is the quad really necessary?

interesting discussion. i have recently converted over to the slip knot with two light cbs and a light locking cb tieing directly into the rope.. while my partner pulls up the rope i clip directly into one bolt with a sling or pas and undo the anchor. that way im ready to climb immediately once im on belay. i also use the rope as a anchor unless im linking pitches which is a very common thing to do at rr or if leading in blocks.

Wow. Just got back to this and am alittle out of sorts concerning the kind words said about me. Thanks guys!

Here's the deal with anchors, plain and simple.

There are ALOT of ways to skin the same cat.
The majority of them are safe and work well. They all usually have an application where they work better then others.
The KEY to all of this is....try a few different ones out. Figure out what works best for YOU and then OWN it.

Know that method inside and out. Get fast at it, make it so you don't even have to think about it.

That is the best way to build an anchor.

Have fun!

josh

Well put, sir.
In answer to the OP's question about a quad - the quad is great for having a handy, pre-tied piece that you can throw on bolted anchors regardless of the bolt orientation, for the most part. It's awesome if you're doing a bunch of sport routes where several folks are going to be toproping ad nauseum on them. It's totally overkill/bomber, and as such, way more than is necessary for multi-pitching. As has been said above, simple is better, but what you know well and are efficient at, is the best for you.