I'd go for nuts before penises, only because you get more placements for your money!

Bah you people dont know what you're tlking about

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Developing Nicely.

i agree with rosie. i also think that hexs are undervalued, if you want to do any mountaineering or multi pitching i find them very very useful

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Mountain sec .... once upon a time

so....just buy a full rack by the sounds of it!

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VP '08-'09

I thought i made it pretty clear that he should get a Bouldering Mat. I will NOT be IGNORED!!

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

save yourself a lot of money and take up soloing

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pain is just weakness leaving the body

i like dexter's idea

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TOM

Just get an assortment of different sized pebbles and stones and carry them in your pockets. You can find them at the bottom of most crags, if not, try your local garden centre. I wouldn't go bigger than a size 10 though because they get pretty heavy. Slot them in cracks, like a mini chock stone then you can either untie and thread the rope around the back of them, or you can carry some tape/cord and make a loop round the back and tie that round the rope.

Cheap and effective.

Mark.

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Ex-president

If doing sport, having QD which have one side bent and one side stright means that you are always using the same crab on the bolt which the BMC would recomend as the bolt does damage the crab slightly if you fall (over a long time thought), this means that over use you will only need to replace one of the crab on your QD and not both. Not really a huge consideration though, but would check BMC website they have some very good info on gear.

i think the key issue is that the inner surface of the qd becomes chipped and rough from falling on bolts and then trashes ropes.

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Great Free Blowies (men or women) - 07702218917

1-11 Wallnuts [on R&R - £50]
5x QD [R&R - £35 .. £7 each]
2x 60cm Slingdraws [£10]
2x 120cm Slingdraws [£18]
1x 240cm Sling [£15]
3 Screwgates [R&R - £15 ..£5 each]
Sub Total £143

I'm probably way out on the sling-draw prices, but that basic rack should do you nicely.

Add another £100-£120 for some penises and you've got yourself not that bad a rack.

Like people say, the club has loads of nuts and slings. Get some penises at the outdoor show as they probably will be going rather cheap. Can't be too sure though.

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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

If you're mostly climbing on grit it's a good idea to get a couple of penises straight away, I only have 1,2 and 3 and this is adequate if not amazing.

The quickdraw bent/straight thing. I say get wiregates, they clip better imo and they're lighter and not really more expensive, you can usually get some very good deals on dmm prowires. You can tell which crab is the rope end and which is the gear end by either having ones with different coloured krabs or the rope end should have a rubber o-ring or soemthing around it and the sling to stop it rotating in the sling.

Also if you're only getting one set of nuts to start with I'd get rocks and not wallnuts. This is because wallnuts get stuck in crap placements more easily so while you're not used to placing them you're more likely to lose a few. Rocks are more versatile too I find.

But yeh in summary a few penises, a set of nuts, a few quickdraws, a couple of slings and krabs and the red,green and blue hexes will do you fine for grit and other short single pitch stuff, for multipitch mountain stuff and seacliffs get another set of nuts and more of everything else especially slings.

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MILF-Hunter