How soon is too soon to pick up a BD #5?

I'm going to the creek and thinking about picking up a #5, not because I love climbing the wide, but because I'm thinking it may be a good offering to make friends. (I'll also be bringing doubles #0.5-#3 and a #4).

A single #5 in the creek is funny, it both opens up a good number of routes, and also is nowhere near enough for others. But I digress.

Looking for local areas where I might put that #5 to use, I see Trout Creek has some such routes. It also seems perhaps not so rare among <5.9 trad routes in general? I want to say that half or more of the easy trad routes at Red Rocks called for pro to 5".

Searching this forum for similar topics, I see many people say that bought that one #5 for that one route and haven't used it since. Of course, many others say it's a piece you will be glad to have the minute you need it.

So what say you -- go for it, you'll find a use for it? Or, wait for it until you find a use for it? (Not sure if my trip to the creek counts for that!)

If you want to climb desert towers, you’ll want a big piece. 

I’d say go for it, and if you end up not using it much you can always sell it here for not too much of a loss

Totally depends on the climbs you want to do.

otherwise buy used. Resell if you haven’t found enough uses and you basically rented a cam for the cost of shipping

I have been climbing trad for 20 years and guiding for 15 years and have placed my #5 a handful of times.   Unless you seek out wide climbing, then there is very little reason to own a #5.

Owning a single 5 and 6 is not a bad idea.  But you might be better off investing in more 1#-3# cams for the creek.  Doubles are not even close to enough.

You should probably take the #5 out on a few dates first.  Once you are comfortable and the #5 asks you to meet their family, then and only then, should you consider picking the #5 up and jamming it in.

Best of luck.  Have fun and be safe. 

CalvinMwrote:

I have been climbing trad for 20 years and guiding for 15 years and have placed my #5 a handful of times.   Unless you seek out wide climbing, then there is very little reason to own a #5.

A great response, thanks.

Just curious -- would you attribute rarely placing your 5 because you/your clients avoid the wide stuff? Or maybe because you've got 20 years under your belt and you're comfortable running out "that one OW pitch" for the weight savings?

At my current level, I wouldn't mind carrying a #5 up some things for the ability to do the wide part on a TR instead of fiddling with smaller gear deeper in the crack/in the crack to the left, etc. Or maybe, picking up a #5 and seeking places to use it will lead me to being comfortable running these pitches out and climbing lighter and faster :)

Jfriday1wrote:

Owning a single 5 and 6 is not a bad idea.  But you might be better off investing in more 1#-3# cams for the creek.  Doubles are not even close to enough.

I'm going solo, absolutely relying on being able to make friends. I've heard few people there have enough gear, so people group up regularly.

And you're right. I'm considering grabbing two more golds -- maybe wild country -- because I imagine offering four #2s to a group at the base of supercrack/IHC will be more effective than offering a #5    But if I want to find a group to stick with for the rest of the day, a more specialty piece like a big cam might make the belaytionship last longer :)

Thanks for the advice, I was pretty sure I should pick up more #2s and now I'm positive I will.

The #6 is far more useful IME, especially for the towers.  

Buy a #7 tricam. Same size.

I echo some of the above posters...don't spend the dough unless you have a goal of climbing some shitty wide piece of crap. At one time I really wanted to become that "all around" climber. Until I realized I really hate wide stuff.  Even easy wide stuff. Wrecks your clothes, and your harness. And there is SOOOO much other stuff to climb. 

I bought a #5 for Ruper, and never placed it. I did use it in JTree, but it was a waste of $100.

I’ve placed my #5 more than my 0.2 or 0.3. 

Wide cracks are fun. 

Hand cracks get old. If your get a #7 I’ll be your friend. 

you know they do make hexes that size

CalvinMwrote:

I have been climbing trad for 20 years and guiding for 15 years and have placed my #5 a handful of times.   Unless you seek out wide climbing, then there is very little reason to own a #5.

Well, of course! If you're guiding and haul up a client on a #5 crack, you ain't seeing shit for a tip!

It's never to soon to pick one up. But don't leave it there for more than the 5 second rule.

To be clear:

I suck at wide cracks. I have virtually no experience in them. I don't have a solid opinion either way on whether I like them or not.

I do believe it's a very critical skill, though, for many alpine crack system type routes. I guess the question is, how stupid is it to invest in wide gear in order to learn wide technique, rather than waiting to buy wide gear until after you have the technique.

Since it doesn't seem like there's a resounding, "bringing a #5 to the creek will make you a ton of friends, you should do it!" or "I use #5s on all kinds of classics!" response...It really seems to come down more to a question of how much I want to invest in a new skill. I could buy a #5 and find somewhere to use it, or I could pay for an OW crack climbing clinic and walk away with skills but no cams, or I could try to make friends with people who have #5s, or I could learn on routes that have OW techniques but allow smaller sized gear for pro. Realistically learning on the sharp end is a rough plan for any of these options, but hey, not necessarily so bad if you can bump it and stay on a little TR.

I think I'll do it, I found one on sale. Shrug. Maybe I'll be selling it to one of the wide freaks in this comment section in a few months so that they can take a dozen #5s up something heinous while I question their sanity.

Michael Fairhurstwrote:

To be clear:

I suck at wide cracks. I have virtually no experience in them. I don't have a solid opinion either way on whether I like them or not.

I do believe it's a very critical skill, though, for many alpine crack system type routes. I guess the question is, how stupid is it to invest in wide gear in order to learn wide technique, rather than waiting to buy wide gear until after you have the technique.

Since it doesn't seem like there's a resounding, "bringing a #5 to the creek will make you a ton of friends, you should do it!" or "I use #5s on all kinds of classics!" response...It really seems to come down more to a question of how much I want to invest in a new skill. I could buy a #5 and find somewhere to use it, or I could pay for an OW crack climbing clinic and walk away with skills but no cams, or I could try to make friends with people who have #5s, or I could learn on routes that have OW techniques but allow smaller sized gear for pro. Realistically learning on the sharp end is a rough plan for any of these options, but hey, not necessarily so bad if you can bump it and stay on a little TR.

I think I'll do it, I found one on sale. Shrug. Maybe I'll be selling it to one of the wide freaks in this comment section in a few months so that they can take a dozen #5s up something heinous while I question their sanity.

Find a wide crack to top rope. 

Get your technique wired on a TR, no cost of entry, no consequences for failure.  

Find some adventure climb you have been wanting to do that requires wide crack technique (Grand Giraffe/Werk Supp/Grandmothers Challenge)

Buy a #5/6/7...

For the creek, having more hand size pieces prob makes more sense. I definitely recommend getting WC Friends for extras if you already have C4's. Like was said, anybody you meet who is eyeing wide stuff very likely won't be a single #5 away from giving it a lead burn.

That said, a single #5 will prob be more useful to you when you go home if you want to start dabbling in wider stuff, whereas your quads of hands might sit unused unless Trout Creek has some long splitters. At Index in WA there are a bunch of routes with wildly variable crack sizes and I use my #4-6 all the time on 5.9's and under, but granted I don't shy away from routes with a little to a lot of wide stretches.

borrow one in Portland?