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nabisco
May 30, 2002, 4:36 AM
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Yo RC bigwallers,
Whats the best cheater stick to use? I've heard of using aluminum tent poles, dowl rods and collapsable painters poles. whats the best?? Whats a good length? Is it a good idea to use those giszmos sporties use to stick clip? I totally understand that its not excactly considered good form to use these gadgets, but when speed is an issue it's really nice to have one.
Thanks
Marcus
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bigwalling
May 30, 2002, 4:53 AM
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I'm going to bring a 10-12 foot tent pole with me on a new route I'm doing. I think I'll tape a hook to the top of it and attach a string of aiders.
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bigwalling
May 30, 2002, 4:54 AM
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Also, I would be using it to use less bolts. I perfer to not drill so a cheat stick makes sense.
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jmlangford
May 30, 2002, 5:05 AM
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Check this picture out. It is a custom clip I made recently to help out a couple climbers I was watching.
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krustyklimber
May 31, 2002, 1:23 AM
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Way to go Jody!
But I don't think that is what Marcus was asking about. Many big wallers will carry a stick.
The one I have and like best, I think I got the idea from supertopos.
It is a four section tent pole (approx. 10ft) with a fifi hook duct taped to one end. Onto the fifi I have girth hitched two daisies (girth hitched end to end). This is so I can reach up a long way in front of me, without the weight of two aiders and (and like sport climbers want to do) the rope. With all that weight you'd never hit "that stupid loop on that *^#$*+ copperhead two placements away" with the end of your wobbling stick. And you sure wouldn't want to try to lead with a painters pole hooked to your harness! "I would've hit the ledge... but the pole hit first... once it stopped poking into me I stopped falling! "
Once you have hooked onto that piece above you, bounce test it (if needed, bolts don't need it) then get on it by clipping your aiders into the highest loop of the daisy you can reach and climbing up the daisy. Remember that you are on a fifi, and it wont hold a fall (nor will a daisy), so climb smoothly, you'll end up quite run out if you use your whole stick to make a 10ft clip!
And remember also that the stick is a last resort, and should only be used when all else has already failed! But on many of the trade walls a clip here and there to keep everyone's show moving is not only acceptable, but more and more, is becoming good manners when holding up other teams.
I hope this helps,
Jeff
P.S. Oh yeah, I forgot to say "welcome!" Good question
[ This Message was edited by: krustyklimber on 2002-05-30 18:38 ]
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bigwalling
May 31, 2002, 11:33 PM
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I found that my tent pole is a little hard to use. It really wobbles around. I only used it because I couldn't get a stupid head to stick in a corner. So I used a tent pole with a hook taped to it to reach an edge up high. It is very scary! I used a pointed leeper hook. I doubt you will ever have to use this type of thing though. But if you do use caution! The hook was rotating alot and looked like it might pop off.
P.S. Jeff is right about the last resort thing. I felt I cheated. If I was better with copperheads I might have gotten away without it. Or if I was like 8 feet tall
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crackaddict
May 31, 2002, 11:55 PM
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Hey Jody,
I think that I used that same stick before. lol:
I don't have one of these but some of my partners have the colapsable paint stick with one of those metolious clip things taped to it. They seem to like them!
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nabisco
Jun 2, 2002, 7:10 AM
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Registered: Jul 16, 2001
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I think i will go with a lite wieght painters pole 3' long, w/ a hook and a metolious clip thingy on it. Tent poles seem a little wobbly, I like precision. thanks for all the usefull beta.
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paintinhaler
Jun 2, 2002, 7:42 AM
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sometimes its called a safe stick
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Brett1234
Jun 18, 2007, 9:41 AM
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Can anyone please post pictures of their CheaterSticks, especially the sharp end? Thanks.
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rangerrob
Jun 28, 2007, 9:06 PM
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Shit you guys are fancy. A straight stick and a some tape does the trick. About 17 cents to build one, carry it up on the route, then remove tape and dispose of.
RR
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ptpp
Nov 1, 2007, 6:56 AM
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Registered: Nov 1, 2007
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Holy frig!
What on earth do you guys need a cheater stick for? What did the last 999 guys do who climbed the route before you? Why don't you figure out what they did?
Why don't you learn how to top-step? [HINT - get a Kong adjustable fifi hook on slippery 6mm cord and learn how to use it to really fine tune those top-steps]
There are very very few instances where it is legit to use a cheat stick. And believe it or not, it is not necessarily faster. Besides, it's cheating! How can you say you climbed a route if you had to cheat?
OK, legit and semi-legit ways of using a cheat stick:
- it is part of the rack. For instance, Scorched Earth [which I have done] and Disorderly Conduct [which I haven't] both have long-ass cheat sticks as part of the gear rack. This is because you are hanging a hook from the end. You will need to girth hitch slings along the stick in order to climb it
- you are very short. Mike Shaeffer is a big man in climbing of small stature - about 5'4". He has a Long Dong, about the size of John Holmes. I've seen it. It really is long. But it brings his reach up to that of medium height guys
- I have climbed walls with a few girls, and it is a huge stylistic dilemma for them when to use it or not. None of them was tall
- The likelihood of needing a cheat stick on an easy route is nil. I was serious about asking yourself what the 999 people ahead of you had done
- it's generally considered ok to put your hook on top of your hammer to make hook moves. Maybe to make a stopper move or something. I might make one hammer cheat-stick move every three walls or so on average. But sometimes I do it cuz I'm lazy, and don't want to clean a deadhead or something
- you are following a Steve Gerberding rivet ladder. Man, on Reticent Wall [now Readily Sent Wall] there was no way I could clip his rivets. That guy is tall, and he's great at standing on his top steps. Good application for hammer and duct tape and rivet hammer
- most likely if you are following a Dave Turner route. That guy is hugely tall, too. Brrrr.... I get sweaty hands at the thought of trying one of his new route monstrosities.
Good thing you didn't ask that question over at McTopo, or you'd have been beat up or something!
So leave your cheat stick on the ground, and figure it out when you're up there. A couple girth hitched wire stoppers and duct tape and a hammer will get you through any "emergency", which probably isn't really an emergency if you have developed the skill to know what you are doing.
And there's only one way to do that.
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