Stuff you don't NEED, learn from our mistakes

do yall not use the rope backpack coil?

If doing single pitch, the rope tarp/bag combo is much faster and more convenient when moving between routes. When multi-pitch climbing it doesn't make sense to haul a bag around. It's not about using one or the other, they both make sense in different situations.

Brand new shoes period. Quick franckly, instead of buying new pair of shoes, if I could go back, I would just scout around for 2nd-hand ones and use those. I think you'll start to feel when it's right to move to better, new shoes. Those things are expensive... just resole a cheap pair for the first year or two I'd say...

. wrote:

do yall not use the rope backpack coil?

For multi-pitch, yes.  For cragging, no.

Do you use a backpack coil for single pitch sport climbing?  If so, I'd guess you're in the minority.

Expensive headlamps.  I always lose them and cheap ones work just as well. 

Zander Laskin wrote:

For multi-pitch, yes.  For cragging, no.

Do you use a backpack coil for single pitch sport climbing?  If so, I'd guess you're in the minority.

I'd agree with that.

Anyways, a decent rope bag with some sort of tarp will pay for itself over time just because it'll save wear on your draws (since a dirty rope will wear them out faster, especially if you toprope) and also on your rope, since a dirty rope will also wear out faster.

Taking the long view, some tarp (at the very least) is an investment.

To tag onto this thread and kinda on-topic: I’m very much a proponent of not bringing unnecessary gear, and 95% of the time I never bring a PAS because I use slings, draws, or clove with the rope. However, I really like a PAS for multipitch rappel. It’s so simple and adjustable. Someone please convince me otherwise of a way that works just as well so I don’t have to bring a PAS. Thx

Bport wrote:

You can use a double length sling with an overhand in the middle to do both extension and anchoring.

I want to share some extremely sensitive and highly confidential information with you all. You can use a shoulder length sling to do both extension and anchoring.

See non-disclosure agreement aforementioned.... MP’s best kep secret... Gumbies will hate you because of this one simple trick....

cmqr9001 Black wrote:

To tag onto this thread and kinda on-topic: I’m very much a proponent of not bringing unnecessary gear, and 95% of the time I never bring a PAS because I use slings, draws, or clove with the rope. However, I really like a PAS for multipitch rappel. It’s so simple and adjustable. Someone please convince me otherwise of a way that works just as well so I don’t have to bring a PAS. Thx

A Daisy/PAS is reasonable for multi-pitch rappels. It is never reasonable for one pitch.

On one of my routes in the Valley if you take only one 60m rope its like 12 rappels to the base. PAS (adjustable) is convenient to make the stances always comfortable, imo.

King Tut wrote:

A Daisy/PAS is reasonable for multi-pitch rappels. It is never reasonable for one pitch.

On one of my routes in the Valley if you take only one 60m rope its like 12 rappels to the base. PAS (adjustable) is convenient to make the stances always comfortable, imo.

Yeah exactly. I really like the adjustability for stances becaise 1/2 the time I’m super uncomfortable with only one length like when using a sling with a knot 

A few feet of dynamic rope and a Kong Slyde. Infinitely more adjustable than a PAS and won't rupture your spleen if you fuck up and fall on it. Tie an alpine butterfly and you also have a way to extend your rap if you're in to that. PAS's are great as an anchor chain for organization on big walls, less useful as tether. If you gotta have those 10 different loops, you can also tie your own out of tubular webbing for much cheaper.

Full disclosure, I owned and used a PAS at one point. It was helpful for me at the time, but like all crutches we will eventually have to shed it like training wheels on a bike. Not saying you shouldn't use one, just that you will eventually reach a point at which it becomes more limiting than useful. 

cmqr9001 Black wrote:

To tag onto this thread and kinda on-topic: I’m very much a proponent of not bringing unnecessary gear, and 95% of the time I never bring a PAS because I use slings, draws, or clove with the rope. However, I really like a PAS for multipitch rappel. It’s so simple and adjustable. Someone please convince me otherwise of a way that works just as well so I don’t have to bring a PAS. Thx

Plus, when something goes sideways, now you got some extra accessory cord to work with.  Plus plus, and admittedly I haven't tied one in a while, how much are you really saving with a sling over, like, 3m of cord?

NRobl wrote:

Expensive headlamps.  I always lose them and cheap ones work just as well. 

Couldn’t disagree more.   Fenix lights are amazing and absolutely necessary for late night winter (4 pm) climbing in Alaska.  Having 1000 lumens helps immensely on route finding, for running on dark trails or biking. Also used a fenix to supplement my snowmobiles lights in tight trails.    Been several times when I’ve been biking and a moose came across my path that I saw much earlier with a good headlamp that I wouldn’t have seen with a cheap one. 

