Why do some people set nuts?

Ellenor Stone wrote:another trick is to attach a sling and yank up and down on it as hard as u can. I don't use cams to dislodge anything

were they your stoppers? if my second did that to my gear i'd have a word or two

side note, best use i ever had for my gri gri before i sold it was as a hammer to hit a nut tool for those tough to clean stoppers. better than a cam or a biner...that shit gets microcracks!

You guys just need better nut tools.

I have one of those Ushba titanium ones, and it has an awesome curved flat bit on the end that makes it easy to bash with the heel of your hand if needed.

mad rock nut tool $6 and doesn't hurt to pound, also:

Sometimes a nut placement is marginal and there are no other options. Then it's crucial for it to stay just so. Best to set it well in the anticipated direction of fall to avoid having it dislodge through rope movement. Hexes have a greater tendency to jangle around in a placement as a result of rope movement and in some cases can easily lose there optimal positioning. I feel they should be very securely set.

As a new Trad climber, I appreciate the opinions in this post. I have a tendency to set my nets firmly, but my seconds have never had too much trouble getting them out. I can imagine that on climbs of much harder difficulty, the difference between a well set nut and a loose nut may start to matter for a second, but for now it just seems like extra security with a very small time penalty.

How about this; do I need to set my tricams firmly? Unless the placement is in a ridiculously secure pocket or constriction, I usually set them with a few firm tugs, to where a nut-tool is absolutely needed to clean them, but none have been left behind yet. Is this unnecessary?

In nearly 20 years of climbing I only met up with two nut welders. You know the guy who has to just slam on every nut to the point where they almost won't come out.

I used to always carry a 9 hex while following these guys, saves the palm when beating them out. I like the look of Peter's tool, stay out of this Ryan, but even that wouldn't be enough to save the palm with the nut welders.

Climbing with the nut welders is a pain, and inefficient at best.

The only times I can see welding a nut is if its the first or only piece. If it's a first piece close to the ground with a low crux I would climb down and slam it.

99% of the time you should be able to tell how well a nut is set without welding it.

And yes I have fallen on a nut.

What's the issue, really? A slight bit of added effort? Maybe a little extra time? The options I see are to climb with an onsight solo master who tags a rope to save the effort of gear cleaning, or to not climb with people whose placements you don't like. Other than that, it's going to be hard to change the masses with what is essentially a pet peeve.

I have climbed with you before, Ball, and your love of the stopper placement is definitely a hallmark of your style, so maybe your tastes are a little more refined in that regard than this simple cam plugger's.

Ellenor Stone wrote:My nut tool is pretty good it has the back plate to pound it with your palm and a clip. But the super thin black one looks pretty interesting to fit into small cracks. I don't like placing tricams I only have a small red one for practice and even that I place as a nut most of the time. Got rid of my hexes too. Maybe its a matter of practice and I'm too impatient to stand there placing it with one hand. Just never really got it right. I usually go like: parallel crack I go fir a cam, narrowing crack or a bottle neck I go for a nut, flaring crack ..cam (hate those ) lately starting to look for drop places more as well as chockstones or where I can tie a sling around something

Oh, how I wish I could be as cool as Ball and not give a little tug to the nuts every once in a while.

It's amazing how some people can convince themselves that they've got it all figured out and everyone else is a dumbass. I guess living by yourself out of a broken down van for several years might help a person convince themselves of anything. To be expected I guess.

Do you have any other informative gear setting tips for us Ball? This is an awesome thread!

Because sometimes even with a long sling I have had rope drag pull nuts out of their placements. Whats so hard to understand about that Ball?

As everyone else said I am talking about a light tug, not welding it into place.

muttonface wrote: Your attempt at typed English makes me want to go fir a beer. Or six.

Ellenor Stone wrote:Stop picking on me! And no I'm not gonna get any hexes and only will keep the red tricam I have may get the pink one (people said they like placing that one) ...and drop to 5.2???? Lol I only lead at 5.6 -5.7 anyway. I'm just gonna get some mileage placing.

Some of y'all are unbearably anal about placing gear.

The OP "pulls" a questionable nut to set it, but OH GAWD he would never "jerk" a nut to set it. Then he admits, "I've had lots of nuts wiggle out or pop..." Great.

Some people give a "light tug" but god forbid someone gives a "firm tug"...you'd have to be a total idiot to do that! Right?!?

Then we've got a couple people complaining about wear on their nuts from rough cleaning tactics. C'mon now, nuts are $10 each and incredibly durable. Hopefully none of your partners ever want to work a project on your rope...with all the hangdogging and falling your heads will explode.

Another thing that is entertaining about this thread is that everyone thinks they're awesome at placing gear. Carry on...

hmmm...well i always reach fir mah hexes and tricams it seems.

try spending some time on really long and easy gear lines. nothing wrong with 5.3-5.5 climbs at all when your learning.

the more you know as far as different types of protection, the better a climber you will be.

fir realsies.

Ellenor Stone wrote: I knock on a nut tool with a biner then another trick is to attach a sling and yank up and down on it as hard as u can. I don't use cams to dislodge anything

Yarp (?): If you want to be as cool as me all you have to do is post a pithy comment and not take the interwebs seriously. Like climbing, the winner is whoever has the most fun. Unlike the other people on this thread calling me a dumbass (carry on), you don't seem to be amused.

That's not really my problem now, is it.

I'll be the first to admit being an average climber at best. Maybe I should have posted in a different manner to avoid damaging fragile sensibilities?

Ellenor: I used to hate tricams, but since I bootied a pink one I seem to place it on every route. There are a lot of places where nothing else will work. I also like hexes, but the big ones are too noisy. I met an Australian once who had hexes made of ABC plastic, which I thought was a great idea.

Ball wrote:Yarp (?): If you want to be as cool as me all you have to do is post a pithy comment and not take the interwebs seriously. Like climbing, the winner is whoever has the most fun. Unlike the other people on this thread calling me a dumbass (carry on), you don't seem to be amused. That's not really my problem now, is it. I'll be the first to admit being an average climber at best. Maybe I should have posted in a different manner to avoid damaging fragile sensibilities? Ellenor: I used to hate tricams, but since I bootied a pink one I seem to place it on every route. There are a lot of places where nothing else will work. I also like hexes, but the big ones are too noisy. I met an Australian once who had hexes made of ABC plastic, which I thought was a great idea.

Ball wrote: You use cams and other aluminum gear as a hammer?