Kailas stick clip - any good?
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I finally have to replace Stickie. Superclip on a 4’ to 16’ painter pole. Someone broke the pole. I have been trying to remove the super clip, nothing. So before I just do a 1-1 replacement, considering looking around. I know there’s the Beta Stick, the Skyhook thing looked good but it doesn’t appear to be sold anymore. I found this Kailas thing, but it’s on Amazon and I’m not too confident about buying climbing gear from Amazon. Anyone use it? Or have any other experience? Or has stick clip technology been more or less stagnant the last 10 years and I should just go get a new super clip and more or less exactly the same painters pole? |
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Love mine, super portable. Definitely won’t be able to clip the anchors from the ground, but it does the job. |
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Max R wrote: Assuming you’re referring to the Kailas, no durability issues or anything? Either with the pole, or the clipping part getting bent or anything? |
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Trango is my go to. |
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Interesting and expensive new stick clip design here. |
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Andrew Rice wrote: That might be the coolest fucking thing I’ve seen come out of over-engineered climbing gear. But I leave next week so my hunt continues, with the Kailas or “just getting a new painters pole” being the front runners. |
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I have had one for a few years now. Pros -very compact and light, great for taking on flights, easy to take on harness when stick clipping your way through the cruxes (the shame!) -no durability issues with pole or clip Cons - a little on the short side -not as rigid as some heavier sticks - can feel a little fiddly to operate until you get used to it Overall, glad I have it, would recommend Note: You can cut a 3 foot or so length of the appropriate interior diameter pvc pipe to slide over the handle and create an extension - you will also have to rig an extension of the cord that holds the pole sections together, but its not hard to figure out. |
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I have one. I like it a lot - I use it mostly for redpointing (clipping my way up a route) - queue the haters! LOL! I have a painters pole for "normal" stick clipping because I usually need something longer than the Kailas. |
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I had the Kailas but it randomly broke on me within a year of use. One of the white plastic rings in it broke and then it wouldn't extend/collapse properly anymore. The tent pole rotate and extend/collapse always felt a bit finicky and it would often get stuck. I've switched to the Trango beta stick and find it holding up better so far. I like the clasps better and prefer its stick clip head. It's also easier to attach a carabiner if you want to attach it to your pack or your harness - the Kailas has some small attachment ring on the bottom but it won't fit a carabiner so you'd need to attach some cord first. |
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I consider the Kailas stick clip to be one of the worst pieces of gear I ever purchased. One of the white plastic rings broke within 6 months of owning it and another 2 to 3 broke within the next few months. It's still usable with the rings broken but is a major pain. Even before it broke it was super finicky to work with. The thin super clip prongs also wore out pretty quickly. Somebody gave me an old beat up trango beta stick and it has worked great. The only thing that the super clip can do that the beta stick cannot is remove a draw off of the wall. In my 4 years of using stick clips I have never needed to do that once. |
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See that’s the feature that’s keeping me from the beta stick - I’ve used it to retrieve draws quite a few times. But I’m thinking I’m gonna do the Pongoose, I had forgotten about it. Might do everything I need + good construction. |
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@Chieftan- I actually use a stick to remove the first draw fairly often- when a route is traversing or overhanging, it's very handy to leave it in place while the climber cleaning the route lowers to the ground, then remove the first draw. @Daniel- I saw a few pongooses last year, they look really nice, maybe the best head design I've seen. But expensive from the US. Have you looked at the new sticks from Redpoint (at Smith)? They look promising. My wife likes her beta stick, but I find them too flimsy. I'm lucky enough to have a Sky Hook, which is great until it breaks |
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Cheiftan Mews wrote: Beta stick can remove draws off the wall, it's just super finicky. But I've never needed to do that either. They show how to do it at 2:05 in this video |
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I’m 5’9” and was almost unable to reach the first bolt on a few routes at RRG with my Kailas stick clip. I got them, but I was standing on my toes to reach |
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Prav C wrote: That looks incredibly difficult to do. |
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Daniel wrote: Go for the pongoose. Far and away the best for durability, ergonomics, reach, and ease of use. Absolutely fantastic piece of kit- cannot recommend highly enough. And no I’m not sponsored by them or anything. |
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Prav C wrote: I've done it. Not super easy, but not that difficult if you have a steady hand. |
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I switched from the Beta Stick to the Kailas for the following reasons:
The last one was the primary one for switching. |
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I’m going for the Pongoose or the Smith Stick. Most expensive, but sounds like the best construction overall + most functional. |
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The Pongoose although it looks bad ass the longer version is just to long in the collapsed form. Wish they had a 12ft variation like others, I find that is the sweet spot. |
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Mark E Dixon wrote: I have the Smith Stick. It is far more ridged than the Trango Beta. The Smith feels like a clear notch above in quality to me overall. |