while so by the time I was ready to start leading "properly", I'd have all the gear waiting but at this rate it'll only be a month or 2.

Can you think of anything I NEED to add? (I.e. I obviously won't have everything to start with but I'm looking to have enough to get me going.)

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:
Looks like a solid start to me.

- You didn't mention a nut key, so if you don't have one then one of those. I really rate the wild country one on a spring leash. Worth carrying a spare if you climb with new seconds regularly too.
- You didn't mention helmet - but obviously one of those.
- Even though you're planning to be on the grit to start off with, it's a good habit to always have prusik loops on your harness (sod's law when you'll need one it won't be to hand otherwise). It's worth knowing how to tie a french prusik and how to use it to make an abseil safer too.
- How large is your largest cam and hex? Some routes are all but unprotectable (or at least very thin on gear) without big gear, so if you want to get on those routes you'll need the larger sizes. You can however avoid these routes, and some people do entirely.
- Maybe worth having 2-4 of your quickdraws to be made up as 'alpine draws' / 'slingdraws'. Helps reduce rope drag heavily, especially if your route isn't straight up.

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:

I think that's about it, isn't it? A fairly comprehensive rack.

I think slingdraws are very useful, but since the cheapest way of buying 2 krabs is normally to buy the quickdraw, that's just a case of stocking up on some 60 cm slings at some point in the future and rebuilding some of your quickdraws into slingdraws.

When you have money to burn, you'll start going for a second set of nuts (most useful on mountain routes with longer pitches) which may be another brand of nuts or may be offsets...

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:

sounds fine, for grit I'd make sure you have one giant sling to go round the big boulders you typically find at the top of the crag.

For grit routes around VS I'd generally carry...

green to gold dmm dragon cams (or similar)
set of nuts 1-10 (which ever is cheapest)
10 quickdraws (not stubby sport ones, could get away with less with extendable cams and short grit routes)
4 screwgates (1 big enough to fit 3 clove hitches, 1 to belay, 2 for pieces of protection)
1 biggest sling I have
1 120 sling
1 belay device

That would get you up loads of routes in the peaks.

If you have the luxury you can look at the route and decide if you need all the cams or maybe throw in the hexes if theres a bunch of wider cracks.

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:

That's plenty to be going on with!

10 quickdraws is plenty, you can usually borrow more when needs must.
Quickdraws can be turned into slingdraws whenever, no rush but they're useful.
A couple of 120 slings are useful for slinging boulders.
jk

In reply to jkarran:

If leading on a single rope 60cm extenders are a huge asset. I think we've been carrying 4 this year and even on Grit got through 3 or 4 of them. Then 5-8 other extenders

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:

Speaking of offers - £7 quickdraws up for grabs here: http://threewisemonkeysclimbing.com/shop/special-offers/wild-country-wild-w...

Thanks everyone,

Yeah, I've got a nut key (might be wildcountry come to think of it) and helmet.

My hexcentrics were delivered by the nice chap in a red van today - biggest is size 9 smallest is 3

The cams are on the way too, biggest is 5 smallest is 0.

Prusiks is something I need to learn still, I can tie them but I've never been shown how to use them properly - I've still plenty to learn, the idea was to build the gear up slowly while I'm still learning the basics but looks like I'll be "all the gear, no idea" for a bit!

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:

"The cams are on the way too, biggest is 5 smallest is 0."

i think that is spot on. That will be probably be enough for the long term. I have one size bigger as well, But I only carry it i think it will get used

To be honest I don't know how much you'll use the hexes when you have a good cam collection

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:

I'd recommend getting hold of a book like Libby Peter's "Rock Climbing: Essential Skils and Techniques", if you haven't got it already -- it's absolutely not a substitute for having someone show you the skills in a hands-on way, but it can help you get your brain round them faster when you get to practice them in real life, then refresh your memory afterwards.

In reply to John Clinch (Ampthill):


I take hexes on easy mountain routes (<HS) rather than a set of cams. Much lighter. Also exceptionally useful when you take you first steps into winter!! Brrrr.

In reply to John Clinch (Ampthill):


Indeed, most of mine are 60cm despite having a selection of ropes to play with but the important thing is getting out there and using the rack while the weather is nice, not worrying it's not perfect. Quickdraws are the cheapest way to buy decent karabiners anyway so they're the starting point for slingdraws.
jk

In reply to 65m moderate millington:

Do quickdraws come up that cheap fairly regular?

Not sure I can justify spending much more this month but, if it's unusual, obviously it'd make sense to get them cheap while I can

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:

I double up on cam sizes 1.5 and 2.5 , an HMS krab is good too

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:

Personally my priority would be:

1. Quickdraws (longish)
2. 60cm slings (cheap)
3. A pair of half ropes (you can get a set for £110 at go-outdoors)

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:

Just an update. I think I'm near enough done!

So, I now have;

6 Colour coded wiregates for my cams
6 of the new dmm cams
set of rockcentrics 3-9 iirc
set of nuts (a decent size set)
5 X 15cm wiregate quickdraws
5 X 20cm wiregate quickdraws
1 x 4mtr cordelette
3x120cm slings
1x240cm sling
2x60cm slings
3 new screwgates

several screwgates that I already had along with some old snapgates and a few other bits and pieces

And a helmet and nutkey.

Next up is some cord to re-thread a few big nuts I was given a long time ago and make some prussiks at some point. And a large screwgate makes a lot of sense too.

I can't think of anything else at the moment really, or not that's really desperate at least - can you?

I'm itching to get out now!!

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:

Sounds like plenty for regular length routes, get out and climb, then I'd buy any extras as/when you decide you need them for the particular crag. If anything I'd end up doubling up on the smaller/medium size nuts for longer routes.

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:

Do you have any offset nuts?

also some weight training for dragging that lot up the route while you learn what you need

Enjoy your climbing

In reply to Howardw1968:

You're not the only one thinking that....

In reply to Sleepy_trucker:

I'd definitely recommend making up the 60cm slings as "slingdraws", as people have suggested; they're very useful.


Yes, it's handy for fitting lots of clove hitches onto it when you're building a belay. But you can achieve the same effect with multiple smaller screwgates if you need to.

You've got more than enough to get started with -- time to get out there. *g*