Building Your Trad Climbing Rack | Climbing Daily Ep.861
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 มิ.ย. 2024
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On this week’s Friday Gear Show, Matt was unleashed on the EpicTV Shop’s big wall of shiny gear to pick some items that you might need for your trad rack. There is a vast array of gear out there designed to fit into every size crack or hole, but we are focusing on the first few items you need. Remember to comment below with your trad rack set up for you're chance to win a Wild Country Friend. If you want to check out the gear in the video, click the links below:
Nuts: bit.ly/2k9JHlO
Cams: bit.ly/2jExoeb
Slings: bit.ly/2k9Gi6F
Quickdraws: bit.ly/2k9QqMK
Nut Key: bit.ly/2k9Qagz
To watch the full videos of the Climbing Daily mash up, click here: bit.ly/2k9GtPl
Building Your Trad Climbing Rack | Climbing Daily Ep.861
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My advice for beginners: The fact is, trad requires an added level of technical expertise and gear than sport climbing - there’s no avoiding that. But when you boil it down, these are essentially the two things you need: skills and gear. Trad isn’t for everyone and if it’s not for you, that’s okay, but though it may feel initially overwhelming, it’s undoubtedly worth it. Unlike sport climbing and bouldering, which focus more on pushing physical limits, trad focuses on pushing geographical boundaries: it’s about adventure. It can take you to remote, stunning places - and there’s nothing quite like walking away from a climb knowing you didn’t use bolts or anchors, but only your own skills, body, and the jangly bits of metal in your backpack. Gear can be expensive, but the experience you get out of it is priceless.
I started trad climbing about a year ago and the best tip I got from an experienced trad climber is to not rush your placement!
Don't immediately start grabbing gear from your harness as soon as you see a potential placement. Instead take an extra 5 seconds to really take a good look at the size and shape of the crack and then continue to pick the right size cam/nut/hex from your harness. These 5 extra seconds for taking a good look, will save you from having to try 3 different cam sizes and so will save you time in the long rong. Taking a bit extra time can be really difficult when you are holding on to some tiny hold, but it's definitely worth it.
Another tip or quote I got from a guide from Austria is 'Man sucht nicht, man findet'. This means something like, don't look for a placement, but find one. When trad climbing there is no rule, that you have to place a cam every 2 meters, like there are bolts in a sportclimbing route. Instead climb your route and place something when you come across a good crack, rock spike, hourglass etc. If this means 2 placements in 2 meters and then 3 meters nothing that's oké. If you keep this in mind, it will allow you to climb a lot quicker and not to worry too much about how far you have climbed since your last placement.
But most of all, have fun!
unless your doing some big wall, you don't have to buy 30 billion cams, they burn holes in your wallet quickly. so just start with a set of .5 up to 3, that'll give you a good range of cams without dropping all of your money. for quick draws, it's nice to have those premade 12 or 18 cm draws, but making your own can work too. Personally I take either a 30 or 60 cm runner and throw 2 nano carabiners on it. this will keep it super light, while also giving you the option of extending out your draw if needed. I'd have about 12 quick draws in your rack to start. for nuts, go with what he said in the video, you don't need a thousand of them, but it'll be nice to have at least a full set. color coordination really helps too like he said. ALWAYS have a nut tool! also, ensure you have enough locking carabiners, they can get used up quickly when building anchors. the biggest thing I've learned is to keep it simple. the more gear you add to your kit, the more you will have to carry and fumble with on the wall. you want to be focused on the climb, not on the choas of the gear. so start simple with a basic rack and learn about what you have, then add on over time. eventually you'll have more gear than you know what to do with, but you'll know each piece pretty well. most importantly, have fun and stay safe!
Thanks for the tips! Do you know if there are any good videos to learn trad climbing?
DriedConcher There are a few good videos out there, but when it comes to trad, I would avoid relying on them. Nothing beats hands on, in person training with someone who knows the trade of trad. I would suggest going to your local climbing gym and asking an employee if they have classes for trad or if they know of anyone who knows trad well. The climbing community is pretty nice in that people are more than willing to pass down their knowledge to someone who's trying to learn. Videos are fun to watch, but please don't rely on them for trad.
Thanks!
For sure! and if you are just looking for videos, dig through EpicTV's channel and you'll find some stuff in there. But again please don't rely on videos, learn from someone in person
Hunter 666650 You can always go to an REI or something similar of you have one close to you. If not you'll have to shop online. If you are going online then I'd suggest you always buy new, please avoid ebay and stuff, your life is worth more than saving a few dollars. So find a good online store that sells new. But if you have the option, I'd go to a store and in person. It's kind of nice being able to hold the gear and see what suits you best, especially with cams. You can decide if you want a lighter cam or something with an end ring for more control. Anyways, REI has good in store and good online. Otherwise 'backcountry.com' is good too.
The best thing I ever did to improve my ability to place gear was to learn to aid climb. A good A2 pitch will make you place 40 to 60 pieces of gear. This stretches your creativity on placements in ways you never would have thought and removing the urgency ( because you are weighting the gear rather than hanging by your fingernails) will give you a chance to really look at the gear you're trusting your life to. In addition, bounce testing all those placements will give you immediate feedback about which placements are good or which are simply psych pro.
Get a helmet , get double ropes , get lots of slings , get a decent guide book , get comfy rock shoes , get a climbing partner who doesn't daydream and most importantly don't go down the route the way you went up which is head first 👍
You forgot GET SOME NUTS 🤣
@@davidvallerius4458 it should be dont forget your nuts
My advice is the best starter trad rack will be dependent on the area you will be doing the majority of your climbing. If you know the area you will be spending most of your climbing time, then you should ask other climbers in that area what protection is needed most in that area, or you can browse forums and route info on the web. Gear is expensive and it can be fun to have one of everything on your rack but it is less fun after a year when you have pieces of gear that have never been placed.
