have any of you more experienced guys got any advice on what the foundations of a starter trad climbing rack should be. I'm planning on spending a fair bit at the outdoor show this wekkend, circa £150, with the intention of assembling a good gear base.

Cheers

Tom

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TOM

Just gets penises, you dont need anything else. you'll get more use than anything from them when you sit in front of the tv trying to put them in cracks in your living room.

No, on a sensible notes, 1-10 nuts, 5 QDs, range of slings (120 240), screw gates and a roll of unusually coloured tape.

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Level-headed member of Gadd-vey

Cheers phil but what are QDs?

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TOM

quickdraws, just got it...

on that note does it matter wether the gates are both straight gate/bent gate whatever? If i find its cheaper to assemble my own?

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TOM

At the Outdoor Show I'll be spending £100 on penises and other protection that the club dosen't have. If you're joining for at least another year then my advice to you would be to do the same.

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Developing Nicely.

Everyone is going to have different opinions on this, but it might be worth thinking about what sort of climbing you going to mostly do. If you stick to short grit crags you may not need that many quickdraws or two full sets of nuts. If you shag (or want to) 50 sea cliffs you'll need more gear, and longer quickdraws. If you're going to be in the club for a couple of years it may be worth supplementing a club rack with your own gear to make it what you want (penises and long QDs?).

I'd recommend building it up slowly and buy stuff you'll want to keep. Metal work lasts 10 years so its worth getting stuff you like from the start. Also, try and look at/borrow a few personal racks to work out what you like/ prefer to place.

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Great Free Blowies (men or women) - 07702218917

bent vs streight: they both do the same job but bent gates tend to be easier to clip. u'll prob find its cheaper to QDs rather than make your own. i'd recommend wire gates too - not always much more costly but certainly lighter and dont snag.

if u want to use club gear, compliment it with penises and longer QDs. if u want to start with ur own rack, than as phil and alek have suggested

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VP '08-'09

ahh dear i just typed a long reply but then i got logged out. but basically buy a bit at a time, and wait untill things are on offer. The outdoor show isn't always that cheap so think about how much things usually cost, especially since we get 20% of at Cotswold and 15% off (i think) at creation and redpoint.

Wire gates are better as they're lighter and don't freeze shut when you're wintering, which sometimes happens with solid gates. One side bent and one straight does however let you know which side you should clip into the rope which is good because most QD's are designed to have one side going to the rope (the rope crab is the one that is held in place, stopping the crab rotating so the gate faces the wrong way) and theoratically it makes your gear last longer (not sure how much difference this acutally makes though). But at the end of the day it probably won't make you shag any harder so there's not really much point in worrying about it.

Alternatively you could just buy a bouldering mat, long live UBBC!!

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Girls like three things: Danger, Boners and R1oss' guns.

Get a Wild Country Size 0 and 0.5 cam followed up by a number 2 and number 10 DMM nut. Plus three sling-draws.

That's all you'll need.

Well... those seem to be the pieces of gear on my rack which get the most use. lol

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"I'm not mad, I just see things differently"
No longer VP : But still Vaguely Philippino
FYI: Actions speak louder than wombats

umm not convinced by that m8, size 0? no. 10?

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VP '08-'09

James I love your bollocks

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Developing Nicely.

so that is the secret combination all the gear manufacturers are trying to hide from us..

while i also love jame's bollocks, i think im gonna go for a size 1, 2 and 3 cam, a selection of slings and if i can afford it a full set of wallnuts.

Cheers for the advice guys.

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TOM

.. by the way, do you think guys there is any functional difference between nuts by wildcountry and by DMM?

Different brands may sit better in different rock types. Just use one brand and you'll never know the difference.

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Developing Nicely.