May 7, 2008, 12:09 AM
Post #26 of 78
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Re: [caliclimbergrl] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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I rack on my harness. My partner racks on a gear sling except for draws, which go on his harness.
We both have our reasons why.
There is no one right way, there's just the way you prefer, for whatever reason.
As others have mentioned, I sometimes alter my methods depending on the climb. If it's an OW, I may well go with a gear sling as the crack will be eating half of my body for most of the climb.
Circumstantial...circumstantial...
(This post was edited by ja1484 on May 7, 2008, 12:12 AM)
May 7, 2008, 1:55 AM
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Re: [caliclimbergrl] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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Sling: Metolius multi-loop double D sling from left chest to right side. Rack small to mid range cams and nuts groups starting at 5 per biner down to one per for sizes above BD #2. Range finders & Friends under left arm.
Harness: Cams #4 to #6 on rear loops along with extra biners, cordellet and chained slings.
Shoulder length runners across chest from right shoulder to left side.
May 7, 2008, 3:19 AM
Post #30 of 78
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Re: [nextclimb] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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nextclimb wrote:
Sling: Metolius multi-loop double D sling from left chest to right side. Rack small to mid range cams and nuts groups starting at 5 per biner down to one per for sizes above BD #2. Range finders & Friends under left arm.
Maybe I'm weird, but I don't understand the whole point of consistently hanging the rack on one side vs. another. You remove most of the advantage of a gear sling by doing that. Which is to say, the only real advantage the gear sling affords you is that you can place it in such a way that the gear is not between you and the rock. With that in mind, you should have no preferred side that the gear will hang on.
May 7, 2008, 4:39 AM
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Re: [petsfed] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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petsfed wrote:
Maybe I'm weird, but I don't understand the whole point of consistently hanging the rack on one side vs. another. You remove most of the advantage of a gear sling by doing that. Which is to say, the only real advantage the gear sling affords you is that you can place it in such a way that the gear is not between you and the rock. With that in mind, you should have no preferred side that the gear will hang on.
I like to place gear with my right hand because I am right handed and I have more control so I don't drop it... therefore I put most my gear on the right side of my sling...
May 7, 2008, 5:02 AM
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Re: [richardvg03] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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richardvg03 wrote:
petsfed wrote:
Maybe I'm weird, but I don't understand the whole point of consistently hanging the rack on one side vs. another. You remove most of the advantage of a gear sling by doing that. Which is to say, the only real advantage the gear sling affords you is that you can place it in such a way that the gear is not between you and the rock. With that in mind, you should have no preferred side that the gear will hang on.
I like to place gear with my right hand because I am right handed and I have more control so I don't drop it... therefore I put most my gear on the right side of my sling...
I've yet to encounter a crack in a corner that was so considerate as to let me choose. If I'm in a corner, chances are I'm doing the high hand thumbs down, low hand thumbs up thing, at least when I'm placing gear, and that means, in general, that I have to place gear with the low hand, whichever hand that happens to be.
If you climb a lot of routes that let you choose, you're probably better served racking on your harness, or getting a big wall gear sling, as the primary benefit of a one-shoulder gear sling is being lost on you.
May 7, 2008, 6:59 AM
Post #33 of 78
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Re: [petsfed] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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petsfed wrote:
richardvg03 wrote:
petsfed wrote:
Maybe I'm weird, but I don't understand the whole point of consistently hanging the rack on one side vs. another. You remove most of the advantage of a gear sling by doing that. Which is to say, the only real advantage the gear sling affords you is that you can place it in such a way that the gear is not between you and the rock. With that in mind, you should have no preferred side that the gear will hang on.
I like to place gear with my right hand because I am right handed and I have more control so I don't drop it... therefore I put most my gear on the right side of my sling...
I've yet to encounter a crack in a corner that was so considerate as to let me choose. If I'm in a corner, chances are I'm doing the high hand thumbs down, low hand thumbs up thing, at least when I'm placing gear, and that means, in general, that I have to place gear with the low hand, whichever hand that happens to be.
If you climb a lot of routes that let you choose, you're probably better served racking on your harness, or getting a big wall gear sling, as the primary benefit of a one-shoulder gear sling is being lost on you.
in other words: Learn to use both hands and buy a harness big enough so the gear loops aren't hiding behind your kidneys
May 7, 2008, 8:02 AM
Post #34 of 78
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Re: [caliclimbergrl] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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Don't know what caliclimbergrl had to say since she/he deleted, but really, if y'all climbed as much as you talk/think/fantasize/ about, this would be a non issue; Harness racking is for n00b's, sportcliimbers or certain steep, applications, in a non bolted situation it requires a lot more work, most of the time....
