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Chockstone Photography
Australian Landscape Photography by Michael Boniwell
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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

 Page 1 of 4. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 40 | 41 to 60 | 61 to 72
Author
Buying a Trad Rack
SydneyBattler
2-Feb-2014
10:47:03 PM
Greetings chockstone,

Im looking to squirrel away my monies and buy a trad rack. I already have sports gear so Im just basically just looking to buy trad pro. However, I have a few questions:

(1) How much should I set aside?
(2) What sized gear should I get?
(3) Other than cams and nuts, what else should I get (are hexes/RPs a must or a maybe)?
(4) For a thrifty gentleman with limited funds, what (online) stores should I go to? Aus or USA?

I'd mainly use it in the Bluies/Point Perp with the occasional pilgrimage to Araps. I have climbed trad before, but havent had a great deal of experience in how to build a rack (what I need when, etc). Any sage words of advice will be greatly appreciated.
martym
3-Feb-2014
12:42:29 AM
On 2/02/2014 SydneyBattler wrote:
>(1) How much should I set aside?
Depends on how much trad you'll be climbing. The occasional mixed route shouldn't cost more than $500. Two months at Araps - you'd probably want something more specialised including RPs and a size 6 cam or two. Think about how long a pitch is - 20? 30? 50m? With 8 cams and 8 nuts, you'll be able to place 16 pieces in that perfectly shaped crack = 32m of 2m protection + an anchor...
>(2) What sized gear should I get?
See above.
>(3) Other than cams and nuts, what else should I get (are hexes/RPs a
>must or a maybe)?
See above

>(4) For a thrifty gentleman with limited funds, what (online) stores should
>I go to? Aus or USA?
If you know what you want - compare the sponsor of chockstone with US sites (eg. eg. Mtn Tools) and see if you're willing to support local vs keep your fingers crossed customs don't look in your mail.

One Day Hero
3-Feb-2014
2:15:03 AM
On 2/02/2014 SydneyBattler wrote:
>I have a few questions:
>
The short answers are;
-About $600 to $1500 (I'm guessing at prices a bit) depending on whether you want a bare bones rack with the cheapest shit money can buy, or a fairly plush set up.

-I would try to eventually end up with 2 sets of wires (don't worry about rp's or those stupid huge wires they sell nowdays), and 2 sets of cams in the fingers to fists range + singles in the tiny and slightly larger than fist sizes. This is pretty much what I climb with on the sandstone. Hexes can work great (I don't really like them), and are a pretty cheap stepping stone. However, most climbers seem to rarely carry them once they own enough cams to not need to.

-For the love of christ, don't waste money on tricams, ballnuts, wacky shaped nuts, and other weird shit which isn't regular wires, cams, or hexes.

-I don't feel comfortable recommending this straight out......but half my rack didn't come to me with factory stickers on board. I have no qualms about trusting gear which has known previous owners as long as sensible precautions are taken, and the price is often fantastic. I feel that I'm much better off with 2 pieces of booty gear between me and the deck than the 1 piece of shiny new stuff. Use your judgement.

-Lastly, this gear lives for a very long time, I'm still using my first rack which I bought in the mid 90's. I'd be pretty sceptical about saving a couple of hundred bucks by buying second tier crap. Unless you find stuff amaaaazingly cheap, stick with DMM, Black Diamond, Wild Country, Metolius, maybe one or two other quality brands
Wendy
3-Feb-2014
8:26:58 AM
What a sad day ... I actually agree with Damo again. That's no fun.

Don't worry about RPs, especially in the Blueys or Pt Perp. If you come to araps planning to do a stack of 20+ stuff, think about them then, but there is still heaps to do without them. You'll be hit by RP fans telling you they are essential, but really, I almost never carry them and I climb a lot of trad.

Much as I love big cams, a 3 camalot is big enough for most purposes and you'll usually be able to see if you want something bigger before you leave the ground. You are more likely to use them than RPs in the Blueys or Pt Perp though.

All you really need are normal cams and wires. Don't bother with offset anything. I personally think Wild Country rocks are the best wires if buying new, but secondhand anything will do they job. I even have a rack of wires I'm selling if the person who originally wanted them doesn't grab them soon. And I'd go for camalots in cams. You could get them for about $60 each for the most common sizes if you hunt around.

Now the Aus $ is dropping again, you'll find australian prices are surprisingly similar to ordering from the US. Rock Hardware and climbinganchors.com tend to have reasonable prices.

You can import $1000 worth without being hit by customs. Postage is often 40-80 US$. Campsaver don't have lots of climbing gear, but they have the basics and they are the only lot that I know of offering free postage to aus, if you spend $400 or more.

Drake
3-Feb-2014
9:37:44 AM
Get a standard set of wires (I like BD's myself) and a single rack of medium cams (say, 0.5 - 3 BDs), and then go climb. You won't have enough gear for mega pitches, but you'll quickly figure out what else you want. You might add some small cams (I prefer mastercams over camalots in the small sizes), some big cams if you like offwidths and hate your body, some hexes if you're climbing bumbly stuff in the blues, or doubles of commonly placed cams. I have lots of offset things and tiny wires, but I only seem to place them at araps.

nmonteith
3-Feb-2014
12:12:14 PM
On 3/02/2014 Wendy wrote:
>What a sad day ... I actually agree with Damo again. That's no fun.

Ditto

Check out Ebay or Gumtree for people selling whole racks. A lot of (rich) people seem to buy mega racks, get scared, then quit. As Damo said - make sure the brands are mainstream and the gear is near new if buying second hand. Don't buy 80s hexes or fixed stem cams or anything from the East (Europe or Asia!).

