How many draws?

Hey everyone! I'm new here and fairly new to climbing (I've only done Top rope stuff and I'm a gym climber). I have a friend who is a certified instructor at Central WA university who plans to show me the ins and outs of leading sport. However being a broke high school student my gear is accumulating slowly, with my next purchase going towards a rope in a paycheck or two. Anyways how many quick draws does a person usually need for intro sport routes (or just a safe number to have). Thank you for any responses!

12 for route 2 for anchor = 14. can usually count from the ground and bring +1 or 2 more than what you see from the ground unless specified.

Alright, thank you! Do you know of a site with decently priced draws?

whew. there are many just google that shit! you'll be overwhelmed with deals. the omega pacific ones are super heavy though cheap. i mean super heavy.

i like the bd ones, or mad rock or similar. bd posiwire? are what i like (for the price)

I can probably deal with heavy until I get some more experience and onto harder routes. Thanks for the responses!

honestly you'll be very happy to have gotten lightweight aluminum draws. if i can give you one piece of advice its to shell out the extra dough to get the bd posiwire 30 bucks more for 12. those OP ones will just sit in your closet once you decide they're ridiculously heavy. go feel em' at a store if you don't believe me!

rei.com/product/812097/blac…

Whoops, they are comparable weight. i saw some old steel binder draws from OP.

how long is a piece of string? having a hard time answering? likewise I am having a hard time answering your question. How many bolts do sport route that you climb normally have?

Find draws you like, then do yourself the favor of looking around.

deals.mountainproject.com/ is a good place to start.

For instance, someone offered 10 Freewires for 107, but I just found the same at 9.31 each.

campsaver.com/freewire-quic…

Personally, I get annoyed with cheapish draws like Freewires because the wiregate on the bolt end can and will get stuck on hangars when cleaning on lower, especially on steeper routes with a lot of tension etc. I prefer draws with a solid gate top, and wire gate bottom, though it is personal preference.

I'd suggest getting the feel for several different draws at a gear store you can visit, then search for the absolutely lowest price you can find them anywhere.

My first set of draws was 12 BD Hotwires, an $18 draw that I found on sale for somewhere around ~11 each a couple years ago. Wait for the right time, then pounce.

IMO wire gates suck. Anywhere on a sport draw.

Buy fewer and better draws, you'll have them a while, and probably want nicer ones. Also, your partners will probably have them. My personal favorite are new spirit solid gates on the bolt end, express draw and mad rock ultralight or bd oz (new style) wiregate rope end.

Why the sidebars hate 5.samadhi? They're demonstrably better as a rope end. I was shocked to see how real gate flutter was with solid gates.

actually it's more of a convenience issue they just tend to get snagged on all sorts of shit

I'm weird by today's standards: I hate wire gates on 'draws. I'm really partial to Petzl Spirits. The new version, out last year, while not as aesthetically pleasing, is noticeably lighter. Not wire gate light, but lighter.

As for the number: I say 30. ;-) Carrying all of your heavy gear around is good exercise! (I'm kidding: you don't need 30. But for some reason, I have just about that many... more than half of which are almost never used and should probably be sold. I only ever take 14 with me, unless I know otherwise about bolts. On occasion, I've needed more than 14 for long routes, but then my partner almost always has some, too.)

I'd consider BD FreeWires, you can usually find them under $10 a piece, they're not too heavy, and I haven't had a problem with any of mine. The non-keylock nose is not a big deal at all except when you're cleaning really steep sport routes. As for number, it depends where you'll be climbing. Sport climbs can be anywhere from 3-20 bolts per pitch, although it's rare that I climb something with more than about 12 per pitch.

And in some states 5 is a common number and 10 is long. Depends where you will climb.

This dude is selling draws

mountainproject.com/v/8-qui…

I would recommend getting nice draws, even if you can afford fewer of them at first. It might limit what you can climb (shorter routes), but draws are something you don't really get rid of. Maybe after a long time you'd replace the dogbone, but the biners will last. Make the initial investment and you'll save in the long run.

As said before, numbers vary.

I say freeload off you're partner until you figure out what you like and don't like about different draws, or want to climb with someone else who doesn't have them.

But if you must buy soon... Go notch less at least for the bolt end.