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Murdock
Dec 29, 2010, 8:27 PM
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Hey all, just moved to the area and I wanna get a trad rack put together for JTree. Although I've done some trad training in the past (anchoring, gear placement, etc), my actual climbing has been almost entirely sport, so I don't own any trad gear yet.
I wouldn't be surprised if a post on this exists already, so feel free to point me in that direction. But...
What would a good "starter rack" for JTree consist of? Right now all I've got is my sport rack (rope, quick draws, a few slings), so assume we're starting almost from scratch. Also assume that I don't (sadly) have $1,000 to blow on cams :)
Here's my best attempt at starting a list:
1.5 Sets of stoppers (doubles of the mid-range)
4 Tri Cams (0.5 - 2.0)
Ummm, that's all I've got so far =P
Basically I want to build a not-too-expensive rack that'll let me get out and get onto some fun climbs in JTree ASAP, even if it means I don't have the gear to climb *everything* out there yet.
Thanks in advance for your advice, I really appreciate any thoughts everybody's willing to offer! (Oh, please also include advice for slings, webbing, etc)
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rocknice2
Dec 30, 2010, 3:19 AM
Post #2 of 14
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Murdock wrote: Hey all, just moved to the area and I wanna get a trad rack put together for JTree. Although I've done some trad training in the past (anchoring, gear placement, etc), my actual climbing has been almost entirely sport, so I don't own any trad gear yet. I wouldn't be surprised if a post on this exists already, so feel free to point me in that direction. But... What would a good "starter rack" for JTree consist of? Right now all I've got is my sport rack (rope, quick draws, a few slings), so assume we're starting almost from scratch. Also assume that I don't (sadly) have $1,000 to blow on cams :) Here's my best attempt at starting a list: 1.5 Sets of stoppers (doubles of the mid-range) 4 Tri Cams (0.5 - 2.0) Ummm, that's all I've got so far =P Basically I want to build a not-too-expensive rack that'll let me get out and get onto some fun climbs in JTree ASAP, even if it means I don't have the gear to climb *everything* out there yet. Thanks in advance for your advice, I really appreciate any thoughts everybody's willing to offer! (Oh, please also include advice for slings, webbing, etc)
That's a very slim rack.
Do yourself a favor and either find a partner who has a full rack or wait until you can afford one.
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climbingaggie03
Dec 30, 2010, 3:25 AM
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I'd say a set of BD camalots from .75 to 5 and metolious TCU's from blue to red. won't be too expensive and should get you up most climbs in josh. From there, you'll know what you want more of and what you're ok on.
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socalclimber
Dec 30, 2010, 4:48 AM
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climbingaggie03 wrote: I'd say a set of BD camalots from .75 to 5 and metolious TCU's from blue to red. won't be too expensive and should get you up most climbs in josh. From there, you'll know what you want more of and what you're ok on.
That's a fairly good start for here. I would also suggest doubling up. HB offset stoppers are good if you can find them.
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Murdock
Dec 30, 2010, 5:33 AM
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rocknice2 wrote: That's a very slim rack. Do yourself a favor and either find a partner who has a full rack or wait until you can afford one.
Oh, that wasn't actually a recommendation for a rack. That was just a list of all that I've figured out so far. I don't think that'd get me very far. The point was that that's the start of my list. What else would I need to complete it? etc.
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Murdock
Dec 30, 2010, 5:36 AM
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climbingaggie03 wrote: I'd say a set of BD camalots from .75 to 5 and metolious TCU's from blue to red. won't be too expensive and should get you up most climbs in josh. From there, you'll know what you want more of and what you're ok on.
Are these the TCU's you mean? http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/tcu.html
I dunno my acronyms yet.
So blue through red is the TCU free set? (Sizes 1, 2, 3, and 4)
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Murdock
Dec 30, 2010, 5:41 AM
Post #7 of 14
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socalclimber wrote: That's a fairly good start for here. I would also suggest doubling up. HB offset stoppers are good if you can find them.
When you say double up, do you mean get two of each listed cam?
Also, are these the stoppers you mean? http://gearx.com/...l?avad=3057_b133c6ed
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socalclimber
Dec 30, 2010, 2:25 PM
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Murdock wrote: socalclimber wrote: That's a fairly good start for here. I would also suggest doubling up. HB offset stoppers are good if you can find them. When you say double up, do you mean get two of each listed cam? Also, are these the stoppers you mean? http://gearx.com/...l?avad=3057_b133c6ed
Yeah, 2 of each will help alot, I would not worry so much about having doubles of 4's and 5's though. The DMM Offsets are nice, but not a must have. They just work well for odd shaped cracks.
