New to climbing. What do I buy?

Hey, some friends and I decided this week to start climbing and am working towards getting gear. We've signed up for a belaying class and joined a local climbing gym. We are interested in Trad Climbing, so what should we buy to start? There's so much gear out there, so what would we need just to get us started? And what should we prepare to buy later?

And if anyone has any gear they'd like to sell or pass it along to some people who will put good use to it, please feel free to message me
Thankyou- CCSB

Shoes, harness, large pear-shaped locking carabiner and a belay device are all you need to start in a gym. At some point, a helmet, too.

Buy some climbing instructional books, e.g. "How to Rock Climb."

Find an experienced mentor before you start investing in additional gear. Climb for several months with that person first. That's probably the most important thing you can do.

buy this amazon.com/Mountaineering-F…

this: amazon.com/Rock-Climbing-An…

and a Helmet of your choice.

what is you climbing history? Ever lead sport or do some bouldering. If you are Totally new start with a pair of shoes and chalk bag, harness and belay device. and do the classes you are signed up for. You will have 10,000 people to tell you to follow some trad leaders and that will help you pick the gear that you want.

I would add to the climb with a mentor suggestion to climb with several. Being a beginner you won't be able to fully judge how good your mentor is. By climbing with others you will be able to judge better and learn things from all of them, even if it is what not to do.

Like others have said, go slow with buying gear right away, so you don't waste your money on stuff that will end up sitting in your closet. Seconding tons of routes will teach you a lot about the gear and how to use it and what is most useful in your area. After shoes, harness, belay device and chalk bag, you would probably want a few alpine draws ( 2 foot long slings with 2 biners each) which are always useful, and then a rope so you aren't always beating on your friends rope, then, depending on the rock where you will be climbing, a couple sets of wired nuts, more biners, slings, quickdraws and a nut tool.

I like one regular set and one set of off-set nuts. You can do a lot with wired nuts and they teach you about placements well. A good nut placement is better than a cam IMO in most instances, even though people tend to over rely on cams nowadays even when a nut would fit better. Eventually you will want some cams though, but use your partners first to get a feel for which sizes and brands. They can eat up your budget quickly, so you don't want to go buying the giant sizes unless you really need them.

Gotta look good so buy lots of Prana climbing clothes...but seriously...shop from the many discount online places for most gear except shoes. you gotta get to know your shoes and feet. Sizes vary so much, so fit the shoes perfect before you buy, don't depend on your normal foot size to tell you what to get.

i made these last year ... it gives an idea of what people probably want for different types of climbing, the cost in canada, and how much money you can "waste" for little gain

in short, gear purchased sensibly but still fully functional from reputable gear manufacturers will cost around 1/2 as much as buying the "best" from the very same manufacturers with little "loss" in safety or climbing ability for beginners ...

all gear is at regular prices from MEC or lacordee ... the exception is the everyday normal 10% climbing package discount at MEC for shoes/harness/helmet/device bundle, or when you buy 4+ metolius cams, or 6+ quickdraws, etc ...

the smart value choice ...

vs.

the spend more money for cool stuff, but no real gain as a beginner choice

as always spend the money on getting EXPERIENCE either though paying the beer tax for experience partners, or guides ...

:)

For my rack, I like: metolius mastercams, 00-4, helium friend 1-4, 12-14 draws of varying lengths, tricams pink to blue-doubles in pink, 4 nonlockers, bd nuts 4-10-doubles from 4-6, 3 small lockers, two big hms lockers,and 8 mil cord for my cordalette, roughly 20 feet. add in 2 30 ft chunks of webbing, and you'll be pretty set for gear.
Other than that, a good, comfy harness, a pair of shoes, a 10.3 rope, 2 nut tools, and a good backpack to carry it all.

From your post, it sounds like you decided to start climbing a week ago. With out prior experience climbing, its best to hold off buying anything except shoes and a chalk bag until you really think this is what you want to do for fun. My advice:

-Cheaper, comfortable fitting climbing shoes. You will trash them until you learn footwork. You won't enjoy climbing if your feet are screaming at you because your shoes are too tight.

-Rent a harness and belay device from the gym initially. If you find it isn't for you, you didn't invest a bunch of money into gear.

-Pay attention, ask questions, and be friendly. It increases your chances of finding good people to learn under and there's plenty to learn.

-Take your time, have fun, be safe. Climbing is a thinking person's game. You need to think to be safe and you need to be able to analyze the situation for safety reasons and climbing reasons (physical puzzles).

Good luck.

EZ to do....

Just walk into your closest REI, plunk down the plastic and tell the salesperson.... set me up!!!!

I gotta rockclimb!!!

Then head to the stone.

But really, the advise upthread is really good.

Welcome to madness.

Lots and lots of hexes. And tricams. And health insurance.

