Creating a Trad Rack for Boulder area

I'm looking for some input on what trad pro you'd buy if you were aiming to climb mostly in Eldo and Boulder Canyon area. I've been climbing sport for a while and I'm looking to get into trad. Already got everything as far as draws, slings etc. just looking into pro now.

What I'm thinking:
BD Nuts 1-10
BD Camalots (.5, .75, 1, 2, 3, maybe one more??)
Nut Tool

Anything above you might pass on buying or anything I'm missing? Bent Gate has a package deal where you get 6 camalots of your choice so that's why I got the "maybe one more above."

Thanks for your help.

That's a pretty good start.

Don't forget some small cams.

Either TCU'c Blue, yellow, Orange.
OR
Aliens Green, yellow, red.

josh

I might be crazy but I think you should be planning on doubling the quantity of cams at least. I typically rack around 16 cams...

doubles of
Metolius 1 - 4
Camalots 0.75 - 3

plus nuts

A rack of five or six cams is not a full rack in my book. Especially when you have to build anchors with gear. Yes, you can plan on placing lots of nuts but come on...

A nice long pitch (say 150 feet) with a beginner's spacing of placements every eight feet and a three piece anchor means around 15 pieces at least.

You might wish to add a couple or so tricams to the rack as well.

I use the pink, red, blue and black tricams all the time.

If you can only afford ten stoppers, make it #4-13 instead of #1-10; #11, 12, & 13 are a lot more useful than #1, 2, & 3.

In terms of BD cams, I would suggest getting .5 through whatever you can afford. If you really get into trad, you'll probably eventually buy #4, 5, & 6. I would suggest getting either Metolius TCUs, Metolius Master Cams, or (tested) CCH Aliens instead of anything < .5 BD (ie .1 through .4).

For smaller cams, I really dig the new Metolius Master Cams. I would pick up #1-#4 at least; I find those sizes to be quite useful.

--Marc

Thanks for all the input.

I find one set of cams to be sufficient in the boulder area. If you must have doubles, pick up a set of omega link cams. They cover most of the range and only cost 175 for the set. A lot cheaper than a second set.

I find tricams to be useful only on a few select climbs in Bocan and in the flatirons they are quite useful. Pink and red are the most valuable. (i want to try the new smaller tricams which have been released) Keep in mind that I am a Gunks climber who LOVES tricams. I just don't find them all that useful around here.

+1 on 4-13. I place 11-12-13 quite frequently.

make sure you are not forgetting one of the more important things, single length slings. Lots of them... many routes you will find are tough to eliminate rope drag using quick draws.

Last thing. Consider picking up a trango alpine equalizer, this nifty devise make it much more efficient to set up belays (especially on multipitch) are lighter than a cordolette, and offer a considerable level of flexibility. In my book, definitely worth the $30.

cheers.
-chris

BD Stoppers 3-13 are essential. Once you get comfortable placing nuts, get some Micros (namely 3-6). They're small, but there are routes where you'll be glad you had them.

BD C4's are the gold standard for a reason, they rock hard. .5 through 3 is a great place to start. I agree with Mark in saying you'll eventually get bigger stuff, but probably not for a while. I disagree with John H. in needing a full double set of cams. Some climbs require doubles of some cams, but the vast majority do not.

In Boulder Canyon, you probably won't use Tricams a lot. In Eldo, I find Tricam placement FREQUENTLY. And many times it's where another nut or cam will NOT fit. I would say get pink and red, and feel
the love
(P.S. Chris! Mr. "I just don't find them that useful around here" Gunks climber, where are you looking!?!?! :-P )

Finally, C3's rock for small placements in Eldo, but I haven't used Master Cams...

I'd say consider this, are you buying a rack for a certain area or a begginer rack? A begginer rack is basically a set of nuts, a set of cams, all with a little overlap. If your going to get specific to an area in some ways you have to get specific to climbs. Some climbs will require lots of small gear some lots of large (can you say money). Best bet is to stick with basically what you have listed and then build from there. Doubles don't hurt but few people can afford that right out and you'll learn what you like over time. One little thing is that you might consider metolius for the smaller sizes (I prefer them) up to red. The smaller metolius TCU's just feel good and place better in my opinion. Oh yes and definately buy pink, red and brown tri cams and learn how to use them. They are a cheap investment for the pay off.

PS DO NOT get the dynemma tri cams they suck!

The general purpose rack I carry on everything is a single set from blue or black alien size (I use zeros, but the alien sizes are more or less standardized) up to #3 C4, or maybe #4 friend if you want a fist sized piece, plus a set and a half of nuts (excess in the mid sized nuts). I supplement with doubles depending on the climb, but a good place to start is #.75 to #3 camalots. I went clear to #13 stoppers for one set, since its a useful size and it'll give you doubles in the finger size pieces which you might end up placing a lot more of. Doubles in everything is nice, but its not vital if you're just getting started in the area. You can get away with a lot less in Eldo and BC, depending on the climb.

michael.repsher wrote:What I'm thinking: BD Nuts 1-10 BD

A word on nuts...

Nuts are important.

And, especially in trad climbing -- because you can carry many of them for the weight of a mid-sized cam. Beyond that, there are a lot of nut placements that are quick and unquestionably bomber -- though quick placement takes some practice.

BD stoppers are OK; they were my first set of nuts. In fact, I'm a huge BD fan. However, a good number of climbers think they suck, as their shape is very run-of-the-mill, and some sizes don't fit as well as frequently as some other brands of nuts. I too, think the shape of BD stoppers sucks (especially in the larger sizes), and they usually stay at home.

