Gear - Wiki
| Equipment | Description | Use | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine Draw | Basically quickdraws that use slings instead of a dogbone (so they don’t keep one side rigid), allow you to “extend” gear/bolts to further reduce friction/rope drag | Trad climbing (routes tend to wander more), wandering sport routes, anchoring/anchors | You can create your own out of slings and non-lockers, or buy as a set. I recommend 60 cm slings, since they can be halved or fully extended, which covers most of their need. A couple 120 cm are useful for extending rappels, anchors, slinging trees, and more. |
| ATC (belay device) | Tubular or rectangular shaped belay device, cheapest and easiest to use/learn. | Belaying and Rappelling | Common - Black Diamond ATC, but there are MANY suitable options from many brands. For additional use, I recommend a BD ATC guide, Petzl Reverso, or DMM Pivot. These allow for fully auto-locking belays off of anchors for multi-pitch climbing |
| Bouldering Crash Pad | Large mat of foam used to protect falls while bouldering. These soften landings as well as flatten the landing zone to prevent rolled ankles, etc. | Bouldering, sleeping | For a first pad, realize that these are huge and shipping is expensive, so I’d try to find one in a local store, craigslist, etc. along with searching online. Standard sized pads like the Mad Rock Mad Pad, Metolius Session, and Organic Simple Pad should be good to start with, or you can go for a full send and get a BD Mondo, Organic Big Pad, or Metolius Magnum, although these are more expensive and take up a lot of space. There are also half pads, blubbers, etc. but start with a standard-size as they are always useful/welcome |
| Camming Device (Cam) | Spring-loaded camming device (SLCD/Cam/Friend). Consists of two, three, or four cams mounted on a common axle or two adjacent axles, so that pulling on the axle forces the cams to spread apart. | Trad climbing, anchor building | For starters, I recommend using MountainProject’s “For Sale” Forum to find deals on used cams, since collecting cams for a rack is an expensive undertaking and the MP userbase is (generally) reliable and offer good deals. BD C4’s are the gold standard for a regular rack (sizes .5-3), Totems are the absolute best but more expensive (along with Totem Basics for smaller sizes). Other great options are Metolius Master Cams, and DMM Dragons/Demons. Do your research here since you’re trusting these to protect you. |
| Chalk Bag/Bucket | Holds chalk; bags are small and generally can be carried around your waist. Buckets are big, hold more chalk, and don’t spill as often when you set them down. | Buckets are for bouldering since you won’t carry them up a route with you, bags can be used for either. | I like having a bag since I can take it up routes, its also nice if it has pockets or spots to keep brushes, etc. but mainly this will just hold chalk, so express yo-self with some dank designs. Or buy the cheapest one. Maybe take one of the thousand that are abandoned in the Rock Spot lost and found. |
| Climbing Helmet | Protects your head, different from bike helmets as they offer more protection on TOP (falling rocks/things, hitting head while moving up) while bike helmets offer more protection on the side | Climbing on ropes, bouldering (YES - if you’re worried about hitting your head on a rock. I watched someone flash a V8 wearing a helmet, there is no shame) | Considerations are weight, price, look, features. Weight is important, it goes on your head and is noticeable, a lighter helmet is more comfortable and probably makes your head sweat less. Features i.e. headlamp notches, breathability. Most people buy the BD Half Dome as a first helmet, I enjoy the Mammut El Cap, and think the Petzl Sirroco looks amazing in style, comfort, and protection but have never used it. There are many good options, this ones up to you. |
| Climbing Shoes | Specialized type of footwear designed for rock climbing. Typical climbing shoes have a close fit, little if any padding, and a smooth, sticky rubber sole with an extended rubber rand. | Climbing | See Climbing Shoes wiki page. Shoe choice will depend on a lot of factors; price range, intended use, style (i.e. Lace vs. Velcro), aggression, and looks. I recommend trying a lot of shoes at the Rock Spot Shoe Demo - the gym has ambassadors come in once per semester from every major brand, allowing you to speak to experts and try out what you’d like to buy, also offering a 25% discount |
| Cord | Thin (~5-7mm), static line. Can be tied into a loop to create cordelettes. Many general anchor uses. | Anchor building | 20-30 ft. and 5-7mm is generally good. Can be bought online, at REI, etc. |
| Gri Gri | Assisted-braking belay device from Petzl recommended for dynamic ropes with diameters between 8.9mm-11mm (for Gri Gri 2) | Belaying | Petzl Gri Gri 2 (larger range than original, Gri Gri + is more expensive and contrived with “anti-panic” mode) |
