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macblaze
Aug 24, 2007, 12:28 AM
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Registered: Jun 23, 2005
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Help!
I am proud to announce my first post in the trad forum. This past month I took a 2 day course, 2nd'd a 7 pitch trad climb, mastered my first 5.4 lead all on my lonesome and then moved on to an awesome 5.7 complete with runout...woot.
Here's the problem. I had previously been the proud owner of 4 small metolius cams and a set of nuts and was raring to use them. After my course I found out I was entitled to a 5% discount at the local gear shop, so less than 20 minutes after leaving the guide at the crag, I met up with him again at the shop. He offered to give me advice and after picking up a shiny new set of tread draws I witnessed the aforementioned guide--who already had more gear than would fit in this huge duffel--buying even more gear just because it was there. "Hmmm," I wondered, "why is he buying even more gear?"
Then over the course of the next couple of days I kept going back getting just one more BD cam... gold, red, green... just one more... Then I'm finishing off my latest 5.4 conquest and I notice this other party climbing this funky 5.7 offwidth with this awesome 4 or 5 inch cam...I started to get shaky...I wanted to climb that too. should I run it out? Rush down to the shop before it closes and drop a $100 on this "absolutely necessary" piece of equipment? Or I could [shudder] just toprope it...
I have to tell you people, I 'm scared. I've already dropped well over $600 on this trad thing including guide fees and my hind brain is still telling me that $100/cam is the reasonable thing to do. I'm afraid I'll be buy the complete set of tricams next...
Oh yeah, about this crack climbing thing...totally awesome! As I read on a t-shirt in the shop at Squamish "Who needs big jugs, when you can have a wet crack!"
Totally pumped,
B
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majid_sabet
Aug 24, 2007, 12:45 AM
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I am proud of you but slow down on buy all these trad stuff. you just had your first sex with an 18 years old girl and now you want to challenge a big fat mama.Some of these mamas do not like young boys and they play nasty games so watch out.
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rocknice2
Aug 24, 2007, 12:49 AM
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Registered: Jul 13, 2006
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Your starting to build your rack, I see nothing wrong.
I'd say your a Nymphet.
You'd need to be adding more gear to a double rack to qualify as a Whore.
Your guide may qualify as a Call Guy...d.
It's never a waste if you use it.
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rocknice2
Aug 24, 2007, 12:54 AM
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majid_sabet wrote: I am proud of you but slow down on buy all these trad stuff. you just had your first sex with an 18 years old girl and now you want to challenge a big fat mama.Some of these mamas do not like young boys and they play nasty games so watch out.
So negative again, again. ag..n, a...n, a....
I would definitly get triple pro for a nasty Mama.
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jh_angel
Aug 24, 2007, 12:56 AM
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Registered: Oct 12, 2004
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You'll only need the four smallest tricams and then the two new smaller ones that come out in the spring. But seriously, slow down a little, if only to wait for really good deals to get the gear for a lot less. I managed to get a full set of 10 nuts, 10 hexes, the 4 smallest tricams, 1-4 TCU's and 1-8 power cams all for under $500 because I took my time.
Nice job on your first time out btw.
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8flood8
Aug 24, 2007, 1:08 AM
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Registered: Nov 10, 2004
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i'm a gear whore too and actually there is a guy in the classifieds section of the forum who is selling a bd camalot #5 for $70 -- so... whore it up, but don't waste ... as others have said, look for good deals... but if you HAVE to do this climb and you NEED that piece... well if you have the cash and your wife won't get mad at you, go buy it!
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angry
Aug 24, 2007, 1:39 AM
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Registered: Jul 22, 2003
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I never had the income to drop serious coin all at once on gear. I looked for sales, craigslist, and just did it slowly.
I was climbing and learning the whole time I was buying my rack piece by piece.
I knew a guy (nice guy actually) who just bought a bunch of shit and was fired up as all hell. I tried to climb with him whenever I could, he was too excited, I thought he just might kill himself. I called him up to go climb and found out he'd managed to bust his ankle ripping gear and climbing off route with some brand new belayer he recruited.
What's the point of this story? Butterflies scare the hell out of me, really, all that flapping and antenae and ick. Fucking butterflies. Don't get me started on moths. And don't buy big tri-cams.
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m2j1s
Aug 24, 2007, 2:04 AM
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Registered: Jun 8, 2006
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majid_sabet wrote: I am proud of you but slow down on buy all these trad stuff. you just had your first sex with an 18 years old girl and now you want to challenge a big fat mama.Some of these mamas do not like young boys and they play nasty games so watch out.
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shredude
Aug 24, 2007, 2:54 AM
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Registered: Mar 12, 2006
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majid_sabet wrote: I am proud of you but slow down on buy all these trad stuff. you just had your first sex with an 18 years old girl and now you want to challenge a big fat mama.Some of these mamas do not like young boys and they play nasty games so watch out.
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reno
Aug 24, 2007, 3:32 AM
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Registered: Oct 30, 2001
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macblaze wrote: Then over the course of the next couple of days I kept going back getting just one more BD cam... gold, red, green... just one more...
Wait till you start ice climbing. That's when your start dipping into your savings.... and your wife's savings.... and your parent's savings.... and your neighbor's savings.... and.... you get the point.
[Darth Vader voice]
Welcome to the Dark Side, young Padawan. Strong are you with The Force, but you are not yet a Trad Climber.
