Would you use a gear sharing site?

A long time ago, I built a 'prototype' for a gearing sharing site (rampframe.com)
Out of the few people that stumbled across it, most of them thought it was a good idea.
Life went on (two kids) and I put it on the back burner.
I'm thinking about maybe picking it back up (probably rebuild it from scratch as its pretty rough though).

My questions:
Would you ever use a site like this? The original model was that its free to use. You post your gear on there (and specify if someone can borrow it). People can search by location/gear, and send a 'borrow request' asking to borrow it.

Would you prefer you make money when someone borrows your gear?

Is there something like this that currently exists that you know of?

looking forward to your thoughts, thanks!
Dave

A site like this would work pretty well if it is was for closed invite only groups, particularly if there was nothing climbing specific about it. I wouldn't use it for climbing gear, but i would use it for tools, boating gear, trailers, etc.

I would never consider using it with the general public, and that opens up big areas of legal concerns. Similarly, if users are charging money for gear rental, you and they have big liability concerns.

Close friends I know are responsible are the only people that I can trust to bring stuff back or not break stuff either. So lending strangers my stuff ain't happening.

man... i dont even trust friends to use my vacuum

Tom Sherman wrote:man... i dont even trust friends to use my vacuum

I guess not after you lent it to Officer Doffy! Remember the first Scary Movie?

You'd also need to be able to rate people afterwards.

I've thought about this in the past and see a few hickups.

First off, gyms and gear shops rent a lot of gear already. So everything but lead equipment seems readily available.

In terms of lead gear, sport draws are harder to drop and therefor more likely to make it back with no damage. Then again, if you have a rope, you probably know a friend with draws.

Ropes, well, they are just too sensitive for gear borrowing and or renting. I wont even loan my rope to friends.

Trad gear, I feel pretty confident that if there is an agreed upon "you drop it or put a bad fall on it, you bought it" policy then it would be fine to rent this out. Whoever was the owner of the gear would need to be on top of pre and post climbing inspection.

To get it to work, I'm not sure exactly but I have a few ideas.

To start I think "free" brings in the wrong type of person. It's not that I want the money, it's that I don't want the worst of the dirtbags handling my gear. Next, having a rental fee from a non organized "business" could also be hard. One person steals the rack and it's all over.

So, I kind of think that a small group, kind of like a club seems best. If you want to join the club, you have to pay annual dues. Let's say, $50. It gets you access to gear and some basic training benefits. The training is done by an ambassador of the club. So, let's say you want to borrow the trad rack. First, you have to spend a day climbing with the ambassador who can take you do the crag and show you how to care for the gear. They aren't teaching you to climb or be safe, just why you shouldn't throw the rack down in a pile of sand and what your options are for avoiding this.

Then maybe you could get "borrow certified" with an agreement that yes, if you damage the gear you have to replace it. Theoretically, the group income would pay for the initial rack, and as gear gets retired there would be money to replace thing.

Unfortunately you then need a treasurer and a million other variables come into play. So, clearly I've over and under thought this whole thing.

Basically, I like the idea and think with the right people it could work out great.

Oh yeah, watch out for liability too. It's America...

No way my gear gets used by other folks, unless I know them personally.

I vote BAD IDEA.....

There is only one way to find out...

Let the market decide.

This is not a new idea, and has probably been attempted bajillions of times. One I know of now is gearcommons.com.

The main problem is ultimately that in order for it to work, there needs to be some critical mass of people already using it, which makes a startup catch 22. On top of that, you have to overcome general distrust of both lenders and lendees (probably founded). It's probably not worth it for people to lend out small/cheap gear, and people aren't going to want to lend out expensive stuff.

Also beware of feedback. People are much more likely to give positive feedback when it's to an individual. You are far less likely to hear from the people who think what you're doing sucks.

i think it'd only work for bulky items like crash pads and in a location where people fly. Crash pads are the only thing I can think of that would work.

It could become a thing where people who bought in to a sport and found they don't use the gear could recoup some of their investment, or potentially make money.

I would definitely not offer anything for free - what's the incentive to do so? It's not like doing volunteer work.

I would think someone who lent out their stuff was strange, to be honest, although I know that people do the CouchSurf thing for free.

I would never lend my personal climbing gear to a stranger, but I might consider investing in spare pieces(more likely buy new and make my used the spares) and having them available on the site. Living in the Gunks, I can see how people might borrow cams, tents, little grills, lanterns, camp chairs, etc. I would be leary of offering soft goods like rope and slings though - to uncomfortable vouching for gear the whereabouts I hadn't known.

I can see climbing gear being just one tiny category of the site - you'd never make money if that was the focus! But bicycles, trailers, coolers, on and on.... For someone who lives in a destination spot, it could be a win/win.