If your starting trad, for your own sake don't listen to Alex Honnold.
i think one cam a pitch will do
Hahahahaha 😂
I always have the biggest, baddest and oldest hexes dangling from my harness like cowbells when climbing in the gym so that people think I climb trad, because #tradisrad.
Hell Yeah!
If it doesn't have a letter C in a diamond then it's not old enough....lmao
Great video! I've just gotten into trad after an amazing trip with a friend to Joshua tree Ca climbing Double Cross and a few routes on intersection rock. Absolutely hooked now and have already acquired two cams! Can't wait to have a complete rack so I can get others hooked as well!
One big tip for any climber starting to build a trad rack. The old nuts and cams work just as well as the new ones. If you have a family member or friend that used to climb, get their rack. It'll save you so much money. I've been using my dad's old trad rack back from the late 80's for a few years now and all the gear works fine, all I needed to do was replace the slings. I got a full rack perfect for easier and harder routes for £20.00. Use the extra money to get some nice shoes. (The stuff looks so much more funky as well.)
My rack was late '70's onwards and except for micros(5 ) I can't remember having more than 2 that matched, everything was cost related.
When I finally gave up, ( back problems ) I sold my rack to a youngster for a nominal fee ( that bit broke my heart,I am scottish FFS ) who was totally over the moon.Firstly because the nearest gearshop was over 3 hours away and secondly, it was Very Individual...
"very veteran" was his version.
But the main thing was, other than change out cordage, they were good to go. He's got a couple more cams now but the nut collection is still operational...it has only changed continents.
Nice video and thank you for making it. I am just starting to build a rack and this was helpful for finding where to start.
My sport rack is pretty light but my trad rack is super ultra mega light... as in it's so light it doesn't exist... yet
A really important thing to remember when doing a trad route (which helped me anyway) is to really take a look at the climb before hand, and organise your gear, making sure the most preferable protection is on a gear loop you can easily access, and knowing where everything is on your harness! No point taking gear, which is not going to be needed... more weight!!! Still make sure you take a large selection!! Obviously on multi pitches it's harder to scout ahead, so be prepared!
Great vid... keep it up :)
True!
Haven't got into trad yet. This might be a good start! Good video!
Great video! I would recommend starting with nuts/rocks, once your confident placing them then invest in cams.
Great video for those interested in building their first trad rack! It's an exciting time being alone on the wall for your first time while placing your own gear to protect yourself. It's also totally metal... I use the ultra light Black Diamond C4 cams primarily, mostly because I'm fat and I appreciate the extra weight taken off my harness. Don't be scared, Matt. If those puppies will hold me taking a 15 foot whipper, it'll take you. I also use the DMM nuts, which are great! If you want to be super duper fancy, get some hexes (AKA Cow Bells). These things will clink and clang all the way up the route, making everybody below look up and witness your epic send. Great for those who need that constant admiration from others to fulfill their sense of accomplishment. That, or people will just think your obnoxious. Lastly, if you want to start trad climbing, do yourself a favor and climb with somebody who also has a single rack. If one rack is good, two is better. (cue inappropriate joke, and proverbial high fives amongst bros). Have fun, and be safe. Also, send me food (I spent all my money on climbing gear). On second thought, send me more climbing gear.
I've been really impressed with what the Wild Country Friends have to offer vs other Cams on the market. I'm building my trad rack right now a little at a time.
My advice: Put away a little chunk of money every paycheck and look for off season deals, be patient and you'll have your rack together before the next climbing season. In the meantime clean and climb your friends' gear and get a feel for what you'll need building your own rack.
Getting started with a rack, cost is often a factor. I've opted to start with a set of 10 nuts (I got 1-10 DMM walnuts used for a bargain price with no dmmage) and some slings, and a mix of quickdraws a dozen is the plan 5x11cm, 5x 17/18cm and a couple of extendable.
A 60m 8.9mm triple -certified dry treated rope is to be the centre of the kit. And the most expensive single item.
Advice is be very wary of pre owned and never trust non metal 2nd hand gear (ropes, slings etc)
That will get me and my kids onto simple single pitch climbs of up to 30m
Next I'll be adding a set of Hexes for bigger cracks as I'm mostly climbing on granite and gabro currently.
Cams will have to wait until I have more cash as I'm broke just now
Roll on the summer!
Hey Matt, totally not Trad climbing related, but I was looking around for bouldering buckets but it was hard to find info anywhere about most of them. It would be cool if you guys did a "Top 5" line-up or something like that. Taking into account things like: Portability (compressable, easy to carry around the gym), storage space (phone, wallet, brush, tape etc.), stability on the mat (spillage, knockovers), stability by itself (i.e. ability to stand upright), ease of access, volume and dust/waterproofness (will it leak chalk into a bag, will it absorb moisture from a damp forest floor).
I know it's a lot, and usually most people just buy something, but I've already had really bad ones because there wasn't much to find out about them. Usually there's a lack of description and descriptive pictures, and there are hardly any reviews online or on youtube. For me it doesn't matter, I've already purchased one, but for others it might come in handy.
Hi, Great idea! Currently I'm using a DMM bucket, which is awesome...
Give the cam to someone that doesn't already have a trad setup!
My personal (and limited) trad experience: Borrow a climbing club rack.
I have found that cams, although very useful and user Friendly, can be substituted for Hexes in many cases. Therefore I would prioritise a good selection of passive protection from small nuts and offsets to large hexes. Micro nuts (brasses) are pretty temperamental and skyhooks seem to be held in by magic. But before you invest, see if you can beg/borrow/steal and gain seconding experience on rock types you will likely encounter.
Currently only have a set of Black Diamond stoppers and am looking to expand my rack before leading my first climb. Climbing in the south east US cams are a great way to protect a route along with hexes. Hexes just look so great when placed properly and flush with the crack. Learn from an expert on placement and wander your local crag practicing placements at ground level until confident with your protection. Never be afraid to ask locals about the proper gear to bring on a route if the guide book does not specify. Climb safe everyone!
