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Beginner Development Kit: Suggestions?
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Hey guys, Trying to put together my first development kit here. I know there is a tonne of threads on this but I have done quite a bit of research. There's a million and one options for drills so I'm trying to parse through those. I'm leaning toward the M18 5/8in as it's relatively inexpensive. My friend uses the Makita DHR242 but I was thinking the DHR241 might be a decent cheaper option? Makita batteries are cheaper but I'm not sure what each one really gets out of the same charge based on their specs. I was thinking of getting a single 3.0Ah battery with charger kit for either to start. Are there any Bosch or Hilti options people would consider at a similar price? The other major piece of kit I'm thinking about is the hammer. I don't plan on doing remote work or bolting on lead. Do I reallllly need to drop $100 on a BD Yosemite or is there some sort of guideline to follow that would allow me to just buy a hardware store hammer of a certain weight and wrap some cord around it? Everything else seems pretty straightforward. Buy hilti bits, get a wire brush, etc. etc. |
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Don’t spend the money on the expensive climbing hammers. I just use a normal one that I drilled a small hole in to thread some paracord. Maybe worth getting a rubber mallet head so iron doesn’t deposit on the bolts, but I can’t imagine that actually leads to any loss in strength. Also, I would suggest more than a 3amp battery. Just nice to have two if it gets cold or you need to put in a long route. |
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3Ah battery won’t get you many holes. Spend the extra and get at least a 5 or 6Ah. Don’t think of this endeavor as getting “beginner“ tools or kit, if you go cheap now you will end up spending more later on. |
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It is important to consider whether you are going to be developing alone or with other people. I have the M12 5/8ths and it works fine. But if you planning on lending your drill, it might be worth considering what your friends have so you can share batteries. It is also nice to be able to share batteries with other tools like a chainsaw or leaf blower if you can. The most important tool is discretion. You don't want to piss anyone off, it just makes more work than you have too. If people do complain be receptive but encourage them to help you. If someone complains about your route being a squeeze job/garbage, ask them where you should be bolting. If they don't respond, they don't care enough. If they do, then you might find yourself bolting better stuff. Second, accept help. It is awful to be at it alone, it is hard to find belayers. Hard to find psyche without other people with you. Actual materials: Things that everyone should have: Things I would highly recommend: Things you will eventually buy: Things to consider: |
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Don't use a framing hammer or any other that has the waffle texture on the end of the mallet. It will lead to rust developing on the bolt, especially with glue in bolts. In addition, most hammers used for construction are quite long. This can be cumbersome, even dangerous, when hanging from your harness. If the BD wall hammer is too expensive for you, check out the Petzl Tamtam and Bongo. Bit cheaper and work well. You could perhaps repurpose a rock/gem hammer. I'd be careful as the adze/point/pick end of those can be quite sharp. Don't also forget to factor in the following essentials: bosun chair (easy to make one with a 2x8 and some webbing), comfy harness, wrench, blow tube, eye protection, helmet, static rope, wire brushes, GriGri, jumar and aider, bolt/equipment bag (bigger is best, so you can fit batteries, glue, drill bits, water, etc.; store bolts here as five-piece and wedge bolts can become detached when clipped to a carabiner), shoulder strap & tether for drill (do not clip to your harness), gloves, caulk gun (if you are doing glue-ins), rag/trash bag (for discarding/wiping excess glue), small diameter cord to tether any/all equipment, and so forth. You might be able to find most of this on the cheap. On the whole, however, development ain't cheap! |
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Hammer choice might depend on the type of rock you plan on developing. I love my Omega Pacific wall hammer (RIP) for prying and removing loose garbage from our local choss piles. I know some folks who use geology hammers for the same reason. If I was bolting immaculate stone I’d just use a normal hammer. |
John Serjeantsonwrote: I like to use a wall hammer, but also sometimes use a masonry hammer. The wall hammer has a hole in the head for clipping to my harness so it doesn't swing around, but if you use a hammer holster, that's not much of an issue. The masonry hammer has a nice chisel on the back for prying off loose stuff. I often don't even use a pry bar - just the hammer for cleaning and installing bolts. |
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For cleaning routes, I actually bring a smaller drill or my impact driver which I have brush attachments. You can get tons of different cleaning attachments for your drill on Amazon depending on what you need to clean. I mostly just anchor cracks but let me tell you, the first time I got slowly lowered while running a drill with a brush attachment and cleaning a whole crack in a couple minutes was pretty big change. |
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Too many responses to reply to everyone, but it is all appreciated, thank you everybody! |
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I just found this hammer on Amazon and gave it a go - same weight as some climbing-specific hammers and claims it's stainless to avoid the deposit issue mentioned above. So far so good, no rust visible on the 316SS I've placed. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099ZC51JR?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details |
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Skip the drill and get a Petzl Rocpec. You’ll be more deliberate and conservative where you place bolts. It will teach you discretion, and your routes in the future will benefit as a result. When you finally progress to a power drill, you’ll be ever the wiser. |
Big Redwrote: I just ordered the same one! Im stoked to get out and use it once it arrives! Not too cheap or flimsy feeling? |
Elijah Swrote: No I was happily wailing away at bolts and loose flakes. It's pinned through the head so I imagine the primarily failure would be the wood handle cracking. |
 Less than ten bucks at harbor freight. Cut one of claws, drill the handle and no waffle nose. 16 oz but you can wrap some lead around the head. |
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Don’t forget to get a cliffhanger bolt gun! |
Princess Puppy Lovrwrote: This is perfect. So is that list of stuff to consider bringing. |
Bolting Karenwrote: This is KEY. Love the cheap ones from Harbor Freight because you'll jank them up fairly quickly. Watch out for your wrists and go easy on the rock. Be sure you wear goggles because.. duh. The very best tool I use is my neighbor's gas powered leaf blower. They can't get up on their roof to clean their gutters so I do that for them. The trade off is perfect for the 5 times a year I use it. Seriously, there is nothing like it for cleaning dirty cracks, faces, choss, etc. Use it after you clean with the rotary brush that Bolting Karen mentioned. Use it to blow off the dust/dirt/moss/plant debris or anything remotely dirty. The term "blowback" will mean a lot more to you after you use this. You'll want goggles and probably a mask. Seriously, don't mess around without them. You can be sure these things are loud as hell and Not. Discrete. At. All. |
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Related question that might not merit its own thread: what is everyone's battery management strategy? Meaning do you lug up one 8 Ah battery or split it into 2x 4Ah batteries for some redundancy or weight savings when you only need one? 2 smaller batteries seems to make sense to me: I'd hate to run out of battery halfway down a route but carrying all those extra cells seems like a pain if you're only making a few holes. Plus you can use a drill and a blower at the same time. |
Big Redwrote: I try to manage my gear not by its weight but how I access it. If I am on a slab, with easy access to the top I will bring it all the gear then attach it to another rope within reach. If I am on an over hang with difficult top access, I will only bring up what is necessary and attach everything else to a rope end. If you plan to bolt in index, I would get the bigger battery. If I happen to be drilling into index quality rock I get like half the holes I would normally get. |
Big Redwrote: Bought one of these too after noticing a decent amount of rust on top of a few of my stainless bolts from using a normal steel hammer. Made a few modifications with a grinder and it’s pretty rad now.  |
Russell Houghtenwrote: That is rad - I just ordered one, too, since it's so cheap. Did you grind it down to a vertical blunt small end, ala the BD Yosemite Hammer? I can't quite tell from the photo (nor do I really know what works best for heads, etc, so that would be great info) I have noticed some hammers are sharper pointed. Found an example of a BD hammer on ebay post:  |