May 7, 2008, 10:44 AM
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Re: [jaybro] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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I used to use a gear sling.All the gear on my left.After starting out years ago with just three Friends,but now climbing with seven Camalots,four Aliens,two C3's and some stoppers it was lopsided.Using two slings is the pits,they will try to choke you the first chance they get.So I bought a BD Big Wall sling,cut all the exrtraneous loops off and it works great.Small pouch in back for topo,or gu,or headlamp.Stays put,doesn't slide around.I rack sport draws on left,trad draws on right,frree biners back right,belay device back left.One double length sling there too.
I don't carry and emergency gizmos or cordelettes,but do climb on doubles which solves a lot of situations.I don't recommend carrying your wires on less that three or four biners,because if you are just using two,and drop one,you can find yourself bailing.I double up Aliens and C3's since I often have to pick the correct one by placing.
I do keep my chalkbag on a piece of 6mm,that is prusik #1,and then one more in that pouch on my back.
May 7, 2008, 1:52 PM
Post #39 of 78
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Re: [tomcat] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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Huh? I didn't delete. The first post was just the poll. And then I wrote my opinion. Since you can't seem to find it, I'll copy and paste it here:
I rack all of my cams and nuts on my sling (which is mainly what I was asking about for the purposes of this poll), and all of my runners/draws on my harness. That's what I see about 90% of the time when I'm out climbing. But whenever I read threads on this board, I always read tons of posts from people claiming to rack up on their harness. I wondered if those people are in the minority and just more vocal or if a lot of people really do rack up that way. I thought a poll would be the best way to get those quit people to give their input so we can see how *most* people really do it. And it looks like at least half (if not more) really do rack on their harnesses! So where do all you people climb, because I almost never see people do it that way! LOL
I totally understand why people rack that way -- it can get annoying when my harness swings around to the front when I'm leading. But I like to have the option to move the sling around to find the right gear rather than reaching all over the place on my harness and being thrown off balance on the climb in the process. It's the lessor of two evils for me. Also, I can't put slings over my shoulder. I'm 5'4 and have a very short torso and long legs and narrow shoulders as well. So slings over my shoulder end up around my waste and in the crook of my elbow which can really screw you up when you're climbing!! So I carry my pro on a sling and my slings and draws on my harness. I think if I were taller, I might rack up on my harness, but given my body proportions, a sling works best for me.
And I'm a girl. Hense the user name: cali climber girl.
May 7, 2008, 3:43 PM
Post #41 of 78
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Re: [caliclimbergrl] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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Sorry climbergirl, whereever i was posting from showed a blank space, can read it now, through filters at work ( and yeah, the he/she thing was just being a smart ass, on my part) my point is that there is no one way to rack, it always depends on the climb. Racking on your harness on a less than vertical climb means an extra step, gotta reach farther, has that, fumbling, unprofessional, air. When it gets steep (like roofs) there are reasons to keep the goods at hand even if it's at your waist. Racking on a sling means you can switch sides, often a necesity on many climbs.
May 7, 2008, 4:33 PM
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Re: [caliclimbergrl] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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Many moons ago I landed one of these in a raffle:
http://www.mistymountain.com/doublex.htm
For trad climbing I rack a combo of gear on the sling and on the harness. It keeps the quantity of gear(even when I way over rack) down to a manageable level, both in bulk and heft. It gives me a lot of options for organizing without having the sling slide all over or trying to choke me.
May 7, 2008, 5:27 PM
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Re: [elholando] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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elholando wrote:
hafilax wrote:
You cut the slings off your cams?!
Yeah. I know it seems a little weird, but the camalot slings are only about 3 or 4 inches. I carry about 12 draws with Trango Superfly's which weigh almost nothing. However, they can be a pain to clip onto the rope side because the gates are really stiff. The non-extended length of my draws is about 12 inches which really helps rope drag. I never used the slings that came with the cams and they just got in the way so I cut them off. I always carry at least 20 runners when I climb, because when I was in Arizona there were a lot of chickenheads (but not in the Three Six Mafia sense.)
If I recall, clipping a biner directly to the loop of a C4 reduced the overall strength of the cam considerably. Can anyone confirm this?
May 7, 2008, 5:43 PM
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Re: [dynoho] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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dynoho wrote:
elholando wrote:
hafilax wrote:
You cut the slings off your cams?!
Yeah. I know it seems a little weird, but the camalot slings are only about 3 or 4 inches. I carry about 12 draws with Trango Superfly's which weigh almost nothing. However, they can be a pain to clip onto the rope side because the gates are really stiff. The non-extended length of my draws is about 12 inches which really helps rope drag. I never used the slings that came with the cams and they just got in the way so I cut them off. I always carry at least 20 runners when I climb, because when I was in Arizona there were a lot of chickenheads (but not in the Three Six Mafia sense.)
