Trad rack for Scottish Rock

I'm moving to Scotland for a few months and I am able to borrow a 'standard scottish rack' from a buddy, but it seems a bit lacking.  Just a double set of stoppers, loooong slings, and a handful of smaller cams.  Would it be worth it to bring some bigger pieces? 

climbing in the uk means your rack can vary massively, though unless climbing limestone a double set of nuts is excessive, it sounds like the guy is pretty old school or had a old school mentor. If you are going on anything big i would take a standard set of nuts and double rack of cams (up to a size two) then add in what ever is needed for the route be it micro nuts, another set of nuts, etc, I really don't think you need to adjust your rack much if at all.

thanks a ton, my fiancée was insisting that we'll have enough... but I decided on bringing .5 - #3 camalots. I've looked into some of the topos and it seems prudent to have a few bigger pieces.  I'm stoked to give it a solid go while I'm there, maybe you'll see me out thrutching on your favorite route!

Seb's advice is sound, and if you're used to climbing mostly on cams it would work well. My two cents: I learned to climb in Scotland with the university club in Edinburgh. A set and a half of nuts all the way through the big dmm #11 (green) -- with the doubles usually superlights or other oddities -- and a single rack of cams up to big blue DMM (BD #3), plus some micros, was standard for most people I climbed with or saw at the crags. Have a great trip, and send me a PM if you want some route recommendations.

Chris Danger Russell wrote:

thanks a ton, my fiancée was insisting that we'll have enough... but I decided on bringing .5 - #3 camalots. I've looked into some of the topos and it seems prudent to have a few bigger pieces.  I'm stoked to give it a solid go while I'm there, maybe you'll see me out thrutching on your favorite route!

 

I'm Devon based so unless you come to the south west you won't be seeing me anytime soon. But then again I have been wanting to get on some Scottish rock..

It seems to me that a standard UK rack is a double set of nuts and a single set of cams compared to a US rack which is single nuts and double cams! Depending on where you're clmbing in Scotland, the granite in the Cairngorms can require bigger pieces whereas the more compact rock around Ben Nevis will see you using more smaller nuts to protect the route. 

Don't forget the midge replent

that guy named seb wrote:

climbing in the uk means your rack can vary massively, though unless climbing limestone a double set of nuts is excessive, it sounds like the guy is pretty old school or had a old school mentor. If you are going on anything big i would take a standard set of nuts and double rack of cams (up to a size two) then add in what ever is needed for the route be it micro nuts, another set of nuts, etc, I really don't think you need to adjust your rack much if at all.

The single cam man suggesting a double cam rack for UK climbing! What happened?

Don't forget snacks for during the hideous traffic jams and a solid rain mac! 

Most of the people I climb with here tend to use a lot more nuts and hexes than cams. Myself, I love a good cam placement!

If you're down south give us a shout for some coastal limestone or southern sandstone. 

Enjoy and good luck.

Xam wrote:

The single cam man suggesting a double cam rack for UK climbing! What happened?

I got totems, double rack for scotish multipitch stuff, "UK Climbing" is not really a thing as there is so much variation it would be like saying "US climbing", there is just way too much variation.

Hey man...I'm with you!  It is just amazing how folks perspectives change over the years, considering you said:

I have a single cam and i have never even used it, i climbed with a german who came over here with a full rack of cams never using them before i found them a massive pain in the ass to place and sketchy as fuck in the granite we were climbing, after we finished the route he then proceeded to say that he would have preferred the hexes for the rock. What i'm trying to say is, you rarely NEED cams

Xam wrote:

Hey man...I'm with you!  It is just amazing how folks perspectives change over the years, considering you said:

I stand by what I said and I believe that was on a thread about a newb feeling they needed to shell out 100s of dollars for a rack of cams. Also I went north for a while and did a bunch of daisy soloing on grit, idk how useful nuts would be for daisy soloing. 

Just got back from a climbing trip to the northern Highlands.  A set of hexes such as the DMM torque nuts would be very useful.  I agree with those above who say that the gear is very rock type and route specific.  If you already have them, bring a double set of cams.  Larger sizes could be useful.  On the final pitch (combined p 3 and 4) of the Old Man of Stoer, I placed #3, #4 and #5 C4s - there wasn't much else in the way of placements available.

that guy named seb wrote:

I stand by what I said and I believe that was on a thread about a newb feeling they needed to shell out 100s of dollars for a rack of cams. Also I went north for a while and did a bunch of daisy soloing on grit, idk how useful nuts would be for daisy soloing. 

Awwhhh, I see!  So you are saying situation, nuance and experience are important in these types of discussions...well now I know. ;) 

Most important piece of climbing gear in Scotland is a gore-tex cagoule (and over-pants).  Money for the pub is a close second.  (Much time is spent in pubs waiting for things to clear.)  Be sure to check out Skye where the gabbro is grippy beyond belief even in the rain.  Lots of routes to climb but also amazing scrambling.  As for the rack question, the double set of nuts will be handy.  Bring some cams to be sure.  And make sure you have enough slings and biners.  As a Gunks climber, I was always a bit dismayed by my partners over there who racked very few slings.  They would often use hexes or nuts that were slung with perlon as extenders.  It's a handy trick, of course, but not on every pitch.