| Harness | Secures a person to a rope or an anchor point. | Essential gear for climbing with ropes (top-rope, sport, trad) | Black Diamond Momentum (however there are many good harnesses on the market, I have a Mammut Ophir). I’d try some out at the gym to get your size, you want this to be comfortable when you’re hanging off the side of a cliff for hours. |
| Locking Carabiner | Carabiners that have a locking mechanism for the gate to ensure they stay closed | Anchors, belay devices, any situation where you want to make sure a carabiner does not open while rope climbing | For belaying/rappeling, choose an HMS/Pear style carabiner (i.e. Petzl Attache, BD RockLock); basically just meaning they are larger (wide enough to take two turns of rope). These are also generally stronger and easier to use/manipulate. For other uses i.e. anchor building, smaller/cheaper “lockers” will suffice, such as BD Positrons (although I don’t like these, they feel cheap), CAMP USA Photons, and many more. |
| Non-Locking Carabiner | Carabiners that do not have a locking gate | Can be used for anchor building, racking cams/nuts/trad gear, on quickdraws/alpine draws, displaying car keys, etc. | Main considerations: Price, keylock vs. non-keylock, size, weight, and color. Keylock vs. non-keylock refers to how the carabiner closes, with keylock carabiners generally considered “nicer” since there is no notch that can snag on gear (look it up for further info). It’s not a big deal but I’d recommend keylock carabiners for locking carabiners for belay devices and possibly for draws, especially the side that will be clipped to bolts/gear. Weight starts to be important when you start to accumulate gear and realize how heavy you feel with a bunch of stuff on your harness. My favorite “non-lockers”: CAMP USA Nano 22s, Black Diamond Oz/Hoodwire (very similar), Black Diamond Hotwire, but as always there are many more nice options here. |
| Nut (Stopper) | Passive protection, basically just a block of metal that you stick in constricting cracks | Trad climbing, anchor building | BD, as usual, has the standard set for stoppers. A good range is 1-11 or 1-13. DMM Wallnuts are generally considered the best in my opinion, and more exist in the market. I’d look on MountainProject for these, since they have no “soft” materials (i.e. slings) so its easy to identify if anything is wrong with them. |
| Quickdraw | Allow the climbing rope to run freely through bolt anchors or other protection while leading. 2 Carabiners connected by a “dogbone”, which is a sling that allows the carabiner attached to the bolt/protection to move freely while keeping the rope-side carabiner rigid. Quickdraws allow for wandering on routes and prevent rope-drag (being inhibited by the friction of the rope on your protection due to angles in the climbing line). | Sport climbing, top rope anchors with two parallel bolts, trad climbing | Considerations are weight, keylock/non-keylock, price, style, length. Again, if you’re planning on using a lot of gear, maybe don’t go for the heaviest set, but if you’re just sport climbing/TRing it shouldn’t matter since you’ll only have draws on your harness. There are many length options, mostly 12 cm which will work fine. I like quickdraws with a key-lock carabiner on the bolt/gear side, but it doesn’t matter too much. I also like a sleek/less bulky dogbone, but again that’s personal preference. Good starter options: BD Posiwire, BD Freewire, BD Oz, Petzl Djinn Axess. |
| Rope | Static Rope - Can be used for building top-anchors or for protecting top-rope climbing. Does not elongate/soften falls, so should not be used for lead climbing. Dynamic - used for lead climbing, as elongation of the rope allows for soft, comfortable, and safe falls | Climbing non-bouldering routes (Too tall to be protected adequately with bouldering pads) | For starters, I recommend a 60 meter, dynamic rope with a diameter between 9.5mm-10.5mm. 60m ropes will be adequate for 95% of routes you encounter, dynamic allows for both top rope and lead climbing, and that diameter is not too bulky but definitely big enough to provide a safe, reliable, workhorse of a rope. Go with the best deal on a UIAA certified rope/trusted brand (i.e. Mammut, Sterling, Beal, Black Diamond, and many more). There are a lot of options for ropes and a lot of specialization available, but hopefully this gets you started |
| Webbing | Strong fabric woven as a flat strip or tube of varying width and fibres, often used in place of rope. | Anchor building | If you plan on top-roping in places that require tree anchors, get a long peice of webbing (~80 feet, or more/less depending on the areas) since most times your anchors will be long. For bolt/gear anchors, shorter (~20 feet) works. Can be bought/cut at REI or found online. |
These are MY (Alex C) recommendations/opinions based on my own knowledge/experience, please do your own research/trust your gut/consult others when purchasing, there are many more perspectives.