New to climbing but want to practice set ups

Now i know im jumping the gun here and im in no rush to get on a wall or lead at my current skill level..ive been climbing for about 3 weeks now and have been reading books from topher donahue series and i want to start practicing set ups in my basement. My only problem is idk where to start as far as gear to buy for practicing the set ups im learning in the books. I have basic climbing gear ie harness atc and biners but does anyone have any advice on what i should start buying in order to practice?

If you don’t know where to start, start with what is offered at your gym.

I’m not quite clear what “setups” you are trying to practice. What’s your goal? Do you want to know how to toprope outside? Do you want to learn how to sport climb? Indoors, or outside? Are you asking about placing trad gear outside?

Start by asking about classes offered at the gym. Most gyms will have toprope belay class, lead belay class, anchors/transitioning to the outside class. You would avoid unnecessary purchases, and you will have opportunity to ask questions and get in-person instruction. There is no substitute for learning these skills hands-on, and under supervision of someone who can spot wrong/dangerous things. Once you have the basics, books will make more sense, and you would understand what to buy. 

You can hardly go wrong with the following: 4 locking biners (anything but the really small ones), 4 non-locking biners, 2 120cm slings, 20 ft of 7mm cord.  Add 50-60 ft of 9mm static rope if you fancy setting up topropes, as many TR areas in the Northeast have trees up top to anchor on.

Thank you gunkiemike, that sounds like a pretty solid list..can i go dynamic over static? Or would static be better for my circumstances? Also, can the four non locking biners be any kind, or should i get wire gates or another specific type? Sorry for all the questions, lol..

lenachita- i just wanna practice setting up at belay stations and things of that nature, practice equalizing anchor points and tying into anchor points, also setting up a proper belay from above..i currently dont have anyone who can give me direct instruction, i understand the books im reading and what everything means i just want to do hands on practice but i dont want to over purchase since all ill be doing is practicing. I am signing up for classes next spring for all of this with a certified guide, but i want to become more familiar with everything before hand..

a 9mm static rope will be plenty to use for setting top anchors, I prefer it because the lack of stretch means less rubbing of the rope as the climber weighs and weighs the system. 20-30m of static line, and a reasonably burly dynamic rope will last you quite a long time. I personally bought a sterling evo velocity 9.8 when I started and its my go to sport/single pitch trad route. I'll probably stretch it out into a cable before it gets too worn to continue using. Once you get more experience you'll have an idea of what (if any) you want for 2nd, 3rd rope etc. 

As for the nonlockers, it pretty much comes down to personal preference. My only advice is to stay away from anything excessively small (camp nano 22s and the like) and anything wicked polarizing ( for some reason, people either hate or love the petzl ange carabiners.) ultralight carabiners are a bit fiddly, and I generally find their action to be pretty meh compared to larger ones, so I use them only because I am aware of and am willing to make the trade off between weight and ease of use. Something like the wild country helium 3, the camp dyon, DMM alpha, or anything that isn't mega tiny and has a snag free nose (and is on sale!)

 If your interested, my trad rack is composed of mostly camp nano 22 and camp photon wiregates for racking and alpine draws, and a set of petzl ange s/l finesse draws that do double duty as my ice climbing rack. I personally like the ange but some of my partners (ok, most of them) have a strong dislike of them for some reason. My sport rack is a set of petzl spirit express draws and the action/ease of use on those carabiners is really nice. I have a set of the bd positrons for my lockers, as well as a mix of petzl spirit screw locks, BD rocklock mag, and a petzl frieno (not a huge fan of this one) for my grigri. I put most of this together after spending time following friends and speaking in person with instructors/guides as to what they like (or seeing stuff on sale and saying ehh lets try it, like the frieno.)

Michael,

I’m happy to mentor you from a distance. It’ll get you started in the right direction at least and I can help with a gear list. Send me a private message.

And prepare for climbing to take over your life! :) In an amazing way.

Anna 

michael sami wrote:

Thank you gunkiemike, that sounds like a pretty solid list..can i go dynamic over static? Or would static be better for my circumstances? Also, can the four non locking biners be any kind, or should i get wire gates or another specific type? Sorry for all the questions, lol..

Nick answered your questions, but I'll put my 2 cents in briefly. Get static rope. It has less stretch and so wears less on rough surfaces when used to construct the TR anchor.  For non-locking biners, yes most any kind will do the job. I am buying nothing but notch-less biners these days; those petty 1 second hangups each time you try to remove the biner from webbing start to add up. Notch-less go on and off more easily.  And I'd suggest nylon slings because they are more robust than the skinny Dyneema (AKA Spectra) blended ones.

i just wanna say thank you to all of you, im constantly blown away at how welcoming and helpful most of the climbing community is, it truly is something amazing to experience as a new climber..all of the advice given here will not fall on deaf ears and i cant express enough how thankful i am to all of you for taking time out of your day to hook me up with all this info..ill be sure to do my part and keep the stoke alive, i cant wait to start practicing in my basement/yard..