Metolius Multi-Loop Gear Sling or the other with the Double D?

Just starting to get into leading, and have been using a regular nylon sling for gear across my shoulder.

Not sure which one I want.

Metolius Multi-Loop Gear Sling

or

Metolius Multi-Loop Double D Gear Sling

Any input?

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I got a gear sling when I first started leading trad (metolius multi-loop, if it matters). It took me about 4 outings before I figured out that it's almost always preferable to just rack on your harness. My gear sling has now been mostly relegated to storing my rack.

Then again, I don't climb a lot of chimneys. YMMV.

If you must have a gear sling, i'd suggest a plain one without the individual loops. You'd think the loops would make organizing better, but it's harder to throw the thing around and a pain to get gear off the very back loop - It kinda balances itself out so it won't move to let you get to your gear. It's even worse if you have that second loop on it.

Otherwise, I agree w/ the poster above. I have that same double-d gear sling i bought when i started climbing. It's in the closet or just used for carrying gear to the crag. I don't use it while climbing unless i'm doing aid.

I used to use a sling for trad and eventually decided to rack on my harness. The only time I prefer to not rack on my harness is for chimneys and other awkward squeezes.

I recommend Misty Mountain as I use their double gear sling which is fully rated as a chest harness for aid climbing.

I recommend using the gear loops on your harness. Both those slings you pictured suck for anything but big-wall aid climbing. If you really want a padded gear loop, just get a single loop; the divided ones suck, IMO.

I recommend racking on your harness. I've got the double d, but use it as the multi-loop. It's usually used for transporting gear to crags, but I occasionally use it on longer alpine climbs.

Thanks for everyone's input. Think ill get the regular one.

The regular one will rotate with weight on it, get the DD. I rack mostly on my harness but keep a few draws on the front for easy access plus a few single biners. Also while cleaning you can rack on the sling and then pass the whole thing to the leader when you reach the belay instead of handing off piece by piece.

With the Double D sling, you can remove the extra "D" part of it... so it essentially becomes the regular (but with the capability for more if you're wallin')

Just a thought.

rack on your harness...

chest harnes/gear sling=aid climber=triple cams from 000-#4, offset cams, nuts, brassies, offset nuts, pins, hooks, hammer, 20+ extendable draws, 20+ free biners, haul system, jumars, water jacket, all that crap

if you cant fit everything on the (2-7) gear loops on your (sport/trad/bigwall) harness for a free climb you should consider getting a better racking system or bring less stuff...

-an elitist assholes opinion

For what it's worth, I have done big wall routes racking everything on my harness and done single pitches with as few as 5 pieces on a gear sling. I like both methods for different situations.

Back when I first started leading 5.11 gear routes, I thought it was a prerequisite that you rack on your harness, so I started doing it too. After years of harness racking, I recently moved back to the gear sling for most situations because I always know right where everything is.

I think the key for you, a new trad leader, is to try a bunch of different methods and see what you like the best. All systems have their situation where they shine, and they all suck at certain things too.

SteveZ wrote:With the Double D sling, you can remove the extra "D" part of it... so it essentially becomes the regular (but with the capability for more if you're wallin') Just a thought.

The regular sling has points to which you can attach a length of accessory cord so you can add the extra "D" part for more capacity if you decide you need it.

But +1 for racking on your harness and using your gear sling for storage.

Nick Stayner wrote: After years of harness racking, I recently moved back to the gear sling for most situations because I always know right where everything is.

I find this a little odd. With a sling, although everything does stay in the same order, you never really know where something is because the sling is always shifting around depending on the climber's movement. With my rack on my harness, it's always in the same order and always in the same place. At least IME.

Nick wrote:I think the key for you, a new trad leader, is to try a bunch of different methods and see what you like the best. All systems have their situation where they shine, and they all suck at certain things too.

Great advice.

I think the best argument for racking on a sling is speed; belay changeovers whilst swinging leads are much faster.

I always use a gear sling. I only rack things like all my extendo draws (on a big route that could be eight or so), nut tool, cordelette, spare locker, prusik, and belay piece on the harness. I would never rack my cams on there. Too heavy and bulky.

I used every method known to the human race including a few genuinely and appropriately now-forgotten ones.

I'm not much of a fan of harness racking. You have to remember which side a piece is on and be able to get it with the hand that is free, and the pieces get in the way of hip scums and can be pinned against the body and the rock.

That said, I do usually rack all my quickdraws on one harness loop, at least for face-climbing.

As for gear, its all personal preference of course, but I think the multiloop sling is best. Unlike a regular gear sling, it keeps your gear accessible on overhangs, rather than having all of it slide around behind you. The gear rides higher than it does with harness racking, is easily accessible with either hand (because you can pull the sling around until the gear is in front), and you can change the gear from side to side if the rock requires it.

The trick to the Multiloop is to use just the two middle loops, at least for most free-climbing. If I really need more room or just want to rack some infreguently-used stuff out of the way, I'll use the third loop (the one farthest to the side). Keep the first loop empty and use it as a place to transfer gear you anticipate needing for a hard placement. I also use the first loop as a place to quickly get rid of gear that turned out to be the wrong sixe.

i rack my cams/nuts on my harness and the draws/slings on a shoulder nylon runner ...

just buy a long nylon runner, double it up, and use that as a racking sling ... you can also use it as anchor material, long sling or bail tat ... and its hella cheaper

but whatever works for people

Marc H wrote: I find this a little odd. With a sling, although everything does stay in the same order, you never really know where something is because the sling is always shifting around depending on the climber's movement. With my rack on my harness, it's always in the same order and always in the same place. At least IME.

I meant the part about things staying in order more along the lines of what rgold said. Here's an example: On Red Zinger, I took three .75s along with my standard double rack. Typically, when harness racking 3+ cams of the same size, I would divide them as evenly as possible between right/left. Problem with this method (for me) is that my thoughts, when climbing trad lines at my limit, are seldom about which side I grabbed the last piece from. In this case I found myself reaching for a .75 that wasn't there and that was all it took to grease out and wing off.

Situations like that led me back to the sling. I'd rather put all available energy into sending and not worry about how many of what are on which side.

But like I said before, for the OP: try out a bunch of different methods and you'll come to learn that certain situations lend themselves to different racking approaches. Have fun!

Thanks for the advice, Ill try different ways of racking to see what fits.

When I first got my trad setup, I got the double-d that you describe in the OP. I thought I could rack the nuts on the D, and everything else on the other loops. After doing this for a while, I took off the D part and I have not used it in a few years now. (the gear is quite hard to reach under your armpit, and the D loop limits your ability to whip the sling behind or in front of you. It would probably be nice to have for aide routes, or maybe multi-day outings, but I don't do either. It's not a very expensive option, even if it sits in [one of] your climbing bins in the closet.

I usually rack on my harness when the route is less than 60 feet or so. Nice thing about having a sling is that you have the option for either, and you have a nice way to organize your gear when you aren't climbing.