You may want to also consider looking at DMM Wallnuts and WC Rocks. The Brits invented the use of 'nuts' in climbing, and have it down. Regardless of what you get, buying a full set will probably be the best deal -- and on a standard trad rack, you'll generally carry most of the set (BD equivalent sizes 1, 2, and probably 3 can generally be considered aid pieces; biggest stoppers also sometimes get left behind).

When looking to add some duplication of nuts (a good idea), consider the HB aluminum offsets that DMM will now be making (due out any time now). This just gives you some variety (and the offsets fit in a lot of places better than normal nuts).

On the tricams, I like to carry the .5, 1, and sometimes 1.5 on multi-pitch climbs -- where I can use them at anchors (instead of spending heavier cams, which I try to save for the leader). I occasionally use them on lead when they fit a spot or pocket that nothing else on the rack will fit. However, I did recently sell my larger tricams for good reason.

I've never had them and have no idea why the dynemma tricams suck... Joshua?

Also, search for more forum posts like this. This question comes up every few months.

Cheers!

I'm also looking to get a trad rack together (though not specific to boulder canyon), and in my researching i came across an offer for 5 wild country forged friends, sizes 2 through 4, and a size 2 kong flexible stem for 99 bucks. i don't really care about the kong cam (if you've used kong i'd love to hear a reaction), but i'm wondering mostly about people's thoughts on the forged friends, since they're inexpensive (~$30 new).

i've used a couple old-ass rigid-stem friends and chouinard cams on what little trad climbing i've done and have no beef, but then again my only exposure to 'modern' cam technology is the .3 camalot i pulled off the first flatiron and what i've read here and elsewhere.

any reactions to wild country cams in general? i haven't seen much talk about them, and their zeros look kind of sweet.

i also don't see much talk of hexes...any particular reason for that? i'd like to get proficient with passive pro before i drop cash for cams.

thanks in advance,
aaron

EDIT: if anyone lives in the midwest or is interested, the guy selling his cams also has a full set of wild country tech friends (don't know what generation) up for $299, and a crash pad.

redriverclimbing.com/viewto…

No, you don't see a lot of talk about hexes anymore. I originally bought a few, but don't use them while cragging. I might take some for alpine routes as extra pieces for an anchor since generally I won't have doubles of cams for that. Now that I have double cams, I like the flexibility and lack of "duh, now I have to back clean a cam" moments. If you do pick up a few hexes, I think the Wild Country ones are the best. I got forced into leading some routes in Lumpy on my partner's almost cam-free rack and the WCs were much easier to place than my BD ones.

A rack is not about the number of pieces, it's about options, especially when onsighting.

Your proposed rack is thin and unless you are quite bold, you will be very limited by it, especially after considering belays.

Starting with your original rack proposal, I would make these minimum changes:

Stoppers: eliminate 1 and 2, and double 4,5,6,7

Tricams: one of each: 0.5,1, and 1.5

Aliens (or TCU equivalent size): One each of blue, green, yellow.

Camalots (or equivalent size): Add one more of each: 1,2,3

With this you can comfortably and safely climb the vast majority of routes that are not wide or super thin in Eldo, BC, or just about anywhere for that matter.

Hey Greg: looks like a sweet Eldo rack to me. Great pic.

Greg wrote:This pic doesn't include all of my 4ft runners, prussiks, cordalette, lockers etc ....but here's mine so far. Next up is probably a #4 camalot and a set of either the c3's or the new metolius cams to compliment the aliens.

NICE RACK !! lol

The only thing I would change is to add a couple
longer knotted slings you can use in case of bail-out
situations etc. maybe a couple more of those curved stoppers
in the #4-5 size.

Aaron Martinuzzi wrote:I'm also looking to get a trad rack together (though not specific to boulder canyon), and in my researching i came across an offer for 5 wild country forged friends, sizes 2 through 4, and a size 2 kong flexible stem for 99 bucks.

I'd refrain from buying your first set of cams based on price alone. I almost guarantee that in the long run you'll want to replace the rigid stems and the Kong cams with something better. I'd suggest buying the right gear the first time around - otherwise you're wasting your money.

Dave Brower wrote: NICE RACK !! lol The only thing I would change is to add a couple longer knotted slings you can use in case of bail-out situations etc. maybe a couple more of those curved stoppers in the #4-5 size.

After thought- maybe a few "old school" style
nuts too. #4-10 perhaps.

John Hegyes wrote: I'd refrain from buying your first set of cams based on price alone. I almost guarantee that in the long run you'll want to replace the rigid stems and the Kong cams with something better. I'd suggest buying the right gear the first time around - otherwise you're wasting your money.

Man oh man, do I agree with this. I found this out the hard way in sooo many sports.

With protection, and this is just my opinion obviously, there is never any need to go with anything other than Black Diamond, especially since they introduced their small cam line. Same for their ice protection. I've had it all, and the most satisfying pieces have been Black Diamond stuff. It's engineered to perfection.

I'd recommend the yellow and red link cams... these babies go everywhere... carry 2 of each and save 1 for the belay... you'll love it, they are so versatile with their range of expansion.

John Hegyes wrote: I'd refrain from buying your first set of cams based on price alone. I almost guarantee that in the long run you'll want to replace the rigid stems and the Kong cams with something better. I'd suggest buying the right gear the first time around - otherwise you're wasting your money.

yeah, my intention isn't to skimp on gear, i was just wondering if the forged friends were worth having or not. any particular faults they exhibit?