If you're building an anchor at the top of a climb. If you can, sit down to belay up the second. You will act as a piece of gear, and take a lot of the force. also stops you being pulled over the edge
I do personal love the DMM cams and nuts and will
recommend them to everybody who is gona buy their first rack. And just love trad climbing in general.
My tip.....dont buy any trad gear until you can explain how to use it.
it's...not complicated......at all
I climb in North Carolina in the united states where tricams are king! I started with a set of tricams and singles of Black Diamond .3-3, which opened up just about everything. I use metolius tcu's for their overlap with black diamond c4 cams, which allows me to carry fewer cams which is a huge plus, especially when sending balancy sections of slab. The most important thing though, no matter what kind of gear you use, is how you rack it. Balance and ease of access are key!
My first trad rack setup is #.4 - #3 of the black diamond ultralights. Then #0 - #6 of the metolius ultralights with doubles of #0 - #2. Then I added a stopper set 4-13 of BD Nuts. And to round it off I made 12 rasta alpine draws using BD 60cm dyneema slings, and red and green CAMP photon carabiners. I also carry a BD nut tool (but the wild country nut tool is the best one out there)
when I started building my first rack I stuck to cams that fit my hand size and slighly above.
I found that trad climbing was very different to sport and hanging around on a hand jam or off-width was when I really needed fast pro.
cordolet slings like the edilrid one's are great! I have the blue one that you are holding and it works great for me! super secure feeling, use it all the time
How can I watch the full version from mash up of Baikal lake bouldering/climbing?
Trying to get a rack together (just got strong enough in gym to venture outdoors). Missing cams and nuts. Best advice I can give, as a novice is: Get advice from people who know what they are doing! I've wasted loads so far getting the wrong things in the wrong order and trying to save cash. People at shops and local climbing gym have been awesome (and of course epic tv).
I definitely recommend the Black Diamond nuts and cams. The cams are super lightweight overall are just amazing to use. I also recommend the black diamond PosiWire quickdraws they're also incredibly light and very durable. if you looking for a good wire gate carabiner I definitely recommend Mad Rocks ultralight gate carabiner extremely light and it's got a really good gate easy to open
I'm a student from Sheffield and my recommended rack for Peak Grit is:
Set of DMM nuts - functional and easy to replace in any UK climbing shop
DMM Offsets - trust me, when you get to Millstone you'll thank me
Both should be racked on Ultra O biners, so much easier to select and place from.
Cams - if you can afford them, 0.5 to 4 including half sizes. As an estimate, if you can fit your hand in a crack it takes no.2, since this is most climbs in the Peak, consider getting two. I like Wild Country and Black Diamond - I find the lack of a thumb loop means the DMM cams have a tendency to twist when placing high
10x quick draws - this will cover you for even the tallest of Peak routes or the most nervous of route decorating friends. Go light if you can, but this is a place to save money
60cm extender - in the Peak you might only need one or two, but if you head to the Alps, take 6 and leave your quick draws at home. Make these out of 8mm 60cm slings and 2 DMM phantom snap gates - expensive but worth it for the weight savings
3x 120 sling - get the DMM 8mm ones, they last just as long and make your rack that little bit lighter
240cm sling - godsend when you top out to a large grit boulder
Nut key - you will fall, you will get gear stuck!
All stored in an Osprey mutant or variant, or an Alpha fl 30 if you are heading Alps
Hope this helps:)
The grit is my favourite place to climb! Thanks for the comment - Matt
"What should you have on your trad climbing set up?"
This video: Deez Nuts
No more blank space at the beginning XD I don't have trad gear yet, so this vid was pretty helpful!
As someone new to trad climbing in the past year there has been a number of helpful thing for building my rack, placing gear and just all around beginner stuff. First the rack. I know i just wanted to go out and buy everything new a shinny right away but the cost adds up quick!! I know its hard to wait but i really recommend researching where your planing on climbing most. I say this because yes buying a complete set of cams is nice, however like me you may not need all the smaller sizes but need doubles in the mid range. So do your do diligence and know what sizes you will need the most. however do get the basics like a full set of nuts, draws etc, just don't go crazy right away. If your tight on a budget and need to double up on the mid sized cams. I highly recommend the DMM torque nuts! They run around 69$ US and work great in parallel cracks, restrictions and horizontals as well. They do take time to learn to place. However for their cost they cover the size range of 6 cams!!
Now that you got some shiny gear its time to learn how to use it. The best instruction you will get is from following a mentor. But lets say that's not an option at the moment and you cant afford a class. Start were i did. Walk around the base of your local crag and just start plugging gear. It really helps and is stress free. Then next i say find a sport route with some gear option placements and plug some in.Then if its controlled, AKA you have a bolt clipped relatively close. Take a controlled fall on your placement. If it holds great! if not then you learned something.
Again this is just my opinion and experience. So take it all with a grain of salt. Ow and one final not that i'm a big fan of the new Metolious master cam as well as to BD C4.
Cheer!
i carry a little bit of everything in my trad rack. .5 to #3 cam BD, a full set of BD nuts and hexs and my personal favorite tri cams. to me tricams are more universal then both nuts and hexs and just as good as cams but cheaper (in price not quality). i know they work because i have fallen on sandstone with a tricam and it held. i carry mostly on my shoulders in a sling with home made runners made from 1in tubular webbing with a water knot (if your going to tie and not sew your own webbing put a water knot with atleast 1in of tail) i do carry more of my cams on my harness for easy access when im pumped and i need something with a verity of sizes. some of the best advice i can give new trad climbers is learn the limits of your gear and have a healthy level of trust with the gear (dont give it 100% because nothing is perfect but you have to have trust that your gear will catch you in a fall). i suggest going to the crags on an easy trad route placing a bomber placement and do a trust fall on it just like what you would do in sport climbing. catch you guys at the crag and till next time when in doubt dyno your way out!