And - would retailers of rental gear be allowed in? I would think it s disservice to borrowers not to allow them, and no doubt they'd simply have an employee sign up and act as a front anyway.

Good luck with your research!

One win-win way to make it work might be to "charge" for access, but you get "credit" for putting in gear to the pool. I would not allow things like ropes, slings, quickdraws, and other damage-susceptible items to be on the list. Things that might work include: rock shoes, ice boots, fruit boots, chalkbags, cheater sticks, Abalokov hooks, hexes, wires, rope bags, flat files, round files, drills, drill bits, blow tubes, portaledges, haul bags, funkness devices, nut tools, guidebooks, binoculars, cameras (less fancy), backpacks, bear cans, waterproof bags, bivvy sacks, bivvy pads, etc. Note, a lot of us dogs have most of these things...though having a bear can or ice boots smaller for infrequent partners might be nice. I know I've loaned out a bunch of the above. One market could be the college-age kids who don't have the $$$ to invest in owning...yet.

Another thought as an example: there are items we get for "cross-training" fun, like snowboards and boots. FWIW, I'd definitely consider "sharing" items that mean much less to me and that I use infrequently into the mix.

Happiegrrrl wrote:It could become a thing where people who bought in to a sport and found they don't use the gear could recoup some of their investment, or potentially make money. I would definitely not offer anything for free - what's the incentive to do so? It's not like doing volunteer work. I would think someone who lent out their stuff was strange, to be honest, although I know that people do the CouchSurf thing for free. I would never lend my personal climbing gear to a stranger, but I might consider investing in spare pieces(more likely buy new and make my used the spares) and having them available on the site. Living in the Gunks, I can see how people might borrow cams, tents, little grills, lanterns, camp chairs, etc. I would be leary of offering soft goods like rope and slings though - to uncomfortable vouching for gear the whereabouts I hadn't known. I can see climbing gear being just one tiny category of the site - you'd never make money if that was the focus! But bicycles, trailers, coolers, on and on.... For someone who lives in a destination spot, it could be a win/win. And - would retailers of rental gear be allowed in? I would think it s disservice to borrowers not to allow them, and no doubt they'd simply have an employee sign up and act as a front anyway. Good luck with your research!

i think this is a really good idea. i would also include stoppers in addition to cams. this would really help people who need a specific piece that they may not have that is needed or recommended for a route, such as a big cam aid gear for a short section of aid. it would also help people who want to bring friends or family climbing when they don't have shoes. or if people want to try out a certain shoe before buying it. i would certainly support this idea. also you would need to make sure borrows and lenders work out an agreement beforehand as to what happens if gear comes back in shitty condition ie broken trigger wires or blown out shoes. i would also make some requirement to submit either credit card or paypal or something incase some asshole tries to rent gear and then not give it back. and make them sign an agreement so, in that case, they would be charged for the cost to replace the gear.

Would I use a gear sharing site - no I would not.

Climbing is a dangerous endeavor, wanna get involved? Go buy your own gear. My 0.02.

The short answer? No, no I would not. I wouldn't trust other people's gear that I don't know, and I wouldn't readily lend my gear that I've paid good money for to people who I don't know. Hell, I don't like using my friend's draws half the time because they're not mine.

No.

I wouldn't use it for climbing gear.

If I had not enough money to by my own gear and no trusted friends from whom to borrow, I would choose to do something else instead of climbing on strangers' gear.

No way would I loan my gear to strangers.

I'd also tell every n00b I encountered to not share gear like that (for climbing gear).

My first thought on this is LIABILITY. I do like and think that 'Club' concept would be the best to limit this. Also, as mentioned before, only offer non-weight loaded equipment. This will greatly reduce the legal issue and would be a great resource with very little need for training from someone else to 'check you out'.
If you are going to be the lead person on this, I would also create a legal shield around yourself to protect you and your family from some dirtbag that falls and breaks their neck then hires a bloodsucking attorney that goes after everyone involved with the supply chain. This happens even to the retailer and rental shops. It all goes to how luck you are.
Sounds like you have a community mind and want to help others explore this wonderful sport. I am sure you know enough people to let your equipment get used well.

Eric LaRoche wrote:i think it'd only work for bulky items like crash pads and in a location where people fly. Crash pads are the only thing I can think of that would work.

Score. Portaledges, tents, sleeping bags, bivy sacks. Things that someone would think twice about buying, because of the concern of "how often will I actually USE it?" "It'll clutter my storage if I don't really find plenty of time and having it readily available will outweigh the possibility of looking at it and having to avoid tripping over it because it's always there, in the way." LOL Portaledges are a BIG one, the way I look at it. They sell for a minimum of $500! Just, not very cost effective if you're not willing to put yourself in the same situation as when you see videos of others committing to it, often!