Beta Stick Stick Clip Initial Impressions
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I've been using a Superclip attached to a painters pole for years now. They work pretty well, and I've been happy with how long they last. I like that it can be used to take draws down as well as put them up.The main limitation of the Superclip has little to do with the device itself. It is limited by whatever pole you attach it to. I have used both a 12' pole I got from Lowes and an 18' pole that I ordered off the Internet that actually came as a 30' pole (using all 30' is too heavy, unsteady, and ridiculous). I recently got two Beta Sticks, the Standard 12' model, and the XL 18' model. They are awesome. First off, I was concerned that the attachment mechanism wouldn't work with my draws: It works great with the Wild Country Helium 2, CAMP Photon Wire, and CAMP Dyon. While it will work with the current CAMP Nano 22, it doesn't hold the gate open very far, so it's more fiddly to get it clipped. But the Superclip didn't work at all with the Nano 22. There is velcro on the back side of the head with a slot in the plastic to slot and secure a toothbrush for brushing holds. The biggest most awesome thing about it, besides that it works, is how compact it gets. The 18' XL model collapses to 3'10" and it weighs 25 ounces. The 12' Standard model collapses to 2'9" and weighs 18 ounces. It can fit into many packs without much ado. Three gripes: 1. They are more wobbly at full extension than my painter poles, especially the long one, though it's not enough to be a deal breaker. 2. The carabiner attachment mechanism doesn't work with all carabiners, though I imagine it should work with most biners one would use for sport climbing. I don't see how it would work with something like a Petzl Ange. 3. I don't know how one would use the device to take a draw down. This is something I can do with the Superclip without being too clever. Trango distributes the Compact 9' and Standard 12' models in the US, so those are the easiest to get here. Beta Stick also makes a Technical 8'9" model that folds like an avalanche probe, a Large 15' model, and my XL 18' model. But you currently have to order those from Europe. I highly recommend the Standard over the Compact as a much more useful size of the two sold in the the US. If there was a way to attach a Superclip to the pole of the Beta Stick, it would be fantastic. I ordered my Beta Sticks from Dick's Climbing in the UK (https://www.dicksclimbing.com/products/betastick). It took 4 days to be delivered from the day I ordered. |
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Modifying a Beta Stick for a Superclip is pretty easy - buy a painter pole extension like this: https://store.mcguckin.com/inet/storefront/store.php?mode=showproductdetail&product=64772 cut about 2.5" from a male end and drill a hole in the bottom of it, sized to fit the smallest segment of the BS. Remove the head from the BS (with a hacksaw, or drill out the rivet) and epoxy the pole extension fragment onto the BS tip: The old BS head can be mounted in a similar way with one of the joining collars, allowing it to be attached to the modified BS: |
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That’s great. Will do and thanks |
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Beta sticks were ubiquitous in the UK until recently. As summarised above, they are light and compact. The biggest down-sides are the lack of durability that comes with this, the pole is notorious for stopping working, and the rather fussy head design. Two alteratives: The LACD is an avalanche probe type pole with a super clip type head. Very compact, quite light: https://www.bergzeit.co.uk/lacd-lacd-clipstick/ The ultimate big wall cheat stick?! The Pongoose, which has a slightly beefier pole than the Beta and unique innovative head that’s very easy to clip or unclip with. It also has a screw fitting that takes a camera or (bespoke) brush. Downsides are cost, weight (600g v 450g for the similar size Beta), and that it’s only available in one length (2.85m, 9’4”). It is clearly the best clipstick of all I have tried. I have no connection with the company. |
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Just a heads up with a little practice you can removed draws with the beta stick. It's not as easy but it works. |
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Brad Johnson wrote: How do you do it? |
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NVM I don't think you can. |
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I just got the Kalias stick clip and really like it. its a bit expensive at $40 but its basically a thicker tent-pole style folding stick. It collapses down to where I can just stick it to the side of my bag and is less than half the weight of my last clip https://www.kailasgear.com/stick-clip-quickdraw-not-included_p2524.html Previous setup was a pool skimming net pole and a home-made wire https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005QIXV1G/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It cost $12 to make and It worked great until I started on some long approaches and wanted something a little lighter. |
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Brad Johnson wrote: If anyone knows please share. It's the only thing that I miss from the superclip. |
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kck wrote: I swore I had used the velcro strap like I was going to clip the rope to an empty draw, but then just opened the gate, cinched it tight then lifted it off. I'll go try it in the garage and see if I can get it to work. |
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JRZane wrote: We got one recently, too... Fantastic. Basically an air travel -ready Superclip. Wish it were slightly longer, but it's great. |
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Nate Tastic wrote: At first, when trying to unclip draws at the crag without pre-practice and having not recently checked the video, quite often! Now, after a little practice, hardly ever. |
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kck wrote:Sorry for the dead thread bump, but I thought this was pretty neat. |
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pcass wrote: Sorry for the dead thread bump, but I thought this was pretty neat. I have and love my BetaStick Evo but I've had very mixed success using this technique. The problem is that the biner slips the gate clicks back shut. I suspect a well-placed piece of friction tape on the side of the betastick head might help. |
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JRZane wrote: The new kailas clip up is telescoping and about 9 for long. I bought it with the pro deal code floating around. Head is like the super clip but thinner so it’s easier to get the draw in and sometimes too easy for the draw to come out. Feels s little delicate but time will tell. |
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Just got my new beta stick evo, but it doesn't seem to work with some of my older BD quick draws. Seems that the wire retainer piece is just a little too short to latch the quickdraw gates open. |
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Jesse James wrote: Just got my new beta stick evo, but it doesn't seem to work with some of my older BD quick draws. Seems that the wire retainer piece is just a little too short to latch the quickdraw gates open. The wire catch can actually slide up and down in the slot on the Evo to change the angle of the retainer. Move it UP in the slot and it should be able to reach your gates. I had a similar issue and it took me a while to figure this out. It was also with older BD straight gate draws. |
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Here is a pic, I believe the wire retainer is as far up as it can go. You can see that it hasn't quite latched yet. On the bright side, the newer positron draws do work, but just barely... |
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That's a fat carabiner. What is that? I also had some solid, straight gates that it didn't like to grab. I bent the wires in a bit to just make it more grabby and it works now. |
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Scott Biegert wrote: Replace this one carabiner with a smaller one that fits. |
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James P wrote: An elegant solution. |