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brosufmcnally
Sep 27, 2005, 5:52 AM
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There are many threads on how to rack gear, Ive searched, yet havent found a straight answer...
So far my trad rack consists of some BD stoppers and a few slings. Just getting into it, starting on a couple mixed 5.8 and 5.9's. What is the best way to rack gear to easily get at it? Ive tried individually racking each piece to its own biner but that seems like overkill. If I dont, I struggle to get the proper piece of the biner. Any help would be appreciated, cheers
-Brendan
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brosufmcnally
Sep 27, 2005, 6:11 AM
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Edit: I understand the need for slings, as routes wander, yet have not used them besides to anchor to the chains....whats the best way to rack these, and quickly build a draw?
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petsfed
Sep 27, 2005, 7:00 AM
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You've got lots of options. For nuts, you want to rack them in groups. When you need a nut, you grab the whole crab, find the nut you need, place it, unclip it from the rest of the nuts, clip a sling to it, move on. As far as slings, you want a mix of over the shoulder slings and slings tripled for easy access. I can't successfully explain how to triple a sling, so I won't try, but basically these hang on your harness like a quick draw. Watch how other people rack and figure out a system that makes sense to you and won't frustrate you when you're gripped. And climb more easy routes (like sub 5.7) to dial your systems so if something goes wrong, you can probably just down climb out of it.
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dirtineye
Sep 27, 2005, 9:02 AM
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This is a scary thread.
I hope you ahve good insurance.
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andrewph
Sep 27, 2005, 11:43 AM
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Coldclimb posted a great series of pictures a while ago that show exactly how to make a trad draw. (trippled sling) just do this
http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=34184
traddraw
then when you want to use it you just clip it to your pro and to extend it out you un-clip the other biner from two of the three loops going through it. (does that make sense? if not make one up and play around with it you'll get the idea) .
as far as racking gear goes. put a set of nuts on one biner and take each peice off as you need it.
Andy
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shiggetyshiva
Sep 27, 2005, 11:59 AM
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You'll want to rack up so that you could find the gear you need blindfolded (or scared shitless that you're going to peel). That being said, everybody does their rack setup a little differently. Some folks rack doubles of the same size cam on one biner. Some people rack everything on their harness and keep all their long slings over their shoulder with one biner attached.
As for your stoppers, try racking all the smaller sizes on one biner and the larger ones on a separate biner. Then, as petsfed already mentioned, you can fiddle with placement before unclipping the piece from the racking biner.
Be safe!
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ajkclay
Sep 27, 2005, 12:21 PM
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I rack as posted above, stoppers up to about 6 on one 'biner, above this on another.
small ones to the front of gear loop, large to back, or, if i'm taking a lot of cams or other gear and want to balance, one 'biner (big or small) each side.
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king_rat
Sep 27, 2005, 12:46 PM
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There is no straight forward answer because everyone just racks gear to their own taste and gear requirements. There is no hard and fast rule about how to do it, do what’s easiest for you.
For me, Nuts I find are best racked in groups on biners, you want them to e in a manageable bunchs and you need to know where they are, this way you can unclip one crab and have a slection ready to try. I carry one full set and some micro wires and duplicates of 3-8 and rack RPs and small rock 1-4 on one then 5-7 on another 8-10 on another.
Draws clipped to the harness and a couple of slings over my shoulder. Cams I like to be on individual biners, because it reduces messing round.
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ping
Sep 27, 2005, 12:52 PM
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The reason you haven't been able to get a "straight answer" is because different folks prefer different ways to "get at" their gear while leading.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each racking system, you have to decide best what works for you. Also, the kind of climbs will be doing can be a major factor. Single or multipitch? Face and crack climbing vs. lots of chimneys and offwidths? Some combination of the above?
For example:
On harness or on the sling? (Sling is easier when swapping leads on multipitch but some find the harness more comfortable. Getting gear out of the way in a chimney, if you climb a lot of those, is also a factor.)
Or on both? (Some like to put either all their pro or all their draws on either the harness or the sling.)
Multiple cams on a biner or one biner per cam? (One allows you to "audition" several cams for a placement by clipping off one biner but makes it more of an effort to get the right cam off the biner. And if you drop it, that's probably 2 or 3 cams gone, not just one.)
The list goes on. What to do? Get on some easy pitches and do some experimenting. Once you've got it dialed, stick with it and you won't be hunting for pro again.
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jkirker
Sep 27, 2005, 2:40 PM
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Different routes require different setups. So the question if very difficult to answer. I would make sure that the setup allows for easy access to what you will need during the most difficult placements. "Plan Ahead!!!" If possible. I would also strongly suggest purchasing so other gear something that will allow for quick placements such as cams. Which have less tendency to walk.
Also a sling with individual loops "Metolious" will help verses a solid sling where everything bunches together.
Good luck
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brosufmcnally
Sep 27, 2005, 3:15 PM
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Thanks for the responses everyone (especially dirtintheye) Seems like Ill just have to find which method works best...
Petsfed: Do you mean, place the pro while its connected to the biner with the rest? Risk of dropping all pro?
jkirker: The only reason I went passive first is so that Id figure out how to place em....If I went with cams first, Id probably just stick with those for good :lol: Also, correct me if Im wrong, but cams have a tendency to "walk", not wires.
Thanks again guys, cheers, and enjoy
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keinangst
Sep 27, 2005, 3:18 PM
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I personally don't like removing a biner full of nuts from my harness, since dropping that biner could be disastrous for the rest of the route.