Ideal starter rack, if money is not a problem:
.3-4 C4 BD Cams (see note 1)
Full set of nuts (see note 2)
8 alpine draws (see note 3)
3 Locking carabiners
1 cordelette 20' ish for building anchors
1 sling 4'
Nut tool
If money is a problem: You can cut back on the small and large cams, so keep .5 to 3. When starting, you will mostly be using hand sized cracks, and you may need to rely on nut placements. That's not a bad thing because it will make you a better trad climber in the long run. You can also make your own slings, with webbing and water knots - although I don't recommend it. If you have quick-draws, use them and only have 4 alpine draws if you like.
1. There will be brands of cams that are used more in each area. I would go with them. Meaning, if the local guidebook uses C4's, then get those. If they use Friends, then get those. It ultimately doesn't matter to you, but knowing which size cams are useful from a guidebook will matter to you as a beginner.
2. I would always get a full set of nuts, but also ask around if you need other passive gear. Example: If you are in the Gunks, you may want tri-cams.
3. I only use alpine draws. I find them more efficient. If you have quick-draws, you can use them to go cheaper.
I hope this is helpful.
The key to trad climbing is to get your hula dance just right. Clipping all that gear to your harness accents your hip movement, and the clinking of gear attracts potential climbing partners. I highly suggest DMM torque nuts, as they add a loud and pleasant sound to any trad rack.
Thanks for the video! gave me good basic input :) Can you give a link to the pic about the e grade pls?
If you are just starting trad climbing, I would recommend doing a lot of "pink pointing" to get used to climbing (and falling) on trad gear. (pink pointing is when someone else places the trad gear on the first climb then you come behind them and clip into it like its a bolted piece of safety, repell off the climb, and clean it)
I'm currently building my first trad rack, I have a set of casin cams I got of my mate for free (funnily enough down the pub) but don't stress I have replaced the slings on them! I use last generation BD positron draws, which I use for sport as well, I really like them since the gear side is a solid gate and the rope side wire which makes it easy to remember! I have a few 120mm slings and a prusik which is an absolute must, will need it for abing of multi pitches and a nut key obviously. Next on the list is a full range of nuts and off set nuts which I know from experience can be an absolute life saver when you just can't get any size standard nut to just fit right. Never been a fan of hexes, bit to bulky and swing about a lot, plus cams do just as well.
I've been pritty lucky with my gear, I recently got a set of twin ropes for free from a friend which was a huge help financially towards my trad climbing. I agree with everyone that you shouldn't be to scrimpy when building your rack as it is your life in the line, but I go by some simple rules, especially when buying second hand.
1. If its soft i.e. material based, so slings, harnesses etc don't buy it as you don't know the history
2. If its metal is probably alright as long as you can't see any obvious cracks or serious damage.
3. You don't need every bit of gear, personally from experience to start all you need is full set of wires, split onto two snap gate crabs for ease of acces. Good range of cams from 1-4 enough quick draws mixture between traditional and alpine, nut key, prusik loop, a few slings of differnt lengths and a couple of screw gate crabs for anchors.
Apologies for the essay, I can tend to go on for a while about climbing...
I have a really solid sport rack coming at at 16 draws. I have 8 camp orbit draws and 8 BD posiwire draws. The camp ones work best for Trad entrance because they are significantly lighter. So when I’m projecting a trad route, I rack the orbits first. My trad rack is bomber too. Always looking to get more though. A beginner setup should consist of (at least in Utah) a double set from 1-4 and a single from .3-.75. This will allow anyone to climb any route. May not allow for beefy top rope climbs at the city of rocks, but it works well. I can’t wait to add to my rack to make the longer (and more fun) routes more realistic!
I have a diverse rack and still find myself to most often use slings. nothing inspires more confidence than using the rock itself.
When starting your first trad rack, there are lots of things to take note of. First and foremost get to know your climbing area and establish your rack accordingly. If you are climbing in a place Yosemite, having those big cams can turn a sketchy, run-out lead to an enjoyable and stress-free climb. However, many places will not need any piece of protection over about 3-3.5 inches, so save the money you would have spent on that #6 camalot to go towards your next climbing adventure. I have also found it very important starting out trad climbing to follow as much as you can, seeing how more experienced climbers place certain types of gear(also the first few trad leads tend to be a bit terrifying if you're unsure of your skills). As far as quickdraws and slings go, I have found it a little more useful to use more alpine draws and regular draws, because you will ultimately save more weight from your rack having the ability of one draw being able to work properly at two lengths as opposed to two draws, two lengths.
as far as brands go I strongly suggest trying a multitude of different items by borrowing from friends, and seeing how much YOU enjoy it, not how much the internet seems to.All in all statring your rack boils down to you taking your time, perfecting the basics, and building the rack that will fit your area and needs. If you follow that plan, you'll be sewing up those trad lines like its nothing.
Happy climbing :)
For a splurge, a DMM Revolver or two at the rope end of the draw can come in handy for reducing rope drag on meandering routes.
My rack is essentially built up of cheap and gifted gear (mainly from previously climbing members of family) however I love my rack in all its oddness and eccentricities. I only use wild country rocks (unanodised to add to the freak) but I love how useful they are, I have two sets, mainly due to my love of aid climbing. I also use hexes fairly regularly, I have two sets of these as well, one wild country set and one set off torque nuts, however I have an amazing ability to get my torque nuts stuck. Something that wasn't mentioned but I really like to use are both micro nuts (in this case micro wallnuts) and offsets, I find both of these quite useful and they have been a godsend on many occasions. As far as cams go I have nearly a whole set but tend to only use them if I am climbing close to the car, as carrying them is a nightmare. My rack certainly isn't the best and there are many things I would love to change/add to it but it suits me great for my adventures in North Wales. I've seen a few comments asking about how to get started, the best thing to do is either do a trad starter course (Plas y Brenin do a good one) or get on UKC and find someone willing to take you out and help you learn, it's not easy or cheap but it's most definitely worth it.
Got a set of DMM Walnuts and a set of DMM Dragons. I like them, theyre pretty awesome.
