Buying first climbing gear

[Ranger3_uk]

Morning all,

Having qualified as a climber recently wanted to pick the brains of the older and wiser members here to get an idea of the better climbing kit availiable and any recommendations. On my course I was using a Komet Dragonfly harness which i found more comfortable than other ones availiable but looking on supplier websites was slightly overwhelmed by the other bits of kit and variety availiable. Any words of wisdom with regards to climbing rope, flip lines, rope grabs etc will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks!

[Ian Flatters]

Morning all,

Having qualified as a climber recently wanted to pick the brains of the older and wiser members here to get an idea of the better climbing kit availiable and any recommendations. On my course I was using a Komet Dragonfly harness which i found more comfortable than other ones availiable but looking on supplier websites was slightly overwhelmed by the other bits of kit and variety availiable. Any words of wisdom with regards to climbing rope, flip lines, rope grabs etc will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks!

 

Basically if you know some firms/climbers near you ask to try there kit see what you like or don't like. The harness is the most important imo (not always the one that costs the most) you'll be in it for a few hours a day so comfort is key. Ropes etc you'll change as you develop as a climber, start with what you know i.e yale xtc, prussik in a few years you might be on yale imori and a vt. Just remeber you can always buy/improve you lines, knots, switch between grabs and shunts but the harness is the big one in reality. Oh and try different spikes as you'll love some and hate others.

 

Hope this helps

[peckerwoo]

good call Ian,

Iv`e learnt that developing your technique in moving around the tree/work position etc. supercedes kit specs when starting out and I make do with someone elses bog standard willans seat harness(2 kit loops aaargh), marlow lines(weekly milking) & prussik, prussik rope strops, blunt silkies and stihl 181 rear handle but as long as I feel that I`m getting quicker moving around then kit upgrades can wait.

I would suggest carbon graphite powder however for slicker krabs

oh, and type C`s with as much stretch in them as poss!

[themonkian]

I've found having a seat strap more comfortable than just leg loops - but that's my personal preference. I've just bought the Willans t22/2 mentioned above for my first harness and found it to be very comfortable (I've climbed in 5 diff harnesses now- petzl seqouia, komet dragonfly and the other 2 I cannot remember) - it's also one of the cheapest too.

 

But, like the others have said, see if you can try a few other people's before buying... it all comes down to personal preference! for example, I hated the petzl seqouia whereas some people I've worked for find it really comfy.

 

If you do go for the willans though, some websites picture it with having a maillon connected to it but do not mention that you have to buy that separately (they're only a couple of quid but it would've been nice to know before ordering!)