Advice: Beginners climbing rack

Getting started
Putting together your first climbing rack can be a daunting and usually expensive proposition. The major problem is that there is no 'universal' or 'standard' rack - there are just too many possible variations. It is a personal selection of equipment tailored to your climbing style, the rope techniques you use, the type of climbs you do, their grade, length, rock type, etc. You will undoubtedly spend your entire climbing life developing, expanding, shrinking, tweaking and updating your rack. There are, however, several approaches to getting you started:
• Use someone else's. Obvious, really. If you go climbing with a more experienced partner, see what they've got, and what they use. Use it yourself and see how you get on.
• Go on a course. Centres such as Plas-Y-Brenin run excellent climbing courses that will not only teach you essential skills and techniques, but will also advise you about suitable equipment design and selection.

Or...
The following rack is loosely based on the Plas-Y-Brenin 'student' rack, our own experience and suggestions by gear guru Andy Kirkpatrick. As a very rough guide, it is suitable for leading single-pitch climbs up to about VS, or easier multi-pitch climbs.

Item	Comments
1x Belay device.	BD ATC XP, Dmm Bug, WC Variable Controller & Petzl Reverso all work well for both belaying and abseiling on single or double ropes. Don't waste your money on buying or your energy on carrying a dedicated descender (such as a fig. 8), unless you do a huge amount of abseiling.
2x HMS screwgate carabiners.	1 for use with belay device, the other is useful for constructing belays.
2x screwgate carabiners.	For constructing belays. Go for ones that are not too bulky and heavy, but with a reasonable gate opening (makes them easier to clip).
6-8x quickdraw sets (10cm, 15cm and 20cm).	Get a selection of sizes. 10cm quickdraws are nice and compact, but often a bit too short for trad climbing using a single rope. 20cm are sometimes a bit long and dangly. Avoid cheap carabiners which are heavy and often have a poor gate action. Wiregates are lower in weight, easier to clip, and generally more reliable.
2x 120cm slings.	Go for dyneema slings (10-12mm) which are lighter, less bulky, and easier to knot than older 25mm nylon.
8x snapgate carabiners.	For racking the protection items below. Cheaper options are fine, but the weight can add up. Notchless nose/gate designs are great, as they often lead to less fumbling with gear.
1x set of wires (sizes 1-10).	Carried on 2 snapgates (e.g 1-5 on one, 6-10 on the other).
1x Nut key.	So you can get your wires back! Carried on a snapgate (unless you get one with a built-in carabiner).
3x Rockcentrics (e.g. 5, 7, 9) on dyneema.	Carried on individual snapgates. Much less dangly if racked with the sling doubled.
2x (size 1.5 & 2.5) or 3x (size 1, 2, & 3) cams.	Carried on individual snapgates. Go for ones with a flexible stem and high passive strength (such as WC Tech Friends or BD Camalots).

Other useful additions:
• A whistle. Just in case...
• 2x 30cm 5mm accessory cord loops. Used to make a french prussik to back-up an abseil or to use in self-rescue situations for hauling and ascending. As with all climbing gear, though, they are only worth having if you know how to use them!
• More screwgates? Bare in mind that when tying in to properly equalized anchors, you can need up to 3 screwgates for 2 anchor points, 5 for 3 anchors, or even 7 for 4... However, remember that you can use 2 snapgates back-to-back instead of a screwgate.
• More slings. Weigh very little and always handy for equalizing anchors, tying off threads or spikes, and extending out-of-the-way placements (to reduce rope drag). Also very handy in self rescue situations. 120cm are a good all-round size for most uses. 60cm are good for small threads and as long extenders. 240cm are great for big blocks, boulders and trees, and for quickly and easily equalising 3 pieces of protection, but can be a bit long and tangle-prone.

For longer multi-pitch routes, you will probably want to add:
• Some abseil 'tat'. 2 or 3 meters of tape, rope, or accessory cord (7mm?) to make leave-behind slings in the event of an abseil decent. Can happily be carried in a pack (if one is carried).
• A knife. For cutting abseil tat to length, and for removing old tat from bolts and belays.
• A few more slings, crabs, and wires? Bare in mind that any gear used to construct a belay will not be available for leading the next pitch or setting up the following belay. Also, the longer your route, the more likely you are to drop things...

Future additions:
As you use your rack, you will no doubt find 'holes' in it relating to your climbing style, rope techniques, length of climbs and type of rock. You will probably find the following useful, though:
• Second set of wires. Having a different shape to the first set can be useful. You may even want to triple up on some sizes.
• More cams. Fill out the 1 to 3 size range first, before buying any micro or jumbo sizes.
• Very small wires. More useful on higher grade climbs. Remember that really small wires can easily break even during small falls.

Other comments:
• When buying any piece of climbing gear think versatility. Aim to carry as few items that will perform as many different tasks as possible (i.e. the Petzl Reverso belay device also works well as a descender, and an occasional ascender).
• Don't be tempted to use non-loadbearing accessory carabiners for racking - you never know when you may need that extra carabiner.
• Rack different types of protection on different colour crabs. This can make it much quicker to identify and select items from your rack.
• Don't let your rack get too big! It will just weigh you down, hold you back, be harder to organise, and make gear selection much more difficult.
• Paying more for gear which is just 'a few grams' lighter than cheaper alternatives may seem only appropriate for elite sports climbers or extreme alpinists, but a few grams saved on each snapgate crab (for example) can very quickly make a big difference to the overall weight of your rack - DMM Phantom 10cm quickdraws are half the weight of a Clog Super10 10cm quickdraws (that's a weight saving of half a kilo for a set of 10 quickdraws!).

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Last updated March 1, 2007