My full rack for multi-pitch trad climbing includes the following:
Cams: I prefer WC and will always reach for them first
BD C4s .5 - 4
WC Friends .5 - 3 (I rarely use a 4 so I didn't see the need to buy a double)
BD X4s .1 - .75 (This gives me triples of some commonly used sizes where I climb)
Nuts: I love the DMM offsets and have found they are the most versatile despite being a smaller set
DMM Offset 7 - 11
DMM Wallnuts 1 - 11
DMM Torque Nuts 1 - 4 (I use these less and less and if I bring them I will only carry sizes 1 and 2)
Misc:
8 Alpine Draws (BD wire gate on top, 60cm BD sling, BD positron bent gate on bottom)
8 Shoulder length slings (60cm) worn across shoulder
2 Double length slings (120cm) slung across other shoulder and under other slings but connected by a carabiner. (This allows me to always grab the correct size sling the first time)
1 Cordelette for anchor building
1 Quadruple length sling (240cm) for anchor building
1 BD ATC Guide w 2 BD Rocklock carabiners
1 Nut tool
1 short piece of accessory cord with locker for creating prusiks and autoblocks
1 Metolius PAS
Extra locking and nonlocking carabiners for building anchors, personal tethers, and other misc uses
Tips:
I always rack up the exact same way so I always know where my gear is. I won't tell you one way is better than the other, but in my opinion, consistency is key. If you rack the same way then you don't have to look for gear or think about where you racked it. You know exactly where it is.
I made sure to buy all the same slings for each size I own. This means I only have 3 colors to choose from and each color represents a single size so there is no confusion.
I recommend buying the color coded carabiner rack packs to rack all of your gear. I use the BD Oz rack packs, they are lightweight and have a hoodwire to prevent snagging. All the cams and nuts are color coded by size and it helps to put the matching color carabiner on the piece you are racking.
As you gain more experience you can dramatically lighten your rack by only bringing the gear you need for that climb. I won't bring all of this stuff with me on every climb, but I know that I have enough gear to get on most routes.
I find my tricams very Gd bit of kit if you want to go light Coz work as a cam and a nut
Thanks for this awesome Video. I haven't got into trad climbing yet but this give's me a good idea about what i need. Because trad stuff isn't cheap and it would be a pain in the ass to realize that i just bought unusable shit.
After watching this I think trad climbing is pretty rad
First, I find my most frequently used piece of protection is the CAMP Tricam, especially the pink to purple sizes. In limestone pockets they work wonderfully, in non-parallel cracks they are a life-saver, in horizontal cracks they are fantastic. Tricams are significantly less expensive than Friends - particularly if you need to bail. They bite well in winter climbs and don't get frozen up in the sleet.
Second, offset nuts are simply amazing. How oh how did we ever climb before offset nuts? Well worth the price. They are simply magical.
I often climb with a set of nuts, offset nuts, and tricams to size 4. Light weight, inexpensive, and bomber. Love my rack of old school Friends - I still use a double set of rigid Forged Friends. But I wouldn't leave the ground without doubles of pinky & red (tri-cams).
Which brings me to my last point - learn the fine art of nut craft. Learning to assess a good placement - from macro to micro - is simply invaluable. Anyone can pull the trigger and toss in a cam. It doesn't mean the cam was well placed. While nuts and tricams (and yes, hexes in some locales) might be old and boring, you'll likely be on easier grades to begin with anyway. Take your time. Learn to see the subtle nuances that separate a good placement, a great placement, and a so-so placement. By the time you are skilled enough to need Friends, you'll have the experience to use them for best effect.
Have fun, be safe, and always knot your rappel rope ends!
A trad rack can be a very unique setup for each climber depending on where you do a majority of your climbing. I suggest finding an experienced trad climber to follow, and learn how they place gear. As you climb with them in your local areas, you will develop a taste for what gear is used most often at your local crags, and what gear is the most important for you to purchase. It really can be drastically different depending on where you go to climb.
That being said, my style is a little more adventurous. I've come to realize that i like to explore new climbing areas and be ready for anything that a new crag can throw at me. My rack consists of having doubles of black diamond wired nuts in every size from 5-13, and a single set of black diamond cams from .1 all the way to size 3 for those spots when you're super pumped and don't have time to fool with wired nuts. I also have about 8 standard and 4 long quickdraws that I put together myself with petzl dogbones and wire gate carabiners. I carry 3 alpine draws which are mainly the camp 22series wire gate carabiners on mammut 120cm alpine slings, an assortment of screwgate carabiners (some light and some workhorse) and a few of the thick nylon sewn slings in 120cm and 90cm. I also carry 2 belay devices on me in case I drop one of them while I'm climbing.
The biggest thing to remember is like the host of this video said, trad gear gets heavy. My rack is versatile for many of my local places, but i try to research the climbs I do and remove or add specific gear to compliment the climbs I'm planning to do on each trip without being ungodly heavy. Just remember that you don't need a full rack right away as you should be focusing on learning the techniques. A knowledge of what gear you need will come with time, and so will the funding to buy said gear seeing how it's all so expensive. If you're thinking of trad climbing, do your research, find a partner you can trust, and just like an ice bath after a hard training session, ease yourself into this new world very slowly to keep yourself from being totally overwhelmed!
No trad setup yet, but I do use the BD Posiwires for sport climbing! They are great all around draws that aren't too heavy, but can still take a beating. I'd love to get into trad climbing though and from what I've heard, the Wild Country Friends are the best cams on the market! Hopefully I'll get the opportunity to trad climb soon!
Hexes are underrated. Especialy the medium ones. Get a par of these. Sometimes they stick in to the crack like a piece of a puzzle. And they are cheap. You can get maybe 15-20 hexes in one cam.
And dont buy them with a wire. Buy them loose and tie a sling in them.
