I am looking for advice on good entry level quickdraws. I am hoping to do some sport climbing this season and am looking to buy a set.

Climb on as many as possible, then decide which biners you like clipping the most.

Or, go buy something that's light AND fits your budget. I think most of the 'biners on the market today work pretty darned well. I tend to like my wiregate BD's because they're on all of my runners. But, when I've clipped into Heliums and other wiregate models, I don't find a huge difference.

Go with a normal size wiregate biner and you'll be happy. You'll learn to clip it like a pro. As good as 'biners are today, this decision isn't going to hold you back.

Wire gates for the rope end,

Keylock for the bolt end >>>

All you need.....

I made the mistake of buying light, small ones. Not fun.

Jim has the right idea!

One point about having a different kind of biner on the "bolt" end and the "rope" end -- I definitely notice some sharp or rough spots on the inside of the "bolt" biner from getting scraped against the hanger on a lead fall.

I don't know if anyone's really studied how bad that would be for a rope to run over, but I like running my rope through the non-scraped up end of draws.

Why would there be any difference in the type of biner at the bolt end in what you describe ??

Having a key lock on the bolt end makes for easier removal and placement of the biner thru the bolt.

What your describing would happen to any type of biner on the bolt end >>>

SJD, Here's a link to some Mad Rock QD's that have a keylock on the bolt side so it won't hang up when clipping, and a wiregate on the rope side. These are pretty much the lightest thing out there and only $12/each. Can't beat that.

http://www.theclimbshop.com/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&r>>>>>

http://www.trango.com/prod.php?id=90

I could not find a weight on those madrocks but the Trango Superfly draws are indeed the lightest I have ever used. I am sure they are lighter then the madrocks. these weigh in at 65g's

The best thing to hit my rack in the last year.
Sport/alpine/ big wall. Works for it all and makes a big difference in weights.

Jim, I totally agree with your point about the keylock biner for the bolt end.

I was trying to say that if you get a set of draws with the same biner on each end, and sport climb on them, you are probably going to get both biners notched up and possibly dangerous (because then however you use it, the rope is going to run against some sharp metal), or, have to try to pay attention to which end is up to avoid that.

When I first started climbing/accumulating gear I had a mix of quickdraws and trad slings, and needed both on longer sport climbs. I noticed that after a while a couple of the slings then had both biners roughed up enough that they were sharp to the touch on the inside. So I just started being a little more careful about which biner on the trad sling I used to clip bolts.

(I'm feeling like some kind of curmudgeonly safety nimrod. Sorry I raised this point. It's not exactly the most important thing to be thinking about.)

I think that is important to be careful about running through the rope through the bolt end when clipping bolts. Not sure any trad gear would cause biner damage on one side though.

madrock
http://www.madrockclimbing.com/lighttechquickdraw.aspx
seriously. for the money? you gotta be kidding me. Love mine, but you gotta tack down the wire gate so it won't flip.

Thank you for all the feedback.

best of both worlds... check these out.
http://www.dmmclimbing.com/productsDetails.asp?id=2&id2=45

For your first set,I suggest the cheapest ones you can find. Perhaps the Black Diamond Freewires? I've found them for eleven dollars. They are light and the 'biners are different on the rope and bolt ends (though no key lock).

I've been stoked on the cypher draws from Liberty Mountain. I have the Mantis and Electrolites. The mantis are slightly larger and easier to clip, but it really is no difference. They're cheap too at around 11/draw.

Anywya, you really have to decide what you like: solid vs wire, bent vs straightgate, keylock vs cheaper.

My preference is a solid straight on the bolt end and a wire bent on the rope end. The solids dont get as tangled on the rack and the bent wires are the easiest for me to clip.

Cheers

Okay, so I finally bought a set of quickdraws, I went with the BD Quicksilvers. The local climbing shop, Midwest Mountaineering is having a great sale coinciding with their spring expo. Thank you for all the feedback. I will let you all know what I think of them when it stops raining/snowing here and I get out.

Sara

Sara, I am surprised Midwest didn't convince you to get the Trango Superfly Wiregates, that's what they sold me on. And now I love them! Hopefully the weather shapes up for the Expo tomorrow and we don't get the snow that they predicted!

I believe the fellow who sold them to may have been the BD rep. Saw your weather related post on Minnesotaclimbing.com, can't help but feel the same.

Yeah, can't you tell I am depressed. :(

Has anyone ever tried the DMM mamba quickdraw? I've never seen one in person, but they look interesting (unless you have to replace the sling).

rc.com is filled with a good bit of junk but here and there you find some interesting posts. Here's a Quickdraw FAQ one of the folks on there is working on. Might be worthwhile for you, SJD, to take a look.

Anyone tried the "Climb Axe Keylocks"?

http://www.climbaxe.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID>>>>>