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bigga
Sep 11, 2002, 5:16 PM
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I am not a trad climber, but my partner wants to buy 2 or 3 pieces of trad gear for those rare times when there are those really crazy run-outs, just to place our own piece in between bolts for safety sake. He is not looking to buy a full rack just for this. Is there such a thing as a more commonly used type of protection? Is there a trad piece that is more useful than others? If he's only going to buy 2 things, what do you recomend he gets...
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tradguy
Sep 11, 2002, 5:28 PM
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hmm... tough question. If money isn't a big issue, wouldn't be bad to pick up 2 or 3 cams to cover a decent range of crack sizes. Otherwise, I'd say a couple mid-range stoppers are always kind of nice. The real problem is that it's tough to pick just 2 or 3 pieces without having an approximate size range where you might need it. If these are generally face climbs that might have a thin seam here or there, maybe get a small Alien or two.
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climbincajun
Sep 11, 2002, 5:30 PM
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seems pretty arbitrary. the answer is very highly dependent on what type of rock you normally climb and what type of protection opportunities that rock offers.
do your homework on what type of gear works on the features found in your local rock.
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bigga
Sep 11, 2002, 5:34 PM
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thats the thing.... We are going to be climbing on a variation of rock... going overseas soon to climb...
What I wanted to know is if there is a piece that in general is used more than other...Generally, not specific type of climb
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ubotch
Sep 11, 2002, 5:37 PM
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I would say a couple of smaller to mid size cams. Supposedly Black Diamond cams have the greatest expasion range because of their double axle design, so I would think if you only wanted to get a couple of pieces, these should cover you well. They are a little more expensive than a lot of other cams but in this case probably worth it.
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cyberclimber
Sep 11, 2002, 5:57 PM
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Consider a SET of nuts as only one thing and buy that, costs less than one cam and doesn't weigh much. If you are looking to supplement bolts on sport routes you probably will find more nut placements than cams, since most bolted sport routes tend to avoid the larger crack systems. It does all depend on the type of rock, however.
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clymber
Sep 11, 2002, 5:58 PM
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buy a set of tri-cams from .5 upto 3. They can be used active or passive and are all that expensive. They also weigh less then the cams would and you can get about 6tri-cams for the price of 2 cams
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tradguy
Sep 11, 2002, 5:59 PM
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Quote:What I wanted to know is if there is a piece that in general is used more than other
The answer to your question, bigga, is NO. You will most certainly be using different pieces of gear if you are climbing finger cracks vs. hand cracks vs. fist cracks vs. offwidths.
I personally seem to place my #6 DMM Walnut and my #1.25 Wild Country Tech Friend the most often of my gear. I can't statistically verify this, but I can recall many instances where I've thought to myself, "Thank God for that placement" and it was one of those two pieces. Plus, it always seems like I'm re-racking those when my second comes up and gives the gear back. To say those piece are going to be useful to you on bolted sport routes, however, would be a huge stretch.
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dune
Sep 11, 2002, 7:01 PM
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I would strongly suggest you pick up a set of stoppers. They are BY FAR the most versatile pro on a standard rack. And they have the most return on investment value (price, weight, easy of use) of any pro you can buy. It's the first thing any aspiring trad climber should get, other than the rope, harness, shoes, biners, etc. And don't forget the slings too.
[ This Message was edited by: dune on 2002-09-11 12:02 ]
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coach
Sep 11, 2002, 8:03 PM
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Since you say you are not a trad climber and are only looking for some pieces when the runout is long, I would recommend that you look into the Robot Cams (Rock Empire) as a full set will be under $200 and also pick up a set of nuts (about $30). That should give you the most options for the least cost.
Climb On
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chuckd278
Sep 11, 2002, 8:26 PM
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Nuts and Hexes my friend. Cheap, light and wide range. Cams are great, but expensive. It's also a lost art. People are getting trigger happy all the time. Place a solid nut or hex and don't worry about the runout.
Chuck
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bigga
Sep 12, 2002, 8:44 PM
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Thank you guys all for your help...
Its amazing the amount of access to others experience this site gives.
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pbjosh
Sep 12, 2002, 9:24 PM
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I would pick up a set of stoppers as well, but not all of them. When I climb with a "light" rack it's usually something like:
#5,6,7,9,11,13 stoppers, #.75,1,2 camalots
From there I start filling in a couple more nuts, some smaller cams or maybe a handful of tricams. But the above is versatile and "just a few pieces" - a set of 5-8 of the best size nuts (mid and a few large) costs less than a cam. Of course you could substitute other brands.
josh
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