My current rack is a set of dmm wallnuts (agree with Matt on this one, they're amazing) and a set of black diamond hexes. I know a lot of people hate on hexes all the time for being fiddly and tough to place but with practice they aren't bad at all. Beside that they're serious confidence boosters when you get a bomber placement with one, I'd fall on it all day happily. Currently saving to add a set of cams into the mix so the Friend would be an awesome start!
Hexes cam be great, just quite bulky and noisy to carry up a route :)
Great little video here guys! Can't say enough about the new DMM Dragon cams - lightweight, good range, and bomber construction. Also, definitely love complementing a set of nuts with some offsets - also love DMMs here. I complemented my Dragon cams with some Omega Pacific Link cams - HUGE range, often save them for anchors or when my other pieces are already used since they have such a large range - heavy, so I don't bring them always. For lockers, CAMP photons and BD Mini pearabiners. Oh, and get a nut tool with an area to hit with your palm - some sort of flange, like the Wild country. Coaxing stuck gear out without that can be painful.
I've seen the wonder of tricams, and hear great things, but haven't mastered them enough yet to laud them, but people rave about them, especially in icy conditions, so keep that in mind. Plus, they're a cheaper way to augment a rack with both active and passive pro.
We love Tricams, also worth checking out the Alien and Totem cams, they fit in loads of weird places.
OPL cams, also known as the "holy fucking shit I'm going to die if I don't place something now" piece.
Every rack should have one, for that time when you're about to ruin your pants.
pretty intresting stuff, thx guys ! btw can anyone tell me what's the name of that piano song in the mash up ?
My rack started as a gift from an older climber who had passed his climbing days and didn't want to leave his rack in his closet. This was a good foundation to my current rack. He gifted me .5 through 3.5 camalots as well as two sets of nuts and a set of hexes. I have added some cams here and there since then, but the majority of my rack was a gift. THIS BEING SAID I would say that the easiest way to start a rack is to look around used sporting goods stores or websites for some gear that isn't brand new. It will be cheaper and it will be prebuilt by someone who presumably new what they were doing. Be careful with used gear and inspect it thoroughly before buying it. If it looks damaged or worn out, don't buy it. If you are determined to buy new gear, start with nuts, around 6 quickdraws, a nut tool and hand sized pieces (cams) and slowly expand from there. Also, a 30ft cordellete and a variety of slings from 30cm to 120cm. It all comes down to the type of climbing you are doing and where your climbing ultimately, but I'd say that this is a good start. Don't buy oval 'biners because they are not worth the saving you will get. If you can't find someone you know who trad climbs and you can ask advice from, use your instincts and balance what you want to spend and use your best judgement. Climbing is about having fun and shouldn't get too overanalyzed and critiqued. So the best way is to get out and get some experience and have fun!
when choosing which cams to buy; get someone with a thumb.loop. When you're completely fresh to trad climbing, leading can be quite scary and stressfull, which is where the thumb loop will help you. Personally it has saved me the bother of dropping my cam several times.
When climbing on limestone i rarely use a cam as they can be detrimental to use as there are so many fractures at flakes so i use a hex 90% of the time over a cam
We have limestone here as well. I knew cams were rare to see, didn't really know why.
I'm a big DMM fan, so right now my fav (actually) setup is a full set of Wallnuts, a set of large offset nuts (hands down the best nuts), a set of cow bells (Torque nuts), Demon cams 1-3, 8 extendable draws and 10 sport draws.
The biggest advise a person can get about building a trad rack in my opinion is to find a seasoned climber and ask him about local trad climbs and what kind of gear they take. For example, when I was in California every thing is more vertical cracks and pockets which would accept my wild country friends and black diamond nuts really well. However, since moving to North Carolina I have realized the amount of times you are forced to place in horizontal cracks. This has shown a huge need for Tri-Cams as they tend to protect horizontal cracks with more certainty.
at 6:40 he says the sling is 120cm, but you can read on the label 60cm :))))
As a beginner myself, my first tip would be to try everything before you buy it. Certainly, climbing as a second, you'll be borrowing other people's gear so you can check it out.
I used the cordelette slings before and they may be more resistant but they are a pain to put away. Sure there's more security, but the best security is simply to be aware of the limitations of your gear. In sketchy situations, the best answer is a personal anchor system anyway.
Building your rack can be pricey, even when building it piece by piece. Matt says he doesn't use hexes a whole lot but the the DMM torque nuts are very versatile and quite a bit cheaper for starting out.
Last tid bit, make sure your nut removal tool has a plastic cover so it doesn't catch on your harness (very annoying).
You should make a gear sling video next, or just an overview of how to stay organised when placing and collecting gear. I use the blackdiamond zodiac gear sling so i don't get tripped up by low hanging gear!
When you first start trad climbing you should probably get doubles of the mid sizes, like number 1,2 and three. Nuts are essential for the begging because they are lite and cheap. Also a well placed nut can take a whipper just like a cam. Personally I like tricams a lot because they have a awesome camming action and they are light weight. I'm 17 years old and from Germany so I don't do big multi pitches. So a basic set of cams and a nut set from 1-13 (a couple doubles for the larger ones can come in handy) is just fine! Tricams and hexes are optional, just see what you feel comfortable with.
And of course you will need at least 5 slings, draws and a nut tool.
Where is that place In The mash video with the boulder on ice?
the best way to start trad climbing is to second your first pitch behind a mate with a love of tricams. best lock off training i have ever done.
The Metolius rack is super light weight and I think great for beginners with their colored indicators for gear placement. I have not tried their new cams but I've been pretty happy with the rack I have. Easy to retrieve for the second and very color coated all around. I feel that the company is overlooked in their cam credibility. Plus they are cheaper then the rest. A win-win for me.
1 set of nuts size 1 - 10, set of offset nuts, multiple slings of various length, set of hex's, and finally SCREW GATES! Boa and HMS screw gates for building anchors (2 HMS for the achors at least and the boa for tying into the system) IMO cams are not necessary for a starter rack and i have left them last because of how expensive they are and I've been climbing perfectly fine with passive protection for now. but i want cams...
