Trad Noob

I recently purchased a set of stoppers which are very useful, but now i am wondering what the right set would be for me. I am from Tucson and climb primarily at Mt. Lemmon which primarily has small cracks. I also enjoy joshua tree which has rather large cracks. Cams are really fuckin expensive so I am curious as to what would be a good middle of the road set? Thanks MP.
-Jason Davis

I spent this past summer getting really into trad and cams are definitely worth it. Don't waste your time with link cams though. BD C4's are normally the go-to option, but any cams will make your pitches go more smoothly/safely. And used cams are normally safe so long as they pass visual inspection. And outdoorgearlab.com is awesome for reviews.

If you can only afford one cam at a time, just get a size that you noticed you need. And there are a lot of decent deals online around now.

Also, give this a read if you haven't already:
climbingzine.com/portfolios…

If you like living cams are expensive but a worthy investment. I started trad climbing with a lot of nuts and I survived with no major injuries but I feel like I was sort of lucky. And the money you spend now is money u won't have to spend later.

Be a craigslist whore. Check at least twice a day for a month or two and you just might find the deal of the century. Or just buy piece by piece used. Just make sure its not completely destroyed. Those things last for ever though.

Whatever you do, I recommend BD C4's in anything above a .4 and metolius mastercams for smaller sizes. I've bought cams new and used. If you see that used cams still look to be in decent-to-good shape, save yourself some money and go used. Just make sure the seller is giving you a good deal. Lots of peeps (plenty on this site) sell used cams for what you would pay retail with a 10% discount or so. Most outdoor gear shops have a 20% off deal at any given time, so do your shopping and know your price point. Cams are so great.

You may also want to consider getting a couple tri cams. They're cheap and light. Some folks hate them because they can be hard to clean.

I can sell you my unused "extra" cams for a very reasonable price. PM me your email for more details.

someone just posted this in another thread too - mountainproject.com/v/holid…

see here - coloradocrackgear.com/black…

20% off sale and additional 10% off today.

Wired Bliss cams are really good and less $$$ than others. Made in AZ

Seeing as you asked about stoppers, but already bought a set - get a set of DMM Offsets - work great in Josh and just about anywhere else.

BD stoppers, get a set of hexes (I know ,I know) they rule.

Camalots always worked well for me. I'm sure the other top brands are good too. Don't waste your money on some generic crap. I'm looking at you Gear4Rocks.

I've tried several brands of nuts and through experience I have ended up with all DMM nuts; 'peenuts', 'wallnuts' and their offsets. Great standard fit, light, and their tapering gives me options (sometimes but not all). I have heard great things (in 'rock and snow' in new paltz, ny) from climbers about the ultralight metolius nuts however several stated they are too good (odd) because they can be hard to remove once set.

My standard rack for multi-pitch is: camalots #3-.75 doubled up, then metolius and bd c4/c3 mix .5 down (1 metolius 1 bd) for different fits. Regardless the brand having varied brands, at least for the smaller sizes, can be helpful. Different fits. Options.
I have a set of dmm nuts and I carry 2 tricams (pink and red) also. I do carry hexes (equal to c4 #3,2, and 1) and a single set of metolius ultralight (fat or power cams they may be called) cams with the dmm nuts and the tricams.

My 2 cents: anyone can place a cam, even my 4 yr old. Learn passive first (aka buy) whilst slowly building up your cam set. Once you start sawpping leads you'll be glad you know all passive because your partner(s) may not have all cams or may not rely on them heavily therefore now YOU might need to know how to place what they have which could make or break a climb/experience.

Also hexes and nuts are handy if you have to bail, way cheaper. Hexes and nuts are lighter (tricams and ball nuts and most if not all passive gear) and cheaper and work just as well if you know how to use them. good luck!

Go climbing with some people more experienced in those areas

THEN go decise what gear you want after figuring it out by using as much as tour partners gears as possible

Its that simple ... Rather than having people tell you on the intrawebs ;)

Agreed. Find a trusted trad leader, climb with them some, and then buy gear.

Beware the beta that you get online, such as buying hexes (you'll quickly stop using them) or buying offset nuts (useful pieces of gear for specialized climbing, but definitely not a necessary part of a noob rack).

Eric D wrote:Beware the beta that you get online, such as buying hexes (you'll quickly stop using them) or buying offset nuts (useful pieces of gear for specialized climbing, but definitely not a necessary part of a noob rack).

Ha! Tricams were on my original post but I took them off after thinking about the fact that I did use mine once in a while back in the day. Now they just collect dust.

i recommend cams as well. when i got into climbing about 10 years ago, i was climbing a lot in joshua tree and using nuts, hexes, some rock empire cams (still have them and they served their purpose), than i took a few years off. just getting back into it and i loaded up on BD C4 camalots and they are amazing. i climb in joshua tree mostly with cams now because i'm able to climb faster and spend less time fiddling with nuts. don't get me wrong, i like my nuts, but cams have helped me progress faster this time around.

I am fairly new to trad, but I use my tricams CONSTANTLY. I love them. They fit lots of places other gear won't, way lighter, less expensive, less bulky than cams.

Thanks folks! I appreciate your advice, insight, and minor ego driven arguments.

wired bliss, helium friends, and if you can afford it aliens, Dmm alloy and brass offsets. about six alpine draws six whatever draws...done

my 2c : buddy up with a gear whore trad mentor ( or two ) who climb in the areas of your choice and look at the racks they have, note which cams have most wear on them, then bribe that buddy to look at the used pieces of those sizes you are going to buy. They will be able to tell you based on their experiences if you are getting a good deal. Go BD!!!!