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JoeBobIII
Jul 8, 2013, 4:34 AM
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Hi all! I am new to the forum and have a few questions. My wife is an expert rock climber and used to have a set of cams and what not that she gave up to her ex in the divorce. I am looking to get her started/set up with a new set. Now I know that these get way expensive so that is why I am searching out info on what to start her out with.
So I live in the black hills in South Dakota and there is a lot of really good granite cliffs to climb. I'm not sure what other info you would need to help me out.
So i am just looking for some advice on the sizes and how many I should get her to start off with.
Thanks for your help and please ask me anything else and ill try to answer if I know it.
Joe Bob
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USnavy
Jul 8, 2013, 6:54 AM
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JoeBobIII
Jul 8, 2013, 12:54 PM
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Umm, I think you may have missed what I am asking. My wife is an expert climber and had a full rack but doesn't anymore. As this is a present for her I can't really ask her so I came here to see what a good start would be then she would fill in all the other stuff she likes. I am looking of a list of equipment that everyone should have that way I'm not just giving her a gift card, which I don't like doing.
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JoeBobIII
Jul 8, 2013, 4:10 PM
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Thank you. This is along the lines of what I was thinking. My budget is under a grand so I think I should be good with a basic start set and then gift card the rest.
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JAB
Jul 12, 2013, 6:16 AM
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Worth remembering is that climbing hardware will last a long time (many will use the same cams, nuts and crabs their whole climbing career), so invest in quality over quantity.
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billcoe_
Jul 15, 2013, 3:03 AM
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JoeBobIII wrote: Hi all! I am new to the forum and have a few questions. My wife is an expert rock climber and used to have a set of cams and what not that she gave up to her ex in the divorce. I am looking to get her started/set up with a new set. Now I know that these get way expensive so that is why I am searching out info on what to start her out with. So I live in the black hills in South Dakota and there is a lot of really good granite cliffs to climb. I'm not sure what other info you would need to help me out. So i am just looking for some advice on the sizes and how many I should get her to start off with. Thanks for your help and please ask me anything else and ill try to answer if I know it. Umm, I think you may have missed what I am asking. My wife is an expert climber and had a full rack but doesn't anymore. As this is a present for her I can't really ask her so I came here to see what a good start would be then she would fill in all the other stuff she likes. I am looking of a list of equipment that everyone should have that way I'm not just giving her a gift card, which I don't like doing. Joe Bob
Are you saying that you can't figure out a way to ask her without going "honey, I want to buy you some cams what kind do you want?"
You may have a short marriage. Try this, next time you are talking about rock climbing, ask her "what gear did you like the best? If cams don't come up then ask "which cams did you like the best?" Then listen to the answer and encourage her to discuss it. Ask her if there is anything new out that she thinks outperforms the choice she gave you.
Really dude, been together with the same woman now for 33 years, that's how it plays. DO NOT make a major purchase without knowing. She may look right at you, smiling, as you hand the new cams over and think "Jesus Christ, I fucking hate these cams, what a douchnossel, what was so difficult about it that he couldn't he ask my viewpoint first?"
Consider that it may be likely that you need advice on relationships more than advice on cams. Dear Abby has spoken.
Good luck.
Oh, by the way, Totem cams #1 choice, then Metolius 4 cam units and Camalots from .75 and up with Totem Basic cams in the small sizes if you were to buy them for me. But trust me on this, I ain't her. I'm an internet douch that don't mean shit to you. She's your partner and does.
Ask.
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moose_droppings
Jul 15, 2013, 4:18 AM
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To hell with the surprise, ask her want she wants. Cams cost to much and last a long time, not to mention her personal preference since she's an expert.
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shockabuku
Jul 15, 2013, 4:52 AM
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Wow, with the hostility. I guess living your own life isn't interesting enough.
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JoeBobIII
Jul 15, 2013, 10:50 AM
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This post contains nudity or adult content. To protect the innocent we require that you register and turn off your Adult Content Filter to read it.
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billcoe_
Jul 16, 2013, 1:24 AM
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JoeBobIII wrote: Wow, I'm glad from one sort paragraph you know my life so much. My wife has been with me long enough to know when I am fishing for information and it's a little hard to drop subtle hints as I am working my ass off over 1,400 miles away from my family for the last 3 months and won't get to see them until a few weeks before her birthday. I'm sorry that surprising my wife with something I know she wants but she also knows we can't really afford so she doesn't bring it up, because she is a wonderful supportive wife that is willing to put off what she wants so our kids can have what they need. To everyone else I got better advice on Reddit's r/climbing, you know that website known for asshole's like this guy. Fuck off anonymous internet dude and find something better to do with you sorry life then judge other people in such a stupid, narrow minded way as this.
