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704core
Jun 13, 2007, 1:36 AM
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OK y'all, I'm trying to do some investigating work for my dad who is new to climbing and is showing interest in Trad. What brand(s) do y'all recommend? I know a lot of it is personal pref., but as a general rule of thumb... Is BD better, Metolious, WC... I'm just trying to help him out. Thanks in advance for the advice and help. Peace.
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sbaclimber
Jun 13, 2007, 1:50 AM
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There is no general rule of thumb. Assuming we are talking about major, proven safe and reliable, brands, it is all personal preference.
Many will tell you, "go find someone with gear and play with it first", which is good advice, if often somewhat impractical.
If you give us some more detail about you are looking for, better advice might be had.
"Help me, help you" 
e.g. where are you, what style of climbing will be done primarily (not "trad", I mean more what type of rock, length of routes, etc), willingness to spend top dollar, etc, etc?
PS, not that it should make any difference to anyone else, I am a pretty hard core BD fan. For gear that BD doesn't make (tri-cams, lowe-balls, etc), I have so far gone with Camp.
(This post was edited by sbaclimber on Jun 13, 2007, 1:54 AM)
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704core
Jun 13, 2007, 2:01 AM
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Thanks dude, but here's the problem... like I said this is info for my dad. But from what I can tell, we live in NC so a lot of stuff round the mountains. Crowders & Pilot mountain. I have no clue what type of rock, but I know he will be climbing single and multi-pitch routes. Life is more important than money so not to say "top-dollar" but good quality gear is a definite. I've heard a lot of good stuff bout BD gear. Hope that helps some. Maybe a NC climber will see this and know what type of rock is round here. Peace.
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rocknice2
Jun 13, 2007, 2:12 AM
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You can't go wrong with any of the companies you suggested. I'm on my 4th rack [I'm a gear whore]. I've owned WC, Met., HB and now I climb on all BD's C4's + C3's hung on Petzl biners. I still have my HB's and TCU's as my second rack.
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sbaclimber
Jun 13, 2007, 2:13 AM
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I may be way off, but I believe most of NC will be granite(-ish?).
So, to keep things simple, I will recommend BD 
Seriously though, BD, Metolius, WC, DMM, Trango, and Camp (...and others) all make good gear. It all comes down to money, availability, and whether or not they make the one piece in the right shape that you need.
Hopefully some NC climbers will chime in, because someone should know which bits fit best in places like Crowders and Pilot.
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704core
Jun 13, 2007, 2:34 AM
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Yeah I think there is a good bit of granite round here. Thanks to both of you for your help.
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jsj42
Jun 13, 2007, 2:44 AM
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I think Hennessy is a good brandy, but Remy-Martin is good too.
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704core
Jun 13, 2007, 2:46 AM
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HAHAHAHA If your gonna sip, sip on one of the Glen's...Livet or Fitich. Old malt whiskey is sooooo yummy compared to Brandy.
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ja1484
Jun 13, 2007, 2:54 AM
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<--- NC Climber here
Most of the rock here is Granite or Quartz Monzonite, depending on the crag.
As for the gear...
As long as it's a reputable brand, it's a go. All of the following are fine:
Black Diamond
Metolius
Petzl
CAMP
DMM
Omega Pacific
Wild Country
Trango
Yates
There are others. This isn't an exhaustive list. If you add in rope/soft goods manufacturers, it doubles in length.
A word of warning: Make sure your father has someone with good experience and skills mentoring him. North Carolina trad is serious trad, unafraid of runouts and fall potential. If you see an R/X rating after a route respect it.
This state is no place to be goofing off on a trad lead.
Edit: Oh yeah, and as far as crags go, Pilot Mountain and Crowder's Mountain are both basically toprope crags. There are a few short sport climbs at both and single pitch trad leads, but nothing inspiring.
A second reason to get away from Crowder's is that it's chossy as they come. You'll end up with a block the size of a television on your head.
If you want good trad climbing nearabouts to those same areas, look into Linville Gorge area for southwestern NC (nearish to Charlotte) and Moore's Wall around the Winston-Salem area.
(This post was edited by ja1484 on Jun 13, 2007, 3:00 AM)
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704core
Jun 13, 2007, 12:12 PM
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Yeah, now that you mention it, he has said something bout Linville before. He is going to Fox Guides this weekend to take a skills clinic and I think he has kinda hooked up with a good mentor from Jesse Brown's to "show him the ropes" of trad. Thanks again for all y'alls info and help. It's good to see some love in a community like this. Peace.