What about pitons? Also a piece of trad gear.
Basics for multi pitch trad climbing:
(used for anchors, self rescue, rescue of the fallen leader or other manoeuvre)
4 x locking (screwgate) carabiners
2 x 120cm nylon slings
2 x 6 mm cordelette 5 meters long
knife + first aid (you may have it in the backpack, I carry it on the back of harness)
optional also other gear such as:
ascenders, rope grabs, pulleys,...
Route specific:
(it really depends on the type and composition of rock, also length and difficulty of pitches of the route, and the experience of the climber. Some climbers can do wonders with very limited rack)
mixed / 1 set of nuts + nut remover
several medium friends
several pitons + rock climbing hammer
8-12+ extended quickdraws on 60cm slings, or halved sling to 30cm.
Talk to the locals! The people who are climbing at your crag or where you hope to be doing your trad climbing will know exactly what sizes and types of gear you need. For instance if your starting out climbing in Ireland there's no point buying loads of massive cams, since it's fairly rare (from what I know anyway) to need more than one or even one massive cam! Also, borrow gear from friends or other climbers if you can when you're starting out. This way you can get a feel for what brands/ types of gear you like to use. (Just make sure you thank them with a beer or two!)
Hey Matt! Aaron here, just a thought, what are your opinions on Czech Trad climbing? Basically using knotted cordelettes in place of metal pro on trad climbs.
2 sets of 1-10 nuts - I use alpidex you can get them on amazon
3 larger DMM hexes (hopfully going to swap these for cams)
240cm, 120cm & 60cm thick slings all wild country and a thin 120cm for my cows tail.
3-4 screw gate carabiners
and lastly a few snap gates to carry it call on.
my advice, get a good teacher when you start trad climbing. I had an amazing instructor that was so scary you dare not do anything wrong 😂 also, there's a lot more to think about when trad climbing so he careful. doing it with some good mates is a great time as well! But most importantly have fun and be safe!
Not so much kit but along with your first trad rack or even before you get it, buy a copy of Trad CLIMBING+. There's no point in buying the kit if you don't know the principles behind using it. Nothing will replace practice and the guidance of an expert, but the book is good enough to teach you the basic principles that will allow you to choose the rack that is right for you and your climbing. It will also teach you some of the principles behind forces that can be easier explained with a diagram on paper than in word at the crag. I would also say, buy as many cams as you can justify. They are expensive and heavy. But they cover a wider range of crack sizes and shapes than passive protection. Cam sizes overlap so if you're climbing a crack thats a similar size all the way up, its useful to have lots of nuts/cams/hexes that cover similar sizes to put in it.
been on the link in the description and it doesn't show all of the videos in the mash up
COLOURED SNAPGATES!
Using multicoloured carabiniers to attach year gear to your harness makes it much easier to grab the right stuff quickly (like with the wall it's mentioned in the video). DMM do some good packs of 5 different colours which are really handy, then just divide up you pretection between them e.g. small nuts, big nuts, hex's and tricams.
*like with the wallnuts
Great tip!
DMM nuts 1-11. I also have 3 extra nuts size 3, 4, and 6. I pillaged them from route's where people had given up on them. Don't give up so easy folks!!!
Wild country Hexes. Because I like the challenge of trying (and failing) to use their camming action. They're great for beginners as they can also be used as massive nuts and forces one to try and use the camming action.
DMM Dragon II cams. things of beauty... not to say I wouldn't take a free wild country friend ;) Get the size 2,3,4 set first then go for the smaller/bigger ones depending on what you fancy climbing. They fit in nicely with my DMM nuts (color-wise).
For draws I use the wild country trad draws, they're pretty light and were on offer at the time. I have some extendable ones too.
I like to have at least 5 locking biners. 1 big one for attaching me to the anchor (big enough to accommodate at least a couple of clove hitches), 1 for use with my belay plate and 3 smaller ones to attach the sling or ropes to the anchor points (get the black DMM ones, because they look like something from Batman's utility belt).
Slings from small to big. Big slings are really useful for multi-pitch and in situations where you don't want to build the anchor with the rope (e.g. you are leading every pitch or you don't have enough rope left). I use skinny slings and rack them on my harness, I don't mind the extra weight of having the biners needed to attach them to my harness as these end up being useful anyway.
Cams are great but they are expensive to start with. I would reccomend getting some dmm torques first. They are the upgraded version of a hex. The price of cams can put people off and they are not needed initially in the vast majority of lower graded climbs. Once you have been climbing a while and pushing the grades you can start replacing with cams
You want to make sure that you have multiple cams and nuts of common sizes so you never run out.
Two bits of advice-learn your rack and learn your area.
1.Develop a certain way that you spread your gear over your gear loops so that you know where everything is without fumbling around for it when you get pumped. Be careful with big chunky bits of gear that might get caught while you're climbing and try to tuck those away at the back.
2. Look what people climbing in your area are using and copy any trends. Personally I've noticed DMM wallnuts can't be beaten when climbing granite multi pitches in north Wales for example, while different crack systems on gritstone lend themselves better to different gear.
Happy climbing folks, and remember, always use good protection...
Beginner Trad Climbing Rack
Nuts - sizes 1-13
3 hexes - sizes 7-10
3 cams - sizes 1-3 or 0.5-1. Think about the crags you usually go to and make a judgement call as to what would be most useful.
4 slings - 2 x 120cm and 2 x 240cm.
5 quick draws - you probably sport climb too so I would advise getting draws that can be used for both. The number of draws you need is dependent on the routes you want to climb.
4 extendable quick draws - the black diamond oz alpine quick draws seem pretty cool. Really important to have these for routes that wander!
4 hms screwgates - for building anchors.
Nut key - to be carried when leading as well as seconding.
That’s a good start!
Written by a weekend warrior who is slowly building his own trad rack. Have fun and stay safe everyone! 😀
Hey Matt!
