what cams/nuts/tricams for first trad climbing ?

• first trad route! FULL SEND! 
  
  
• Added some gear! I’m phyc’d
  
  
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  So basically I’d love to start trad climbing. I’m about to buy some cams/nuts/tricams. I’m pretty sure I’m leaning towards cams the most. Just want help on what you think are some must haves in my first rack. Reason is that I’m trying to save a little money to buy a full rack later but for now I’m content with having 3 or 4 cams to start with. Are there some obvious ones? Are double axel vs single axel the way to go? Old vs new.

1. I’m a solid 5.8 -5.9 outside lead on sports climbing. Climb 5.10-5.11 in the gym. I plan on lead climbing to set up top ropes for my fiancé. Just some back ground.
2. Again looking to spend about 300 bucks this time and just looking for what yall think I need to get started. Thanks
3. update! Thanks for everyone’s information
4. So far - trad class coming up in Kc 
5. Cams (.4/.5./.75/1x3/2/3x2) 
6. DMM walnuts 3-11
7. 6 alpine draws 
8. If you feel like I’m missing some essentials or just want to throw your 2 cents in. Shoot! 

One set of nuts from 5-11 should be findable on mp for $50-60, 1x cams from .5-3 is 200 if you get it at $40 per cam, again about mp prices. There’s 3 wc cams for $100 right now, I would try to snag those. Honestly that’s about what I started with and it was good. Extra cash goes towards biners or alpine draws.

I would second Connor almost word for word. I started with whatever I could get for cheap for cams (some BD, some og aliens). I had friends with full racks to supplement when needed, which also helped me learn how to properly place gear and determine good placements vs. bad or questionable.

I have a BD 1 & 2 and a selection of og aliens I’ve been meaning to post. I would replace the slings before leading with them but if you’re interested PM me

Buy used.

Are you climbing alone? Or only with people who have never climbed real rock before? Because if you have a partner - remember you can't just show up to a crag and climb all day (usually) - so you will have some gear between the two of you already.

Find out what your partner has and buy what isn't there.

Went back and actually read your post.

So, I do recommend stoppers 4-13 and a 7-10 hex set - used. Or equivalent rocks. Nothing fancy just the basics.

If you get cams I would recommend #1 and #2 camalot sizes. Buy used ones on eBay. New gear will not help you. Experience finding rests to place gear is all that will help you climb. People joke about hexes, whatever. They work, basically giant stoppers and they are WAY cheaper than cams, really light, and they work. Large tricams are totally different, though. If you get a deal on tricams (used) I would only bother with pink through blue.

Buy used stuff and save a ton of money. If you recycle plastic, it's a little weird to me to not buy used stuff.

Buy nothing. Seriously. Save your money. Climb with somebody who already has a rack and knows what they’re doing. Better yet, climb with multiple people with all sorts of racks. You will learn what you are doing and what gear you like. You will have a good eye for placements with anything because you will have placed it. If you buy something at this point, make sure it’s a rope. Everybody wants to use their own rack and put the wear on somebody else’s rope.

Then, buy exactly the gear you like and are comfortable using. Don’t buy faff like hexes and tricams that you’re just going to sell after a year anyway. Don’t buy cheap ass clunky stuff you’ll end up replacing soon anyway. Slowly accumulate a piece or two each pay check and you’ll be there sooner than you think. Once you get a rack together it lasts a long time, find out what you like and what you need where you climb.

Not answering your question, but as a relatively new trad leader, you might hold off on buying gear until you get more experience and up your climbing level. I've been climbing about 4 years and project 5.12 in the gym and 5.11 sport routes outside. I bought a single trad rack of various cam sizes about 2 years into climbing and took a pretty hefty whip after barely placing a third cam. That resulted in an and ankle sprain and a near ground fall. I promptly sold all my trad gear. Then, about a year and a half later, I bought another single rack. Now, I have really come to enjoy placing gear, but I climb the easy stuff and still mock lead or follow anything I don't feel absolutely comfortable on. Generally, I won't lead anything above a 5.7. Again, I'm projecting 5.12 in the gym, but without the experience needed to quickly and confidently place gear, I end up being very slow, which then turns into an endurance fest, hence minus 4 grades for trad leading.

To answer your question, I have a single rack from .2 up to 4 of BD cams. All new. For the decimal sizes, I have z4s, then c4s for everything else. I believe nuts are generally harder to place and more prone to being pulled out unless they're placed very well. Certainly, there are bomber nut placements to be had, but they're simply not as good directionally. So I tend to rely on cams and only place nuts if I have to. The main area I climb is full of hand and fist cracks, so I really need doubles between 2 and 4, and barely use the small stuff.

It’s amazing how many people fail to read the actual question being asked. 