If I recall, clipping a biner directly to the loop of a C4 reduced the overall strength of the cam considerably. Can anyone confirm this?
Everything except the considerably. BD's literature states you suffer a 2kN strength penalty for this. Still nowhere near the weakest link in the system.
(This post was edited by ja1484 on May 7, 2008, 5:44 PM)
May 7, 2008, 6:23 PM
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Re: [ja1484] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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ja1484 wrote:
dynoho wrote:
elholando wrote:
hafilax wrote:
You cut the slings off your cams?!
Yeah. I know it seems a little weird, but the camalot slings are only about 3 or 4 inches. I carry about 12 draws with Trango Superfly's which weigh almost nothing. However, they can be a pain to clip onto the rope side because the gates are really stiff. The non-extended length of my draws is about 12 inches which really helps rope drag. I never used the slings that came with the cams and they just got in the way so I cut them off. I always carry at least 20 runners when I climb, because when I was in Arizona there were a lot of chickenheads (but not in the Three Six Mafia sense.)
If I recall, clipping a biner directly to the loop of a C4 reduced the overall strength of the cam considerably. Can anyone confirm this?
Everything except the considerably. BD's literature states you suffer a 2kN strength penalty for this. Still nowhere near the weakest link in the system.
If it was 2kn across the board, I think 14-25% is worth noting. Just curious Jay, what do you consider/is the weak link, beside my internal organs?
To answer the OP question, it depends on the route and area. Short routes where I know the belay and have an idea of gear requirements, I try to use the harness. Longer, multi-pitch requires a sling. For the gym, I use the double sling chest harness.
May 7, 2008, 7:31 PM
Post #48 of 78
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Re: [dynoho] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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dynoho wrote:
ja1484 wrote:
dynoho wrote:
elholando wrote:
hafilax wrote:
You cut the slings off your cams?!
Yeah. I know it seems a little weird, but the camalot slings are only about 3 or 4 inches. I carry about 12 draws with Trango Superfly's which weigh almost nothing. However, they can be a pain to clip onto the rope side because the gates are really stiff. The non-extended length of my draws is about 12 inches which really helps rope drag. I never used the slings that came with the cams and they just got in the way so I cut them off. I always carry at least 20 runners when I climb, because when I was in Arizona there were a lot of chickenheads (but not in the Three Six Mafia sense.)
If I recall, clipping a biner directly to the loop of a C4 reduced the overall strength of the cam considerably. Can anyone confirm this?
Everything except the considerably. BD's literature states you suffer a 2kN strength penalty for this. Still nowhere near the weakest link in the system.
If it was 2kn across the board, I think 14-25% is worth noting. Just curious Jay, what do you consider/is the weak link, beside my internal organs?
It Depends.
Most of the time, either the rock itself, or your tie-in knot.
My #3 stopper is rated to 5kN. I whip on it. I'm not going to worry about a 12kN cam.
I don't use C4s below size .75 or above #2 though, so maybe it matters on, say, the .3 or .4. Regardless, I still wouldn't hesitate to clip into a cam loop direct with a draw on any cam, excepting forged friends.
May 7, 2008, 11:35 PM
Post #49 of 78
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Re: [dynoho] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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dynoho wrote:
ja1484 wrote:
dynoho wrote:
elholando wrote:
hafilax wrote:
You cut the slings off your cams?!
Yeah. I know it seems a little weird, but the camalot slings are only about 3 or 4 inches. I carry about 12 draws with Trango Superfly's which weigh almost nothing. However, they can be a pain to clip onto the rope side because the gates are really stiff. The non-extended length of my draws is about 12 inches which really helps rope drag. I never used the slings that came with the cams and they just got in the way so I cut them off. I always carry at least 20 runners when I climb, because when I was in Arizona there were a lot of chickenheads (but not in the Three Six Mafia sense.)
If I recall, clipping a biner directly to the loop of a C4 reduced the overall strength of the cam considerably. Can anyone confirm this?
Everything except the considerably. BD's literature states you suffer a 2kN strength penalty for this. Still nowhere near the weakest link in the system.
If it was 2kn across the board, I think 14-25% is worth noting. Just curious Jay, what do you consider/is the weak link, beside my internal organs?
Dynoho, I've started a discussion on this on the Gear Heads forum.
May 8, 2008, 12:11 AM
Post #50 of 78
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Re: [caliclimbergrl] Where do you usually rack your gear (protection) when leading?
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Cali,
I usually clip a biner from one of the gear loops on the shoulder sling to a gear loop of the harness to keep it from swinging around. I have a Metolius sling with the extra side sling (for draws, mainly).
I mostly use the sling for trad; however, if it's short (not requiring a lot of gear) and I know what I need for the climb, I'll rack off the harness.
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