Standard Rack - SoAZ

OK, so I have found that many of the routes listed on Mount Lemmon or in Cochise, etc. have the Gear section as "Bring a standard rack" or similar. Being that I am just breaking into this trad climbing thing I am still not completely sure what exactly a standard rack is. Could anyone help me out by telling me what, if anything I need to add to mine so I can do most of the easy to moderate trad in Southern Arizona?

My current rack:
Singles of Camalots from .3 to #3
Single set of BD stoppers (#3-#13)(doubles on #12 because we bootied one)
4 or 5 single and double length slings

Any suggestions?

Most definitely more runners, somewhere around 10 2-footers and 2 4-footers feels right to me.

mountainproject.com/scripts…

Double up on Camalots .5-2 or supplement with cam of another type.

Also, a few cams on the very small end are nice to have.

When doubling up on cams for a "standard" rack it's nice to have a set with a narrower axle width in addition to the Camalots/Friends. I find that with all of the shallow, bottoming groovy cracks around a set of TCUs, aliens, or C3s can mean the difference between solid pro and a horror show. DMM offset nuts are also really useful.

Some folks would contest that tri-cams are a mainstay of any standard rack. The smaller ones are perfect for many of the pods that you find in the back of some of those grooves. That said, mine sit a home most of the time.

Thanks Chris- I was toying with the idea of buying some of the smaller Mastercams or TCU's once I get some more cash, and this pretty much confirmed my suspicions. Offset nuts are also on the list, along with more runners.

Is a #4 Camalot or equivalent necessary?

Alex McIntyre wrote:Is a #4 Camalot or equivalent necessary?

Here is one opinion...

Obviously it depends on what you like to climb, and for the most part you wont need the largest of the C-4's. But having said that, you'd be surprised how nice it is to have a larger piece of protection when you actually do need it.

I consider the #4 a standard part of my rack and the #5 and #6 as route-dependant items.

As for Tri-cams: the pink and red are always on the rack, the rest were sold long ago.

#4 is good to have with you. You can always leave it on the ground if you don't think you will use it. I used to carry a pink and red tri-cam, now I just wish I had them now and again. If you are new to trad it is nice to have them so you can get a good piece which makes doing trad way more fun. Small brass nuts help too. I also like to have a variety of cams (metolius and BD, 3 and 4 cam) as Chris suggests. They also overlap in size a little which means one may fit better than the similar size made by another manufacturer. If you are doing "easy to moderate" trad then you will be able to run it out if you don't have the perfect piece. That hardware between your ears is the most important gear in your tool box.

PM me as I have a red C-3 I will part with cheap.

Depends on whose standard rack you're talking about.
A Grossman rack included the kitchen sink. Triples in just about everything along with a few choice odd ball nuts.

Depends A LOT on the type of climbing you plan on doing.
A standard trad Tucson rack is a lot different than a standard trad Sedona rack vs. IC vs. ....

The more you climb an area, the more you will develop your own "standard." The more you can climb with locals the more you'll clue in on their racks.
Strongly suggest you take up EFR's offer, might be worth more than just a cam ;-)

Paul & others, thanks for the info. I took Eric's offer and in addition to a nice addition to my rack we had a good discussion on gear placements and related things. It was very helpful.

I plan on increasing my rack as often as funds allow... no real "job" to speak of aside from occasional babysitting at my church.