[/Darth Vader voice]
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drfelatio
Aug 24, 2007, 4:14 AM
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Registered: Sep 16, 2004
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Well would you rather have a piece and not need it or need a piece and not have it? I'm not saying you should buy every piece out on the market, but if you can afford it and if you think you'll need it, then you might as well go for it.
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dlintz
Aug 24, 2007, 5:01 AM
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Registered: Sep 9, 2002
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Buy now, think about regretting later....sometimes you completely forget to regret. 
Like angry said, don't buy big tri-cams.
d.
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coastal_climber
Aug 24, 2007, 5:14 AM
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Registered: Nov 17, 2006
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I've started trad & aid (last couple months) and I don't have a ton of gear. Although, the owner of the gym where I work has a TON of gear, and lets me use it  Seriously though, if I see gear, and I have $$$, the gear appears on my rack.
Good job. I started on 5.5, and it was runout. Did it have bolts at the top?
>Cam
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Banks
Aug 24, 2007, 7:42 AM
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Registered: Apr 24, 2007
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They are ripping you off at 100 per cam. I'll hook you up for 90$ per cam.
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macblaze
Aug 24, 2007, 1:47 PM
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Registered: Jun 23, 2005
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coastal_climber wrote: Good job. I started on 5.5, and it was runout. Did it have bolts at the top? >Cam
God no! That would be cheating! Although I will admit I did not rap off my anchor until my partner (also a noob) had come up and given me his harshest criticism and then we decided I needed to tweak a few placements.
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binrat
Aug 24, 2007, 1:57 PM
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Registered: Jul 27, 2006
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dlintz wrote: Buy now, think about regretting later....sometimes you completely forget to regret. Like angry said, don't buy big tri-cams. d.
More like, buy now and beg forgiveness later (with the wife).
definitely don't buy big tri-cams
Binrat
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cracklover
Aug 24, 2007, 2:03 PM
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Registered: Nov 14, 2002
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Congrats! I climbed on a pretty slim rack for a year, and it was good for me. I stuck to easy stuff (for the most part, under 5.7) and got really good at finding placements. When all you have left are medium nuts, I assure you, you'll learn to spot a medium nut placement from ten feet below it, even when it's a couple feet off to the side of your direct line, or buried in a crack at the inside of a dihedral. You can almost smell it. It just looks like the kind of crack that'll have a medium-size-nut bottleneck in it.
I know I'm a lone voice, but I say - slow down. Most likely, the largest piece you need is a number two camalot.
GO
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coastal_climber
Aug 24, 2007, 8:29 PM
Post #19 of 32
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Registered: Nov 17, 2006
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macblaze wrote: coastal_climber wrote: Good job. I started on 5.5, and it was runout. Did it have bolts at the top? >Cam God no! That would be cheating! Although I will admit I did not rap off my anchor until my partner (also a noob) had come up and given me his harshest criticism and then we decided I needed to tweak a few placements.
Good that you got a second opinion. So your partner got up belayed off which anchor?
>Cam
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majid_sabet
Aug 24, 2007, 8:54 PM
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macblaze wrote: coastal_climber wrote: Good job. I started on 5.5, and it was runout. Did it have bolts at the top? >Cam God no! That would be cheating! Although I will admit I did not rap off my anchor until my partner (also a noob) had come up and given me his harshest criticism and then we decided I needed to tweak a few placements.
So do you think he knows more than you ?
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sky7high
Aug 24, 2007, 10:05 PM
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Registered: Feb 15, 2006
Posts: 478
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A gear whore you say eh?
being a gear whore is not all about owning so much gear that you can spare a cam or two to hang from the rearview mirror. It's about the spirit.
You may not have enough money to spend, but you know you're a gear whore when you start counting your money in meters of webbing, carabiners, cams and ropes, or when you find yourself going to the gearshop/rei.com/gear section @ rc.com/etc. only to take a peek at the beautiful new gear, or when you try to free-solo a 5.11 cause that piece of bootied webbing looks sweet. You get the point. I have starved myself half to death only to save money for the cams, seriously.
See all of you later... I gotta go to the store.
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vegastradguy
Aug 24, 2007, 10:14 PM
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Registered: Aug 28, 2002
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$600?
try $6,000.00. i've spent that just on pro and carabiners. maybe more. if you throw in ropes, accessories and packs, its closer to $10,000.00....
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sky7high
Aug 24, 2007, 10:20 PM
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vegastradguy wrote: $600? try $6,000.00. i've spent that just on pro and carabiners. maybe more. if you throw in ropes, accessories and packs, its closer to $10,000.00....
[drools all over keyboard]
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macblaze
Aug 24, 2007, 10:35 PM
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Registered: Jun 23, 2005
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vegastradguy wrote: $600? try $6,000.00. i've spent that just on pro and carabiners. maybe more. if you throw in ropes, accessories and packs, its closer to $10,000.00....
Oh I wasn't counting the ropes/draws/shoes etc that my sport career has set me back but up until last month the $200 duodess was my single biggest buying spree. $10,000 eh... I guess I'll have accept some of those "preappoved credit" offers I seem to be getting in the mail.
Packs...hmmm, I guess all those not-so-shiny-anymore cams do need a suitable home...
Oh and ya Majid, I get your point. Next time I will assume I got it right the first time and the hell with a second opinion.
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notch
Aug 24, 2007, 11:36 PM
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Pffft. I'm a recovering mountain bike racer. I've got more money than that in tires. Climbing is cheap.
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