Although picking a single nut from the biner requires precise judgment, I find it's a useful skill to build. And you'll build it quickly, out of necessity. It's much easier to drop one nut than to lose half your set with a single fumble.
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petsfed
Sep 30, 2005, 10:44 AM
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In reply to: Petsfed: Do you mean, place the pro while its connected to the biner with the rest? Risk of dropping all pro?
That's precisely what I mean. In my mind, there is no difference between pumping out and falling because I spent too much time trying to find the right nut when I grabbed one at a time, and at the same point because I dropped all the nuts.
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ajkclay
Sep 30, 2005, 1:05 PM
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I'm with Petsfed here, remove 'biner with stoppers (or whatever) and find the right one, place it, give a samll tug on the 'biner to check it's seated, then remove it from 'biner and place 'biner back on harness.
Much less chance of dropping something if the whole thing is where you can see it rather than down on a loop somewhere out of direct sight.
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zoratao
Sep 30, 2005, 1:27 PM
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Hmmmm, not that I have ever done it; but, to mitigate the dropping a whole biner with nuts on it is there anyway you could tether it. I think having all nuts on one biner is definitely the most convenient way to do it. Never have thought about actually dropping the thing.
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vegastradguy
Sep 30, 2005, 2:23 PM
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In reply to: Hmmmm, not that I have ever done it; but, to mitigate the dropping a whole biner with nuts on it is there anyway you could tether it. I think having all nuts on one biner is definitely the most convenient way to do it. Never have thought about actually dropping the thing.
actually, grouping them in sizes on different carabiners is better. i carry three stopper carabiners- small, medium, and large. that way, if i drop one carabiner, i havent dropped them all. i also have doubles in the medium sizes, so that the large carabiner also has some mediums on it, which serves as a backup of sorts.
that said, i've never dropped a set of stoppers- but theres always a first time for everything.
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bill413
Sep 30, 2005, 2:29 PM
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I weigh in with having several nuts on a biner. It really helps to keep them in order by size when reracking. It's also very nice if it is a keylock (notchless) biner - it makes getting the wires off easier.
Yes, you worry about dropping the biner & everything with it. Try not to do so. Also, that's an argument for splitting the nuts up, not having them all on one biner (or having a couple of different types of gear).
One thing that will really help you develop your skill at placing is to decide on which size of nut you're going to place before you bring the piece up to the crack. Then pay attention to whether you were right or wrong. This will help you dial in your eye as to what sizes fit where.
Climb with lots of different folks - pay attention to how they rack & place.
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wings
Sep 30, 2005, 2:37 PM
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In reply to: Hmmmm, not that I have ever done it; but, to mitigate the dropping a whole biner with nuts on it is there anyway you could tether it. I think having all nuts on one biner is definitely the most convenient way to do it. Never have thought about actually dropping the thing.
I've always thought that maybe having one short phone cord, attached to your gear sling near your chest, would be a useful thing to have. You take a piece of pro off your sling, clip it to the phone cord, extend the cord to place the pro, then unclip the cord.
I hate fumbling with pro when I take it off my sling, and oftentimes I need to transition between holding the carabiner (to unclip it off the sling) and holding the thumbloop / trigger (in order to retract the cams) in an awkward position. Maybe my small hands exacerbates this process.
Then again, using my mouth as the transition area has always worked well, even if not appealling.
- Seyil
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markc
Sep 30, 2005, 3:30 PM
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In reply to: I weigh in with having several nuts on a biner. It really helps to keep them in order by size when reracking. It's also very nice if it is a keylock (notchless) biner - it makes getting the wires off easier.
I also take an extra moment to rerack nuts in order. If I've picked the wrong size, I'm usually not too far off. I can quickly flip to the proper piece without hunting.
Some people really like racking nuts on notchless biners. I personally like racking on notched biners. It provides that little bit if extra security if I'm having a brain-dead moment. I don't want it to be too easy for my nuts to slide off. It's all about finding what works for you.
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bill413
Sep 30, 2005, 3:46 PM
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In reply to: Some people really like racking nuts on notchless biners. I personally like racking on notched biners. It provides that little bit if extra security if I'm having a brain-dead moment. I don't want it to be too easy for my nuts to slide off. It's all about finding what works for you. |
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jakedatc
Sep 30, 2005, 6:07 PM
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In reply to: It's also very nice if it is a keylock (notchless) biner - it makes getting the wires off easier.
Yep.. i'm with MarkC, A few weeks ago at the gunks some how 4-5 nuts slid off the notchless biner.. luckily all but one fell onto a ledge in front of me and i wasnt very far up the first pitch. confused the hell out of me at first because i always grabe the nut that i want and shake the others down to the bottom of the biner before placing it.. somewhere in the shaking they unclipped themselves or i hit the gate somehow.
another idea for nuts that a friend uses is that each biner has any doubles on the opposite biner.. that way if for some reason you're way off on your guess or see a better spot you have extra options.. also if you drop one you're not screwed out of all your large or all small nuts
my preference... (mostly due to using other peoples racks since i dont have my own)
-metolius loop sling for cams small to large front to back.
-front right gear loop, 2 biners of nuts (small/large), tri cams on 1, a few short draws
-back right.. belay device, extra lockers, cordalette
-left front and back draws.. short and tripled
-rest of shoulder length and a double length slings over the shoulder.. some with biners attached
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