Trad Noob

I am new to trad climbing. Cams are fuckin expensive. I dont want to waste money so I want to buy the right rack. I already own stoppers. I climb at primarily at Mt. Lemmon, but I also make frequent stopas at Joshua tree. A Mt. Lemmon set is pretty small, but the cracks at j tree can get pretty wide. What would a good middle of the road rack be.
Thanks MP
-Jason Davis

Jake Jones wrote:A good starter cam rack, if you're going to buy new, is the #3 to #.5 set of Black Diamond Camalots. Retail for these is about $325. If you buy the set on sale, you can usually get them for about $245 to $250. That's about 24% off. If you have the patience though, and know what to look for, you can find used ones here, on Craigslist, and on eBay for less than that. IMO if a used cam isn't at least 20% off and in excellent condition, it's better to go new.

agreed. go with BDs. i bought rock empire when i started years ago to save some money (i still use them) but have since bought a double rack of BD cams .5 to #3 and they are awesome. and i climb at joshua tree primarily. you might want to pick up a #4 and a #5 because you will use them in josh.

gearexpress.com has BD cams on sale for 25% off. i bought the #4,5, and #6. the sale was supposed to end last friday but a current check of their website shows it still on.

I agree with the #4 and #5 cams for Jtree. For most of the places you will be climbing you will be good to go with a double set of cams and nuts. I prefer Black Diamond #6 down to .5, and for small gear I use Metolius #3-#0 cams. From there all you have to do is decide if you want master cams, or if you should go TCU....or maybe powercam?.... Have fun. They all have their places.

'nother +1 for .5 to #3 C4's to start out with and figure it from there.

my vote is .75 - 3 of camalots and then 1-4 metolius TCUs or master cams. Small BD cams annoy me, they're heavy and wide which makes them harder to place. Maybe add 5 and 6 of the metolius to double up in the middle.

+1 for the posts above this one; BDs are your workhorses, and metolius for the smaller stuff. Offset nuts have a place in your rack soon, too, then offset cams as a final addition.

They are kind of uncool, but I always liked having a couple of medium sized hex's on longer routes. Especially if you are not going to have doubles in cams, often a hex fits in the same spot.

More cowbell!
ebaumsworld.com/video/watch…

Thanks folks! I appreciate the advice and in sight.