No worries, you read that like I was angry. I'm not. You asked for advice and got some. Go ahead then and buy her any cam that anonymous internet folks suggest to you and don't ask her. Perhaps it will be just right as rain. Check back in in 5 years and let us know how it went for you. 
Regards
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lkeegan
Jul 16, 2013, 3:27 AM
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JoeBobIII wrote: Wow, I'm glad from one sort paragraph you know my life so much. My wife has been with me long enough to know when I am fishing for information and it's a little hard to drop subtle hints as I am working my ass off over 1,400 miles away from my family for the last 3 months and won't get to see them until a few weeks before her birthday. I'm sorry that surprising my wife with something I know she wants but she also knows we can't really afford so she doesn't bring it up, because she is a wonderful supportive wife that is willing to put off what she wants so our kids can have what they need. To everyone else I got better advice on Reddit's r/climbing, you know that website known for asshole's like this guy. Fuck off anonymous internet dude and find something better to do with you sorry life then judge other people in such a stupid, narrow minded way as this.
Do you have any old photos of her with her climbing gear? I bet we could identify what gear she has on her harness and help you out that way!
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lkeegan
Jul 16, 2013, 4:51 PM
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acorneau wrote: lkeegan wrote: Do you have any old photos of her with her climbing gear? I bet we could identify what gear she has on her harness and help you out that way! Are you asking for pictures of another man's wife? Tisk, tisk, you naughty boy. 
I'm a girl 
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billcoe_
Jul 16, 2013, 7:43 PM
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lkeegan wrote: Do you have any old photos of her with her climbing gear? I bet we could identify what gear she has on her harness and help you out that way!
Good idea. That would work, but it could be there are newer products out there she would prefer which were not made when she was climbing, (Totems, DMM Dragons, Omaga Pacific, Metolius Supercams, WC Superlights, X4's, etc etc) or she might have taken shortcuts and settled on cheaper gear than she wanted too (I suspect that we've all done that at one point)
It could be the start of the conversation though.
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moose_droppings
Jul 17, 2013, 2:54 AM
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The picture of her could also be her climbing on her partners gear.
Or a pic of her with some cams she had but didn't like as much as some others she's used since.
Back to the twenty questions game (she'll sniff that out) or you could just ask her.
(This post was edited by moose_droppings on Jul 17, 2013, 2:59 AM)
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maldaly
Jul 17, 2013, 5:28 AM
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Just buy her $1,000 worth of Camalot C4s. Skip the two smallest and two largest, then if you have any money left over, double up, in the following order, Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, Purple.
There are a ton of great cams out there and their pluses and minuses will always be fodder for lively conversations. But I can't imagine that any climber, experienced or not, would complain about getting a nice pile of C4s to start building a rack. Specially since you want to surprise her. If she opens them up and says, "Thanks dear, but I really prefer Totems over C4s in the small sizes" any dealer worth a shit (Mountain Gear, REI, Neptunes or Wilderness Exchange, to name a few) would be happy to exchange them.
Climb safe,
Mal
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USnavy
Jul 17, 2013, 9:02 AM
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maldaly wrote: Just buy her $1,000 worth of Camalot C4s. Skip the two smallest and two largest, then if you have any money left over, double up, in the following order, Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, Purple. There are a ton of great cams out there and their pluses and minuses will always be fodder for lively conversations. But I can't imagine that any climber, experienced or not, would complain about getting a nice pile of C4s to start building a rack. Specially since you want to surprise her. If she opens them up and says, "Thanks dear, but I really prefer Totems over C4s in the small sizes" any dealer worth a shit (Mountain Gear, REI, Neptunes or Wilderness Exchange, to name a few) would be happy to exchange them. Climb safe, Mal
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maldaly
Jul 17, 2013, 5:29 PM
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Great comments USNavy. I responded to the OP in the way I did for many reasons but, mainly, because he wanted to surprise his wife with something that she was sure to like. He didn't ask for the best value cams and he didn't ask for Made in USA cams. My response was simply to suggest something as a gift that would be sure to be well received. I don't know too many people who use Metolius cams as their primary cams and quite a few who don't use any. I don't know any climbers who don't use Camalots or wouldn't use them if they could.
To editorialize a bit, we now live and work and play in an international economy and culture. Many of Trango's products, including the the FlexCams, are manufactured overseas: when I left in 2010 we had factories in Czech, France, Italy, Taiwan, Korea, Spain and the USA. Oddly enough, manufacturing metal products in the USA was always a huge PITA. The overseas factories were easier to deal with, their products of more consistent quality and their delivery spot on. The Americans factories were always a huge hassle for a variety of reasons, primarily shoddy quality, slow and late deliveries and poor communications.
Because BDEL has operations in China and Europe doesn't mean they don't support American jobs. Last I knew, they still had quite a big operation in SLC including design, manufacturing, warehousing, sales and marketing.
Climb safe,
mal
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