Nate Tastic wrote:

Interesting. King Tut has a Kong Slyde too. He had it with him at the gym the other night. You aren't secretly climbing there are you? Spooky... 

I wish. I haven't had time for even gym climbing since the beginning of the semester. But seriously, if you value adjustability, get the slyde because you can adjust it across the entire length of the cord. Or if you seem to have that burning desire to climb above your tether and don't fancy generating huge forces. 

akafaultline wrote:

Couldn’t disagree more.   Fenix lights are amazing and absolutely necessary for late night winter (4 pm) climbing in Alaska.  Having 1000 lumens helps immensely on route finding, for running on dark trails or biking. Also used a fenix to supplement my snowmobiles lights in tight trails.    Been several times when I’ve been biking and a moose came across my path that I saw much earlier with a good headlamp that I wouldn’t have seen with a cheap one. 

How many noobs are climbing late night winter in Alaska? Also, note that this is a climbing website, not a mountain biking or snowmobiling website. I suspect that an expensive headlamp would be useful for spelunking as well... also for driving when your headlights are shattered.  Note that neither of those involved walking back 100 meters to the car from a sport crag, or finding your toothbrush in your toiletry bag in your tent.

NRobl wrote:

How many noobs are climbing late night winter in Alaska? Also, note that this is a climbing website, not a mountain biking or snowmobiling website. I suspect that an expensive headlamp would be useful for spelunking as well... also for driving when your headlights are shattered.  Note that neither of those involved walking back 100 meters to the car from a sport crag, or finding your toothbrush in your toiletry bag in your tent.

I actually primarily use headlamps for winter climbing.  For route finding on the Tetons or rainier and Orizaba at the “maze” an expensive headlamp that reaches further out has been invaluable and wouldn’t go with a cheap one at all. When ice climbing and using a headlamp, the beam is very focused when it is that close to what your trying to see so you may not see all the details you want when kicking your pons.  In addition ice bulges often cause the headlamp to be obstructed from what your trying to kick so having a bright headlamp on the belayer is an awesome bonus. Another example I was recently on a climbing trip on a frozen lake with icebergs in it.  Hundreds of icebergs as tall as 70-80 feet tall-after a while all the icebergs started looking the same and with weak headlamps you couldn’t decipher as well the way out-my headlamp reached a solid 400 feet in a maze of bergs that were otherwise very confusing   

Having a bright headlamp on the belayer also increases the safety of your belay so they can adequately see what is occurring.  I’d rather my belayer see if my climbing is looking like crap than only see a pale headlamp up above and have the belayer guessing what is going on    

Bottom line for me is if you know your going to be out in the darkness and aren’t doing an alpine start where you know sun up is in 3 hours, or your doing a lot of route finding on technical routes-it saves a lot of time to have a headlamp that will let you see the features your trying to get to instead of climbing or hiking to those features to only realize your at the wrong feature or destination and now have to backtrack. 

eli poss wrote:

A few feet of dynamic rope and a Kong Slyde. Infinitely more adjustable than a PAS and won't rupture your spleen if you fuck up and fall on it. Tie an alpine butterfly and you also have a way to extend your rap if you're in to that.

This looks really interesting. I use a Purcell Prusik now, and one thing I like about it is that I can lengthen it without taking my weight off. That lets me smoothly transfer my weight onto the rap device. Can you do that with the Slyde, or do you have to unweight it to loosen it?

Nate Tastic wrote:

What happens when you get close to a moose at night like that?

Haven’t personally had any problems with moose in the winter. They’ve all bolted as soon as it became clear I was not getting off the trail.  Calves are older so the cow isn’t as pissy and the bulls aren’t In rut.   Spring and autumn are the scary times for moose imo.  

Mitchell E wrote:

This looks really interesting. I use a Purcell Prusik now, and one thing I like about it is that I can lengthen it without taking my weight off. That lets me smoothly transfer my weight onto the rap device. Can you do that with the Slyde, or do you have to unweight it to loosen it?

It's possible to loosen it while weight, but not easy if your full weight is on it. To release it you have to rotate it and you don't get a whole lot of leverage, but if you can even partially unweight it for a second or 2 you can release it relatively easily. 

pga26 wrote:

What did you buy early on that you thought you needed, but ended up either useless or unnecessary? Hoping we can save noobs some $$$

I'll start: Two way radios for multi pitch climbing. When my partner and I started doing multi pitch routes we recognized an issue with communication around corners and below roofs, etc.. The first thought was to get some radios, but quickly learned they can't get around the corners any better than our voices. Rope tugs have proved to be the answer and they are free fifty free.

Two-way radios saved our asses on a 68m traverse pitch in El Potrero Chico in 20mph winds. We also frequently use them climbing as a family when one group heads to a distant part of the crag. Last week two of my girls preferred to hang out in the van at the Chocolate Factory parking lot while my son worked on his project; we could communicate all afternoon.