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coastal_climber
Jun 14, 2007, 2:03 AM
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How new to climbing is your dad? Maybe jumping into trad isn't a good idea right away. Personally I like WC, BD, Petzl, Camp, Pagan Gear.
>Cam
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the_climber
Jun 15, 2007, 9:16 PM
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Meh, there wasn't always sport. As long as you have a good mentor and patience to proced slowly and safely with your learning curve, there's nothign wrong with starting trad early. In fact I try to expose most nOObs I take out to Trad as early as possible. Not saying get them to lead, just expost them to it. Cleaning pitches and ground practice to start. Then again I know enough about bolts to know that not every bolt was place right, and I trust a good nut more.... most times. Not opposed to sport, just not my first choice anymore.
(This post was edited by the_climber on Jun 15, 2007, 9:16 PM)
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stymingersfink
Jun 16, 2007, 7:02 PM
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coastal_climber wrote: How new to climbing is your dad? Maybe jumping into trad isn't a good idea right away. Personally I like WC, BD, Petzl, Camp, Pagan Gear. >Cam
the sooner, the better.
BD.
Metolius.
Petzl.
Oban.
Bowmore.
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the_climber
Jun 16, 2007, 9:12 PM
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stymingersfink wrote: coastal_climber wrote: How new to climbing is your dad? Maybe jumping into trad isn't a good idea right away. Personally I like WC, BD, Petzl, Camp, Pagan Gear. >Cam no... actually its a GREAT idea! the sooner, the better.
Untill you start bolting yourself, I don't think you really understand how easy it is for someone to screw up a bolt placement. And, there really is no way to check. I can tell if a nut is bomer or not easily.
stymingersfink wrote: BD. Metolius. Petzl. Oban. Bowmore.
Buddy you can climb with me anytime with a recomended gear list like that!
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brewer19
Jun 17, 2007, 5:56 PM
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all the major brands( ie. petzl, BD, DMM, Wild Country, et c...) should be just fine. since it sounds like he's got a mentor of sorts, so he should be able to test some gear and see what he likes. personally i prefer BD and DMM followed by either Lagavulin(16 preferably) or Balblair.
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reno
Jun 18, 2007, 12:49 AM
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the_climber wrote: stymingersfink wrote: coastal_climber wrote: How new to climbing is your dad? Maybe jumping into trad isn't a good idea right away. Personally I like WC, BD, Petzl, Camp, Pagan Gear. >Cam no... actually its a GREAT idea! the sooner, the better. That'smy take onthings to.
Same. I like teaching trad first, as it forces folks to take more time climbing, and that seems to reduce the number of falls, fear, promotes learing what holds work and what holds don't, etc.
YMMV.
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hosh
Jun 18, 2007, 1:26 AM
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In order of preference, I'd say:
For Cams:
Metolius
BD
WC
Trango
OP
For nuts/passive:
WC/Metolius (about even)
Camp (tricams are in their own category of goodness...)
hosh.
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704core
Jun 18, 2007, 12:30 PM
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Thank you for all y'alls help on this matter. My dad is almost 50 and so he is kinda old school. He always been some what of a purist, hence the desire to go trad. He is still just doing sport right now till he gets his climbing legs about him. He went on a two day guided class over the weekend and loved it. From the sounds of it he was kinda the teachers pet, LOL. So again thank you for all the input and y'all be safe out there.
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desertdude420
Jun 18, 2007, 5:57 PM
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704core wrote: OK y'all, I'm trying to do some investigating work for my dad who is new to climbing and is showing interest in Trad. What brand(s) do y'all recommend? I know a lot of it is personal pref., but as a general rule of thumb... Is BD better, Metolious, WC... I'm just trying to help him out. Thanks in advance for the advice and help. Peace.
Brand loyalty with regard to climbing gear is a rookie move. It's all good.
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microbarn
Jun 18, 2007, 6:38 PM
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desertdude420 wrote: 704core wrote: OK y'all, I'm trying to do some investigating work for my dad who is new to climbing and is showing interest in Trad. What brand(s) do y'all recommend? I know a lot of it is personal pref., but as a general rule of thumb... Is BD better, Metolious, WC... I'm just trying to help him out. Thanks in advance for the advice and help. Peace.
I agree with one exception:
Aliens
Everything else is personal preference.
-------------------------
edit: I realized that it may not be clear.
I avoid Aliens.
(This post was edited by microbarn on Jun 18, 2007, 6:42 PM)
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