I really love trad climbing, it makes me feel free! I can usually go wherever i want. My Rack looks like this:
Dmm Dragon II gen. size 00-5 each size doubled
Dmm Wallnuts 1-11
Dmm offset nuts
Black Diamond wired hex set
I prefer to use half ropes so i chose Tendon 7.9 Master. They are protected against water and dirt, and very light. I love my Black Diamond hoodwire express set. Eight of them are 17cm, six is 120cm alpine sets. I take care of my head so i use Mammut wall rider helmet.
I truly believe, that this set allows me to do almost every route i choose. Any idea what should i modify?
Best Regards!
ps. sorry for my poor english.
The most important thing for youre first trad climbing rack is definitely your climbing partner. You need someone with big trad climbing experience to teach you basics and do not bother yourself with equipment, your experienced buddy probably have everithing you need for starting trad.:D
When learning to place gear you can easily go to a wall and traverse while placing gear, awesome for endurance training and afterwards someone more experienced can come rate your placements out of 5.
Take the salewa nut key cause it has a beer opener as well :P
Great tip..going to try that soon!
I like winning things! here's my rack:
1. metolius ultralight master cam size 1-8 x2
2. Alpine draws (single length nylon slings, camp biners) x8
3. 10" nylon slings, camp biners x4
4. Omega Pacific wedgie nuts size 3-13
5. lockers and double length slings for anchors
there's more misc stuff, but this is what I use, I mainly climb at Seneca rocks West Virginia.
I am a cheapskate/student so I borrow nuts/cams from friends and Bangor Uni Mountaineering Society (BUMS). I graduate this year though so need to get some climbing independence.
I've got some cheap Alpidex quickdraws for less than £10/piece and used rope from a fellow BUMS member. Going cheap is OK so long as you understand the difference between your gear and others. Durability is often the key! I'm happy to pay less for less durable gear as I (touch wood) will get a real job in the near future and can send all my earnings to DMM.
I'm starting my trad rack, I just bought a set of those DMM walnuts.... I can take that giveaway friend off your hands and give it a whirl... haha ;)
I personally have a set of BD C4s from 3 to .5 and BD x4s from .5 to .1, as well as BD stoppers. If you are looking to buy smaller cams, I suggest you get cams with more flexible stems like the BD x4s, fixe Aliens, or Totem cams. Emphasis on Totem cams (I don't personally have any but my climbing partner has a full set), they have really flexible stems and they maintain there full holding power when placed in a flare (a rare feature), you can also place 2 out of the 4 lobs of the cam in a crack and it is still rated at half strength witch can be a real lifesaver wile aid climbing. If you do look to buy totem cams, make sure you get the normal model, not the totem basic cam, which are similar to Fixe Aliens. Have fun out there and stay Tradical
When I go out climbing I like to talk to my gear first. I start small, and converse with my 5-11 nuts, "how are you guys?" I inquire before any use, because I want my gear to be as excited as I am when I climb. Then I move to the tricams, I rub them on my face and kiss the pink one, because it was the first piece of gear that I bought, and the first piece of trad gear I ever placed. I love my pink tricam. Pinkie usually looks up and tell me that she's excited too, and I know she is because she seems to fit where nothing else will. Then onto the cams. My cams are like a princess, spoiled and used to being treated well; so I treat them well. I carress the lobe and whisper sweet nothings into the ears of my .5 and 1, they love it, and I love them.
Errr....
yes! that was pretty epic storytelling!
I really suggest getting out there with other trad climbers and learning from them, depending where you go climbing they will let you know the best gear and sizings for that area. also you learn the cheeky placements which some people don't know about
Great idea, learning from people better than you is always a good idea.
When starting to build your first rack consider passive protection. They are less expensive then Cams and are great because your first months of trad climbing will be climbing easy grades so you can get used to placing the protection into the rock. Another benefit is that if you decide that you don't like trad climbing you won't feel bad about spending a load of money for nothing. Bonus tip: Buy a tri-cam! They work just like a cam, but are less expensive and fit into placements that nuts or cams won't work. Trust me. the pink tri-cam has saved my butt a few times when cams won't work. Have fun and don't forget to buy a helmet and wear it when you trad climb!!
Nice job on the video mash up! What was the music used? Nevermind, found it - "Revolutions" by Angus MacRae, album is "Evolve".
note: if you haven't come across the Google Play Sound Search app yet, it's pretty cool!
I use a 3or 4 m sewn loop spectra cordellete to make up belays. means I only use one cordelette. clip all pieces then pull loops towards you and do a overhand knot or fig 8. This load all pieces equally. I also find hexes ver useful , especially for belay setups.
2 sets of walnuts size 1 - 11
plus 1 set of the offsets by dmm.
this will cover you for loads of places.
1 set of cams x7 more or less then add om from there as and when you find u need more.
colour coded snap gate biners on the cams too for quicker identification; )
when starting out (and with cams in particular) it's better to have the minimal kit and become really in tune with how to place it, than to have the whole range of cams but be less familiar with them.
as i starter rack i'd go for:
nuts sizes 1-11, doubling up on size 5 and 6
i'm a fan of hex's, they're "harder to place wrong" than cams, cheaper and lighter. i like dmm torque nuts, the 4 sizes have a large range of placement options
if you've got enough in the budget: 2 or 3 cams covering the middle range of cams, double axles are worth the extra money.
8 to10 quickdraws. length wise: 5 long, 2 medium and the 3 short.
i like most of my long ones to be alpine draws (extendable) but some people will find them to be fiddly
4x 120cm slings and 3-4 60cm sling depending on how many alpine draws you go for . its nice if they can each have there own carabiners but not essential.
and 4 or more locking crabs.
with all that gear it might be worth using a climbing bandolier (easy to make out of an old padded shoulder strap) if you don't have enough loops on your harness.
.k x
I'd say be smart, do your research of where you are going to climb most and build a rack suited to that. that way you'll have the right stuff to keep you safe and you won't have wasted money on lumps of metal that just get dragged up with you. Most guide books can help here as can local climbers.