Connor Hale wrote:

It’s amazing how many people fail to read the actual question being asked. 

Seriously though, if you lead 5.8-9 trad you should be able to answer your own question. Hence, I suggest he gets more experience, at which time the answers should be pretty obvious where to spend that first $300.

What’s your suggestion, by the way?

Colonel Mustard wrote:

Seriously though, if you lead 5.8-9 trad you should be able to answer your own question. Hence, I suggest he gets more experience, at which time the answers should be pretty obvious where to spend that first $300.

What’s your suggestion, by the way?

Based on his saying that he'd like to start trad and on a look at his profile, I'm guessing his 5.8-5.9 leading is sport, not trad.

Anyway, here's my answer for the OP:

For cams, get BD C4 .5-3. They're the most commonly used sizes, and they'll serve you well on the easy trad routes you should be starting on. A lot of route descriptions refer to their sizes or colors, so that helps as well. When you read that you need a #2 for the crux, you know you need a gold (#2) C4. Go bigger or smaller depending on where you'll be climbing most often.

Nuts-- just about any brand is perfectly good. In my experience, DMM and Wild Country make them the best, but you'll also pay more.

Tricams-- I love them, but I'd skip them when you're starting out. They take time to learn. As a beginner trad leader, I used them, and I ended up leaving a few behind as booty.

Robert S wrote:

Based on his saying that he'd like to start trad and on a look at his profile, I'm guessing his 5.8-5.9 leading is sport, not trad.

Well spotted. I was right first go. Buy nothing, proceed to seconding school.

Connor Hale wrote:

One set of nuts from 5-11 should be findable on mp for $50-60, 1x cams from .5-3 is 200 if you get it at $40 per cam, again about mp prices. There’s 3 wc cams for $100 right now, I would try to snag those. Honestly that’s about what I started with and it was good. Extra cash goes towards biners or alpine draws.

Alpine draws basically same as quick draws?

Robert S wrote:

Based on his saying that he'd like to start trad and on a look at his profile, I'm guessing his 5.8-5.9 leading is sport, not trad.

Anyway, here's my answer for the OP:

For cams, get BD C4 .5-3. They're the most commonly used sizes, and they'll serve you well on the easy trad routes you should be starting on. A lot of route descriptions refer to their sizes or colors, so that helps as well. When you read that you need a #2 for the crux, you know you need a gold (#2) C4. Go bigger or smaller depending on where you'll be climbing most often.

Nuts-- just about any brand is perfectly good. In my experience, DMM and Wild Country make them the best, but you'll also pay more.

Tricams-- I love them, but I'd skip them when you're starting out. They take time to learn. As a beginner trad leader, I used them, and I ended up leaving a few behind as booty.

.5-3. this would be a rack of 5 correct? 

Colonel Mustard wrote:

Well spotted. I was right first go. Buy nothing, proceed to seconding school.

Times 100.

Danny Floyd wrote:

Alpine draws basically same as quick draws?

Hey, Danny. Alpine draws are not quickdraws, although they serve the same purpose. I found a good article on them for you here. Often trad pieces need extension, but even if you place an alpine draw unextended they are superior in many placements to quickdraws as they are floppier than quickdraws and don't transmit the energy of the rope wiggling to the piece as much which helps prevent many placements from walking.

You really ought to find yourself a trad mentor and maybe pay for a trad basics class if one is available near you.

Danny Floyd wrote:

.5-3. this would be a rack of 5 correct? 

Yes. You might even be able to find them as a set and on sale on some websites. That's how I got my first set.

Neglect is abuse.  Stop neglecting the search engine.

Ricky Harline wrote:

 

You really ought to find yourself a trad mentor and maybe pay for a trad basics class if one is available near you.

This is excellent advice and something I was going to say, only I figured there probably aren't any guide services offering trad classes anywhere near Topeka. Still, it might be worth a trip out to Colorado to take a 2- or 3-day trad class. I took such a course over 10 years ago, and it was helpful to play around with different types of protection and to learn how to make good gear anchors, check rock quality, etc. It wasn't cheap, but it was money well spent.

Nuts are cheaper, but also harder to place as a new leader.  Cams, .3 to 3 as has been said.  Skip the biggest/smallest if cost is a concern.  +1 on all the comments about a mentor and taking a class.  Lead below your on-site grade for a long time, but watch out for ledges on easy terrain.  Be safe have fun.  

hownot2 has a guide that describes some pros and cons of a lot of popular gear (mostly cams/nuts).

https://hownot2.store/blogs/gear-guides/trad-climbing-gear-guide

There’s some terrible advice in here…

I pretty much never use my standard BD stoppers… Depending on where you’re climbing, DMM offsets or walnuts are where it’s at.