Your best bet is to spend as much time climbing with people who have racks. You will get a chance to climb on different gear and play with it till you get a feel for what you like. There is nothing wrong with what you have posted.
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rocknice2
Dec 30, 2010, 3:18 PM
Post #9 of 14
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Murdock wrote: climbingaggie03 wrote: I'd say a set of BD camalots from .75 to 5 and metolious TCU's from blue to red. won't be too expensive and should get you up most climbs in josh. From there, you'll know what you want more of and what you're ok on. Are these the TCU's you mean? http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/tcu.html I dunno my acronyms yet. So blue through red is the TCU free set? (Sizes 1, 2, 3, and 4)
What climbingaggie03 suggested is a good rack to start. I would leave out the #5 for now. Add a set of nuts and your set. Remember that you'll find plenty of people to climb with in J-Tree so they will also have a rack and double of the above mentioned is perfect.
As for sling, I assume since you already sport climb you have draws. Keep something like 6 as sport and use the others to make trad draws. You'll want atleast 12. Your partner will have some too.
http://www.backcountry.com/...ght-tcu-packaged-set $200
http://www.backcountry.com/...lot-c4-package-0.5-3 $290
http://www.backcountry.com/...-diamond-camalot-c4s $85
http://www.backcountry.com/...ond-stopper-set-4-13 $90
+ 6 slings $30
That's $700 for a good starter rack.
Don't waste your $$$ on TriCams. Here come the diehards.
They are now considered specialty gear and while they do have good uses cams are reallly what you want.
If that is still over your budget buy a set of nuts and some cams in this order
BD #1, #2, #.75 TCU #4, #3
This will enable you to add to someones starter rack
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Murdock
Dec 31, 2010, 6:09 PM
Post #10 of 14
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Thanks for the advice, everyone. Rocknice: can you tell me what a trad draw is? As you suspected, I've already got a bunch of sport draws.
For slings and webbing, what am I gonna want for my trad rack? Just a few four-foot slings and maybe one eight foot?
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climbingaggie03
Dec 31, 2010, 6:54 PM
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I'll answer 2 questions at once, a trad draw is a single length sling with 2 carabiners on it. (I have no idea how long a single length sling is, but it'll go over your shoulder and end at about your waist) You can triple the sling by passing one carabiner through the other and clipping the sling so that it's about the length of a quickdraw. I'm sure there's a diagram of this somewhere.
I'd say about 6 to 8 trad draws and maybe two double length slings. along with your quick draws ought to be plenty. Most routes in josh don't wander too much so you don't need tons of slings.
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Murdock
Dec 31, 2010, 8:40 PM
Post #12 of 14
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Sounds good. Yup, I googled "trad draw" and found diagrams. It also made me realize I already have a few, just didn't call 'em that :)
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thestatusquo
Dec 31, 2010, 9:09 PM
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I think a JTree rack will depend on what level you're climbing. With that said, I've lead up to .11a/b with my "standard" Jtree/Yosemite rack:
1 1/2 set of BD stoppers (doubles of 4-9, singles 10-14)
2 each of #.5 - 3 BD C4
1 #4 BD C4
1 each of 00 - 2 BD C3
1 each of 1-2 Metolius TCU (a blue and a yellow)
1 yellow and 1 green CCH Alien (not made anymore, so skip)
6 quick draws & 6 trad draws.
Various lockers, 2 cordelette's, other random shit you don't need.
With that said, a "starter" rack would probably be everything I just bolded or similar sizes of a different company. I bring up the other smaller pro depending on the climb and the #4 if I absolutely know I'll need it. DO NOT get anything bigger than a #3 C4 unless you're some kind of beginner that wants to jump on offwidth and know what you're getting into.
I HIGHLY recommend climbing with someone else's gear too. I have a lot of BD stuff because my climbing mentor used a lot of BD gear. Get a feel for the different gear because once you buy something, unless you're rolling in money, you're probably going to be using the same gear for years. I've had my C4's for 5 years now and I'll probably use them for another 5 years. My C3's, TCU's and Aliens overlap in size because they fit a lot of the climbs I do at the .10/.11 grade and I feel like they each bring something different to the table. Variety is good.
I ALSO HIGHLY recommend finding yourself a climbing mentor. I recommend drunk Irishmen with at least 20 years of climbing experience, because my drunk Irishmen climbing mentor taught me pretty well.
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Murdock
Jan 2, 2011, 7:07 PM
Post #14 of 14
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Thanks for the comprehensive list, SQ. That's a great resource. Now I just need to find a drunken Irishman...
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