Alpine Draws

Fellow crushers!   

Anyone have favorite biners/slings for alpine draws - obviously thinking light if possible, but hopefully not a fortune!  

Thanks!  

Camp Nano 22 on gear end - Dyneema sling - Camp Photon on the rope end.

I really like the Trango Phase biners for both alpine draws and racking cams. only 30g each and easy to find on sale for ~$5 and they come in a bunch of colors. They're fairly small, but still easy to clip and clove hitch. 

Most dyneema runners are pretty comparable but I personally like metolius ones. I've found that thinner=better most of the time for slings. 

DMM Alpha Trad carabiners on a Mammut contact sling.  Definitely not the lightest but you'll thank yourself for not having to handle tiny 'biners with frozen fingers if you really are in the alpine.  Not a cheap set up but they handle like a dream.

+1 for Trango Phase. Their sport, alpine draws (comes in a pack!), and biners are great. 

Nick Sweeney wrote:

Camp Nano 22 on gear end - Dyneema sling - Camp Photon on the rope end.

This but with a camp dyon (their new expensive biner) instead of a photon on the rope end. Also love helium. It's also all a lot of nitpicking. 

WC Helium are the best, DMM Alpha Trad a close second (order both from Europe to get better prices). If I didn't care to spend as much I'd get all DMM Spectre 2's. I like the Edelrid 8mm slings because they put the tag off to the side, and the Sterling 10mm slings which have the sewn part wrapped in heat-shrink tubing.

Wild country astro. Reasonably priced, light, large enough to handle easy, medium gate tension (photons are soft and open too easy IMO), and a slightly hooded gate, good notches on both ends of the basket help orient it to sling in a fall, decent rope radius if you like to actually fall on your gear. 

Nick Sweeney wrote:

Camp Nano 22 on gear end - Dyneema sling - Camp Photon on the rope end.

I arrived at this exact setup myself. 

I went through a couple configs before landing on this one and it's been brilliant. Sometimes I have Photons on both ends... but that's just because I don't have enough 22's :-P 

Either BD Oz's or Camp Nano 22's paired with 60cm/120cm Mammut Contact runner.

+1 for the nano 22 gear side & dyon for rope side. For dyneema its all relatively the same, but I like to stay close to 10mm and I like mine pretty malleable/slippery. For instance the BD dyneema is quite rigid say compared to the DMM dyneema. The BD ones love to bunch up on me and turn into a mess during the approach, If you're looking for the best money can buy - the petzl pur'anneau slings are awesome, really durable and the handling is great, just a bit pricey.

WC Helium biners (red one for rope side, silver one for gear side, although it really doesn't matter for trad). I much, much prefer the Mammut slings. That point where it's sewn is covered and they don't snag nearly as much. 

I use and like the Wild Country Astro 'biners but I prefer a full sized 'biner so I use the Wild Country Wildwire mostly. Helium is sweet but a bit more pricey. I have to say the Trango Phase seems pretty nice for a small/light 'biner but I haven't climbed with them.

Ernest W wrote:

WC Helium biners (red one for rope side, silver one for gear side, although it really doesn't matter for trad). I much, much prefer the Mammut slings. That point where it's sewn is covered and they don't snag nearly as much. 

This is the setup I would get if I was getting one now. I got mine before I tried the Mammut slings, so I got the Sterling slings, which are pretty good, but they definitely still snag. The Heliums are great.

thanks everyone!  

David K wrote:

This is the setup I would get if I was getting one now. I got mine before I tried the Mammut slings, so I got the Sterling slings, which are pretty good, but they definitely still snag. The Heliums are great.

Even now in 2020 - this is still the best setup in my mind.  I did exactly this recently before I found this page.  Red=Rope side silver on gear side.  Not that in trad it matters too much...

+1 for the Camp Dyon. They fit great in the hand, clip easily, no snag nose, and a thin nose width. If you look you can find them discounted, otherwise they are $$. 

Daniel Kaye wrote:

This but with a camp dyon (their new expensive biner) instead of a photon on the rope end. Also love helium. It's also all a lot of nitpicking. 

I never get people who put the expensive snag-free biners on the rope end. Do you have issues unclipping ropes with a hook nose?

Anyway for OP: Dyon on the gear end (no hook, easy to clean and no danger of torque failure on pro), Mammut contact sling (no stitching to get hung up on when you pull through to extend), Photon on the rope end.

If you're going into the alpine and weight is a bigger consideration than ease of use then Mammut sling with 2x Edelrid 19gs.

Edit: I get the snag free on the rope end now, it prevents the sling getting hooked when extending. I'd still go snag-free on the gear end first, catching during extension has been rather rare and easy to rectify in my experience, and it will never cause gear failure.