I didn't find this anywhere else in the forum, so here goes. I'm considering getting a set of Frostwork Nuts. They come with two lengths of slings: 8" or 12". The question is whether or not the extra 4" does much. With most nuts a qd will add some extra length, but with a slightly longer sling, maybe just a biner would be needed. I know that the extra few inches may or may not come in handy aid climbing, but that's not necessary for the near future. Thoughts?

Maybe relevant: mostly I plan on climbing at NRG, maybe Seneca, and the Gunks.

One nice thing about the longer wire is you can reach slightly higher placements. The longer ones can be a little easier to clean as well. They do hang lower on your harness, and if you rack them with regular size nuts it can be a little annoying. Not really a big deal either way.

Cool, I didn't know these were still made. Thanks for the link!

Why do you want the frostwork nuts? I'm just curious, as there seem to be so many better nut options out there. Are the cracks where you climb mostly uniform and straight-sided? If not, then a curved nut definitely seems like a better choice, no?

Just from a price standpoint, they are a little bit cheaper than a BD set 4-13. They are at 8 bucks a nut; 72 for the set of 9 (that is if you elect to get the shorter wires). It seems like I remember pricing out the BD set if you bought them individually and buying them as a set factors in some kind of a discount though, but I'm not positive. Even so, seems like Frost Nuts should offer a discount if you buy the complete set of 9 instead of offering the same price that you would get buying all 9 individually.

I just got a set of DMM alloy offsets. Everyone I know that has these says they are their go-to passive pieces. I'm eager to see how they do, and if finding obscure placements is made any easier with them, or if finding placements for them is just generally easier than with non-offset pieces. I hope this is the case, because 14 bucks apiece for 5 of them is a bit pricey. Sorry to diverge from the OP.

The cost of them though, if they work for you isn't really the most important thing. I just thought I'd toss in another $.02

I really like these.I've been using them in Eldo for years, they've saved my ass a couple of times, and I think the straight sides are a definite advantage. Highly recommended.

Outdoor Gear Lab has a review:

www.outdoorgearlab.com/Climbing-Nut-Reviews/Frost-Works-Sent>>>

They say the straight sides are a disadvantage in heavily textured rocks, so they might not be great for the Shawangunks.

Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate getting a wide array of opinions. One reason I'm looking at these is that I hear they are good to learn placements with. Granted I heard this from people doing a lot of climbing in Utah... I probably won't be climbing on the soft variety desert sandstone or LCC 'granite' rock for a while.

I've never seen someone clip the rope directly to the wire, so to answer your original question, I don't think the extra 4" is useful enough to offset the hassle of having them hang so low. I've never encountered a situation where I wished the nut wire were just a little longer. Perhaps they're more useful for aid climbing; I couldn't say.

I've used frostworks nuts for years and vastly prefer them over any other stoppers I've tried. The straight taper gets better surface contact, makes it easier to see how well the nut is placed, and makes the stoppers far easier to clean (a particular advantage if, like me, you often find yourself climbing with partners who have little experience with climbing on gear).

I've heard that the longer wires help you get away with a shorter draw on them without walking them out of place from rope drag. I have no personal experience with them, but that's what I heard a friend say.

I use the metolius nuts, which have a similar shape. I personally really like the more straight shaped nuts... they just seem like they fit really well as well as being easy to judge the placement.

I haven't climbed at the Gunks, but at Seneca and the New, the rock is irregular enough that I think straight sided nuts would drive me crazy. I'd rather have curved nuts at either of those places any day...

All good information. Thanks again everyone!

Right now I'm leaning more toward a curved nut for the New, Seneca, and the Gunks. I think I'd rather lose a nut in a crack than have it possibly slip out. I'm still thinking the Sentinel nuts may have a place on my rack for certain areas though.

To those of you that love the Frostwork nuts:
(1) How have you liked them on irregular rock like NRG sandstone, or Gunks conglomerate?
(2) Where have you liked them the most?

I haven't seen anybody who has tried them, who doesn't like them. To any who have tried them, but didn't like them:
(1) What didn't you like about them? (probably similar answers to above posts, but if not...)
(2) Where were you climbing that made you not like them?