I see your in Georgia. What gym are you climbing at? Do not get in to much of a hurry. I started climbing in the gym about 2 years ago February and I just started trad climbing this summer. Start off in the gym, learn to lead on sport inside. Once you get confident find a mentor or a guide to take you outdoors. Pulling plastic in the gym is not the same as outdoors. Once you are comfortable toproping outdoors and know basic things like how to access fall risk and cleaning anchors then start leading outdoors. Once you have gotten comfortable with this start cleaning some routes behind another trad leader. Make sure its easy stuff so you can concentrate on the gear placements. Its not about just jamming gear in a crack. Learn about anchors and extending slings. This takes time and if you do not have a healthy fear and respect you can get yourself hurt real quick. I dropped 3 grades leading trad vs what I was leading on sport. If you ever want to get out and climb just hit me up and we can put something together. I do not know much but I can pass on what I know. I started out just like you asking questions on MP. Some people on here are jerks and forget that there was a time they knew nothing but a lot of folks are willing to help and pass on what was passed on to them at one point. Main thing to remember climbing can change your life. If you do it right it can change it for the better if you do it wrong and get in a rush it can get you killed

Even a broken geek is right twice a year....Bearbreeder did you a nice service with those spreadsheets!

All good advice above - even Eric D's (Everyone needs shit in a bin they never use)

Just learn learn learn from many sources and then take it slow and safe as you implement that knowledge.

Good advice so far. +1 for the nut tool. Athletic or climbers tape is good for crack climbing. A little ditty bag that you can clip to your harness is a help too. It can hold energy bars, band-aids, etc.

M Sprague wrote:I would add to the climb with a mentor suggestion to climb with several. Being a beginner you won't be able to fully judge how good your mentor is. By climbing with others you will be able to judge better and learn things from all of them, even if it is what not to do. Like others have said, go slow with buying gear right away, so you don't waste your money on stuff that will end up sitting in your closet. Seconding tons of routes will teach you a lot about the gear and how to use it and what is most useful in your area. After shoes, harness, belay device and chalk bag, you would probably want a few alpine draws ( 2 foot long slings with 2 biners each) which are always useful, and then a rope so you aren't always beating on your friends rope, then, depending on the rock where you will be climbing, a couple sets of wired nuts, more biners, slings, quickdraws and a nut tool. I like one regular set and one set of off-set nuts. You can do a lot with wired nuts and they teach you about placements well. A good nut placement is better than a cam IMO in most instances, even though people tend to over rely on cams nowadays even when a nut would fit better. Eventually you will want some cams though, but use your partners first to get a feel for which sizes and brands. They can eat up your budget quickly, so you don't want to go buying the giant sizes unless you really need them.

This is great advice. And about the climb only at the gym crap. I started climbing outdoors (gunks)and never climbed at a gym, sport climbed or bouldered until 6 years after I started. So take advantage of any and all resources depending on your comfort level.

Ralph Swansen wrote: This is great advice. And about the climb only at the gym crap. I started climbing outdoors (gunks)and never climbed at a gym, sport climbed or bouldered until 6 years after I started. So take advantage of any and all resources depending on your comfort level.

Where in this thread did anyone say "climb only in the gym"

Based on the people I've seen who climb the hardest, scariest trad, in no particular order: 1 hula hoop, many twelve packs of PBR, some shitty sandals, roll your own tobacco, and possibly a costume involving a zebra or a lady of low moral quality.

Guy Keesee wrote:EZ to do.... Just walk into your closest REI, plunk down the plastic and tell the salesperson.... set me up!!!! I gotta rockclimb!!! Then head to the stone.

Then...

Beat the sh@t out of all the shiny new gear you bought including the improperly fitted helmet, shoes, and harness. Then return this defective substandard crap to REI (within the specified window of opportunity) while belittling the inept salesperson for forcing his/her will upon your purchases.

Once you've gotten all your brand spanking new replacement gear, be sure to post up here about how awesome you are for getting one over on the corporate man.

But seriously, be attentive at all times, watch out for those in your group and those around you. It only takes a moments lapse to ruin a lifetime.

Buy and read/refer to/study Freedom of the hills

A good life insurance policy and you're good to go.

All else is secondary. Just search the injury and accident forum.

Thanks for all the info guys! Much appreciated. I do plan to climb in a gym all winter and be ready by spring for out door climbs. So I got a membership at Summit Rock. My dad rock climbed in the 80's, so I have an old harness, some good locking carabiners and like 4 nuts and a great rope (200ft? 10mm) And from what I've seen, rope is one of the most expensive things. Sadly my dad got rid of most of his gear in the 90's. He's trying to track down his old climbing buddy to see if he still has his gear I can buy.

But first I should just find an experienced climber to tag along with and just rent gear?

make friends in the gym. Serve as someone's belay b*tch and gain their knowledge in the process. If they are kind, they will take you outside and let you follow them and clean their gear, explain anchors, and might even let you place and lead on their gear.

Long story short -- start climbing, then buy the gear as you need/understand it. NOT the other way around. Also, call me superstitious, but you might consider buying a new harness and rope if yours were made in the 80s...