New Climber: Gear shopping

Hey everyone! I'm a college student just getting into climbing. I'm looking at getting some gear for sport climbing/top rope. i.e. harness, belay tool, quick draws, rope. I was wondering if there are any brands to swear by or any brands to avoid? Trying to stay within a reasonable budget too...
Thanks for the help!

Backcountry and gear express both having sales currently.

I got pretty much everything I needed on sierratradingpost.com. when they have a coupon code they have some great deals.

Luke, buy the best gear you can afford, it will save you money in the long run. If you skimp now, you'll end up upgrading in the future. The best thing to do if you're college-aged is get a job at a gear shop, or gym and buy gear on a pro deal.

Petzl makes nice reasonably priced harnesses.
Also like Petzl quickdraws.
Black Diamond ATCs or a GriGri (make sure someone teaches you how to use it the right way.
Mammut is my favorite rope.

Lots of other great choices out there. Sometimes I buy whatever is good quality that I can find on sale for the best price.

I'd strongly recomend buying a helmet too.

I'd recommend getting a harness, shoes, and chalk/bag before anything else, and climb with others on their gear until you can slowly build up the stuff you need.

I'd add that if you're gonna get an ATC get one with a guide mode right away so that you can lead multi-pitch more easily.
And look for sales on gear from reliable brands, like Black Diamond or Petzl. Start with shoes, a harness, and a chalk bag, and climb with friends who have gear until you've slowly built up your own set of gear.
And if you're buying Black Diamond gear, you can use the code bdwelcome15 on their website for 15% off. This would be a good harness (I use another version of the exact same harness and love it) blackdiamondequipment.com/e…

Gavin W wrote:I'd add that if you're gonna get an ATC get one with a guide mode right away so that you can lead multi-pitch more easily. And look for sales on gear from reliable brands, like Black Diamond or Petzl. Start with shoes, a harness, and a chalk bag, and climb with friends who have gear until you've slowly built up your own set of gear. And if you're buying Black Diamond gear, you can use the code bdwelcome15 on their website for 15% off. This would be a good harness (I use another version of the exact same harness and love it) blackdiamondequipment.com/e…

The BD cheap stuff is high quality and when it comes time to replace my $40 Momentum harness and $10 Freewire quickdraws I will buy the same.

Don't get a ATC. Get a Mega Jul.

Belay Device: +1 for either petzl reverso, atc guide, or mega jul. you'll want a belay device that can be used in guide mode. sooner or later you'll want to do multi pitch or need to belay from above.

Shoes: when you get shoes make sure they fit comfortable. i can not stress this enough. tight shoes are over rated. keep in mind that leather stretches and synthetic typically does not. also try the shoes on before you buy them.

Top Rope Set Up: a rope, a pack of quick draws (although these are not needed until you start to lead), 4 locking carabiners, 1 non locking carabiner, and some sewn slings of various sizes (ie. 2x 60cm and 2x 120cm).

This will give you the essentials for setting up top rope on bolted climbs and the ability to belay and top rope.

Also... mountain project is full of #$!#'s and trolls. Be forewarned that asking for advice on here has slowly been turned from actually getting good advice to a bunch of BS.

Stay Safe and Learn the Ropes.

not a bad gig

backcountry.com/trango-spor…

If you're in college I'd also see if your school has a club that does any climbing. I started learning with a club and then bought a harness, shoes, chalk, and ATC. Then I just kept climbing with them learning what gear I needed and slowly bought it.

Joel Allen wrote:If you're in college I'd also see if your school has a club that does any climbing. I started learning with a club and then bought a harness, shoes, chalk, and ATC. Then I just kept climbing with them learning what gear I needed and slowly bought it.