Geeking out on going light with trad.

The Ex-Engineer wrote:Just spotted a new Camp Alp 95 harness ( camp-usa.com/products/harne… 95g in weight!) for sale cheaply on ebay here in the UK. Currently trying to tell myself that it is over the top and unnecessary, but on the other hand it would be pretty cool in the terms of being the ultimate in lightweight gear...

The additional weight of the necessary gear sling may be enough to counteract the "benefit" of having a harness this light.

I am surprised that no one has suggested using the munter hitch to belay instead of a belay device... This would definitely be lighter.

Matchus wrote:I am surprised that no one has suggested using the munter hitch to belay instead of a belay device... This would definitely be lighter.

autoblock ... especially where rock fall is a serious concern ... not to mention youd need to biner brake for raps, or rap on a munter which requires a decently large biner

like i said ... theres smart light ... and there stupid light that may save you a marginal weight but takes longer and/or has more faff to deal with

course everyone should know the biner brake and munter anyways ... which means you should have a UL HMS biner and 2 lightweight solid gate biners (or 1 locker if you trust that)

Bill Sacks wrote: The additional weight of the necessary gear sling may be enough to counteract the "benefit" of having a harness this light.

A very good point. The issue of racking had occurred to me and I haven't bid on it yet.

Matchus wrote:I am surprised that no one has suggested using the munter hitch to belay instead of a belay device... This would definitely be lighter.

I probably wouldn't, I find they just twist the rope too badly.

However, I've been meaning to find an excuse I play with the 'Monster Munter' (essentially a double Munter hitch) which by all accounts does not have any of the twisting problems.

If you haven't heard of it have a look at the video below (but fast forward straight to 6 minutes to avoid a very long-winded introduction and recap of the standard Munter hitch.)

youtube.com/watch?v=6ulTTrh…

Not all climbs involve rapping and the munter doesn't twist the rope badly unless you are rapping. So this is actually a useful idea if your objective has a walk off. It is really reasonable to belay the follower with a munter off the anchor, so maybe just ditching one belay device would be the best compromise between weight and convenience.

...I'll still be bringing a real belay device though. I'll also be using a harness with gear loops ;)

bearbreeder wrote: like i said ... theres smart light ... and there stupid light that may save you a marginal weight but takes longer

This is an important point. I think the best thing is to go as light as possible, but still show up prepared. Accordingly, it's not always gonna be the same rack, rope, emergency stuff, and amount of water. Ya gotta be mission specific.

In case anyone's interested. I got the Camp Air CR. It's about 10 oz, wads up really small, is intended to be a light but all around harness, and it has 4 gear loops. However, the two back gear loops are mounted way in the back and up kinda high making them hard to reach. Camp wouldn't adjust the gear loops and I don't blame them. So I moved them myself (I know... I'm gonna die), but I'm still not very happy with it. In short, I think the Air CR pretty much sucks and I'm shopping around for a better option.

Just to add that I've now bought a couple of the Grivel Plume screwgates at 37g each grivel.com/products/rock/ca…

They are a very nice bit of kit. Small certainly, but still usable when combined with skinny ropes and 8mm slings.

The Ex-Engineer wrote:Just to add that I've now bought a couple of the Grivel Plume screwgates at 37g each grivel.com/products/rock/ca… They are a very nice bit of kit. Small certainly, but still usable when combined with skinny ropes and 8mm slings.

I've been trying to find a place that sells them for a while now. I've even emailed Grivel.

No luck so far.

Where did you find yours?

The Ex-Engineer wrote: I probably wouldn't, I find they just twist the rope too badly. However, I've been meaning to find an excuse I play with the 'Monster Munter' (essentially a double Munter hitch) which by all accounts does not have any of the twisting problems.

If you try belaying with a Monster Munter, you're going to have a bad time. A regular Munter works fine for belaying and is the standard for most of Europe. It's only when it's weighted (lowering or rapelling) that you get twists.

Khoi wrote: I've been trying to find a place that sells them for a while now. I've even emailed Grivel. No luck so far. Where did you find yours?

I bought them direct from The Mountain Boot Company (who are the UK distributor for Scarpa and Grivel) since I needed to order some crampon spares from them anyway.

Liberty Mountain import Grivel into the USA and have the Plume listed on their website - libertymountain.com/shop/in… - and whilst the won't sell them to you direct, they ought to be able tell you which companies are stocking them. Try emailing sales@libertymountain.com

You realize if your eating twinkys it's not going to matter how like your gear is......

No matter how skinny or fat you are a heavy pack still feels like a heavy pack. Trimming off the beer gut helps, but so does lightening your gear.

theres no doubt that weight makes a difference at the limits of whats possible ... especially on longer days

but theres also no doubt that a lot of those bragging about their new shinny weight saving gear are overweight climbers that dont do much more than moderate cragging or climb an easy multi ... looking to make up for time that wasnt spent climbing/training with gear ...

or just looking to show off their new bling ;)

if your gear is still nice and shiny after a few months ....

skills and fitness are what really matter ...

Yeah, people who like backcountry or high country moderates are a bunch of fat asses. Furthermore, people with arthritis, back problems, or old injuries shouldn't be climbing anyway. Their time is better spent bowling and olympic beer chugging.

Chris Miller wrote:Yeah, people who like backcountry or high country moderates are a bunch of fat asses. Furthermore, people with arthritis, back problems, or old injuries shouldn't be climbing anyway. Their time is better spent bowling and olympic beer chugging.

they should spend their time yapping about the lightest gear on MP instead ;)

if yr going to places like squamish and doing a few easy pitches, but yapping about how much better this or that gear is because its lighter ...well ...

their time is better spend going out climbing and training ... i had knee surgery 2 years ago ... before that i climbed with a blown ACL ... i didnt have the lighest stuff before or after ...

whenever people make physical excuses about climbing ... i simply post this ...



whosaysicant.org/uncategori…

Chris Miller wrote:Yeah, people who like backcountry or high country moderates are a bunch of fat asses. Furthermore, people with arthritis, back problems, or old injuries shouldn't be climbing anyway. Their time is better spent bowling and olympic beer chugging.

Lame excuse. Arthritic fat-body would be less prone to injury and a more capable climber by loosing that extra body fat than he/she would by buying a dozen lightweight caribiners. Dropping five pounds of pack weight would benefit said fatso while carrying pack but physical fitness would benefit them every day of their life.

I bet those things edge better than my shoes...

Anyway, why complain about people trying to go with light gear.
This is the Climbing Gear Forum section of the forums isn't it?
Not the Training Forum right? Let people discuss the gear.

Lightweight legs? That is taking it too far, but I bet he saved a few pounds off the standard models. "I am thinking about getting metal legs. It's a risky operation, but it'll be worth it" Jp