Oh, and I reckon for Bluies and Point Perp a #4 Camalot is actually quite useful. Lots of wider cracks and large pockets in our local rock, especially on the easier trad lines.
pecheur
3-Feb-2014
12:31:48 PM
On 3/02/2014 nmonteith wrote:
>On 3/02/2014 Wendy wrote:
>>What a sad day ... I actually agree with Damo again. That's no fun.
>
>
>Ditto
>
>Check out Ebay or Gumtree for people selling whole racks. A lot of (rich)
>people seem to buy mega racks, get scared, then become sport climbers. As Damo said - make
>sure the brands are mainstream and the gear is near new if buying second
>hand. Don't buy 80s hexes or fixed stem cams or anything from the East
>(Europe or Asia!).

Fixed that for you ;p

PS I do find my No 4 Camalot more useful in NSW than I do in Victoria. Also the only place I regularly use my offset nuts is Araps, there and whenever I run out of placements that size (only happened twice).

Sabu
3-Feb-2014
1:33:02 PM
I'll make another plug for this site's sponsor Rock Hardware (link bottom left hand side). Seriously just give Steve a call and he'll sort you out with a good deal. He is often able to match at very competitive prices.

As others have said: A set of cams (BD C4 camalots are the standard): from the smallest to around 3 or 4.
Aim for a double set of wires in the long run but you can start by getting doubles of a few commonly used sizes (I recommend WC Rocks but everyone has their preference). Some hexes may be handy especially if you stay with out set of cams for the time being.

Grinder
3-Feb-2014
2:27:05 PM
Depending on how sporty your sport rack is, you may also need some longer slings and draws for trad. Sports draws are OK for cams, but too short for many wire placements and terrible for drag on wandering lines. General rule of thumb would be take 15 draws on a 30m pitch and split these evenly between short draws, "long" draws and extendable slings.

shortman
3-Feb-2014
2:40:22 PM
Shit....I'd be lucky to take 15 draws on a 50m pitch...

nmonteith
3-Feb-2014
2:51:59 PM
On 3/02/2014 shortman wrote:
>Shit....I'd be lucky to take 15 draws on a 50m pitch...

You may also be amazed that Alex Honnold brings none!
mikllaw
3-Feb-2014
3:58:16 PM
On 3/02/2014 Drake wrote:
>Get a standard set of wires (I like BD's myself) and a single rack of medium
>cams (say, 0.5 - 3 BDs), and then go climb.

And borrow some gear till you work out what you like/need/can afford. Emma has my spare rack at the moment but you're welcome to borrow it. Full of horrible 80s cams (strong but heavy).
martym
3-Feb-2014
4:49:26 PM
On 3/02/2014 nmonteith wrote:
>Check out Ebay or Gumtree for people selling whole racks. A lot of (rich)
>people seem to buy mega racks, get scared, then quit.

Or they have kids & hurt themselves a lot.

You can try to keep your eye on Chockstone, but you need to be quick, most gear is snapped up seconds after advertised.

spiinal
3-Feb-2014
5:24:41 PM
If you do plan to visit Vic for a climb then 4 or 5 bolt plates is a recommendation.

adski
3-Feb-2014
8:01:27 PM
Great response Daymo; paying for past transgressions one karma post at a time?
SydneyBattler
3-Feb-2014
8:29:41 PM
Thank you all for the advice - I'll have a good hunt and maybe send an email to CA and RH.

Cheers Mikl for the offer of 80s gear but if I'm going retro may as well go all the way (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0x-oCktX4g). Luckily, Im a part of the Sydney Uni club so I've had a fiddle with club gear over the years, and made allegiances with some gear over others so I've got an idea of what I want.

I'll probably go with a plain Vanilla rack = BD C4s, two sets of WC Rocks, and maybe I'll spoil myself on some TCUs.
robbio
3-Feb-2014
9:12:46 PM
Get heaps of slings. They have so many good uses; reducing rope drag on wondering routes (rope drag sucks balls), threading threads & trees, making anchors, just to name a few. Plus they weigh next to nothing, and are cheap.

When I rack up for trad, I grab 6 extender draws (60cm slings), and 2 long 120cm slings, and then I supplement with standard quickdraws.

Wear a couple of slings around your shoulder, and add a hex or two I you wanna look old school.
crackalackin!
3-Feb-2014
9:28:16 PM
Also good to note that usually your climbing partner will have gear too. With a basic setup of a set of wires, and cams up to camalot size three or so, and one other niche set of gear like a larger cam, you should be fine for plenty of climbs when combining racks with your partner. Also think about getting slings to extend placements, fairly essential.
One Day Hero
4-Feb-2014
12:00:13 AM
On 3/02/2014 adski wrote:
>Great response Daymo; paying for past transgressions one karma post at
>a time?

I'm not that young anymore, starting to think about how to earn my way into chockstone heaven!

Miguel75
4-Feb-2014
12:04:02 AM
On 3/02/2014 SydneyBattler wrote:
...SNIP...
>I'll probably go with a plain Vanilla rack = BD C4s, two sets of WC Rocks,
>and maybe I'll spoil myself on some TCUs.

Why not get a single set of WC rocks and then get something same same but different... I've had BD, WC, DMM and Bluewater nuts and prefer the BD and DMM Walnuts and/or offsets. I really like the DMM offsets, and climb with them as my go to nuts. While ODH and lots of others will probably tell you they're no good, I beg to differ...

P.S. I climb like crap so don't take my advice on anything;)

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There are 72 messages in this topic.

 

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