next thing to buy

so i have a very simple rack so far (bd c4 .5-3, 4 trad draws, rope,5 quick draws,bd nuts 4-13,8mm 27 foot cordelette,some staic line too.) and was wondering what should the next few purchases of gear be or my rack? (ie cams and the size or quick draws or what)

Go climb some stuff that's well within your limits and you'll find out what you're missing. Probably small stuff (down to #1 metolius / .3 BD), and doubles in fingers size gear, but it really depends on what/where you climb.

see that's why im stuck right now, im going to be going to school out in Denver so im kinda lost on what to do

I agree with Larry, you should grab some small cams from C3 00 up to c4 .4 (not necessarily BD brand but comparable sizes). Also, for smaller stoppers consider a set DMM offset brass, I use them all the time free climbing and have never felt so great about really small nut placement as I do with those ( I have doubles of green and silver).

Well, if you're just itchin to buy something, Blue-Orange metolius would, IMO, round it out a bit. Or maybe the .2, .3, .4 BD X4's or blue-yellow Aliens. I don't think you'd regret having any of those.

If you actually mean quick-draws (vs. trad-draws). Then I would make yourself some trad draws 4-5 of them. If you want to do interesting trad routes you need to be able to extend your draws.

As for protection, it depends on where you climb. I found that I wanted smaller protection in Eldorado Canyon, beyond what you have (C3s at the time, maybe you can get X4s or aliens, and some small offset nuts.

So, draws and small cams probably.

I agree on the smaller cams (technically called "TCUs" for "three cam units"). These things are made to fit into small cracks and particularly piton scars, which you'll find everywhere in places with a long history of climbing. I live in the Front Range and find that I use my C3s quite a lot, especially in the Flatirons which have some epic beginner multipitch trad.

Also, 9 draws (QDs plus alpine draws) is a bit low for pretty much any style of climbing. I would recommend having at least 12 at your disposal, probably more like 14. What you should add really depends on where you're going with your climbing. QDs are great for sport climbing where the bolt lines are generally pretty straight. Trad protection is generally all over the place, thus calling for longer extension in the form of alpine draws and even some double-length slings. QDs also transmit more rope movement to the pro, which can result in trad placements walking out. I'm still dialing everything in, but lately for trad I've been carrying 8 single slings with a biner (that I use either fully extended or shortened to an alpine draw), 2 double slings (for placing pro way off route or under a ledge), and 2 QDs (for bomber placements directly on-route). This seems to work pretty well.

I agree that offset nuts can be very useful, too, depending on the area. I recommend against buying chock/nut sets, though. Instead, buy a handful of different pieces (regular nuts, offset nuts, hexes, tricams, etc.) in a handful of sizes and then, as Larry recommended, pay attention to what works and what you think you're missing as you climb.

Lastly, make sure you get some instruction on placing gear. The best way to do this is climb with someone way more experienced, look at their placements, and have them evaluate yours.

Good luck!

I agree about possibly wanting more slings / trad draws too, but that can really depend on where/what you climb. If you're local crag is short or the routes don't wander, you might be set. I carry 9x shoulder length (24") slings, and 3x 36" slings, and I frequently use them all up. I leave the quickdraws for sport climbing.

You're wondering...
You're lost...
You're going to be going to school in Denver...

Save your money.
Go to school.
Make friends (make friends with seasoned climbers.)
Follow them.
Clean their gear.
Wait to discover first hand what is truly needed & missing from your rack.
Use saved money to buy beer for partners willing to let you lead on your combined racks.

In my most sincere, loving, truly caring tone: don't buy anything now; figure it out later when you won't waste your money.

I see you don't have Tricams. They are light and cheaper than cams. Place them when you are at a good stance and save the cams for quick placements. The pink, red, brown and blue sizes are good ones to add to your rack.

Gunks wrote:I see you don't have Tricams. They are light and cheaper than cams. Place them when you are at a good stance and save the cams for quick placements. The pink, red, brown and blue sizes are good ones to add to your rack.

This but also buy the black (one size smaller then the pink)

Yo, I am gonna agree with the, "wait until you're in Denver" argument.

You won't know what/where you'll be climbing most until you're out here, in school, in the swing of your routine, and have visited a few of the areas. After you are here a few weeks or so, it'll start to be obvious what you want to do, and what you'll need to do it.

Hit me up if you need a partner once you're out here.

Welcome!

there is plenty you can do with the rack you have. many of the pitches in the Front Range are short. most of the popular routes take nuts well.

Darren Mabe wrote:there is plenty you can do with the rack you have. many of the pitches in the Front Range are short. most of the popular routes take nuts well.

Agreed. Many of the cracks out here are shaped in ways that suck up passive gear like crazy. Unless your plan is to drive out to the creek every other weekend to jump on splitters, I'd save my money for the important stuff like books for school, gas to get into the mountains, and good beer for the post climb celebrations.

skierhs wrote:so i have a very simple rack so far (bd c4 .5-3, 4 trad draws, rope,5 quick draws,bd nuts 4-13,8mm 27 foot cordelette,some staic line too.) and was wondering what should the next few purchases of gear be or my rack? (ie cams and the size or quick draws or what)

Spend your time and money getting laid.

Pro: DMM Offset nuts, hardly reach for my BD's anymore. They aren't only useful for pin scars, but any highly featured cracks/ rock.

More trad draws, you can never have enough.

Have an ATC Guide? If you had to just have ONE belay device that'd be it. Yeah the Reverso is lighter but it wears stupid fast and it's one piece of gear, not multiples like carabiners.

thanks most of you for the advice and keep it going, i do have multiple atc's

Ray Pinpillage wrote: Spend your time and money getting laid.

Bwahahaha!

Or, besides getting laid or having fun, consider spending some of your time and money helping others.

The title of this thread is so awful. How about you don't buy anything and see what happens? Maybe just make some new friends. Maybe you will be given something.

skierhs wrote: i do have multiple atc's

Whew, thank the stars that you have 2 ATCs! And yet no rack.

Maybe you should spend some money on a book about grammar?

Just kidding, here is your free grammar lesson:

grammarbook.com/punctuation…

Locker wrote:Since "Yer GONNA die!!!", why not go for a coffin?

That's Funny!