Climbing equipment for beginners

Getting started
Many people get there first experience of rock climbing on an indoor climbing wall, using equipment loaned by friends or hired from the wall. For those who 'get the bug' and want to do more, there are several basic items of equipment that they will need to purchase:
• Climbing shoes
• Harness
• Belay device
• Carabiner
• Chalk bag
• Other useful items

Climbing shoes
When buying your first pair of climbing shoes, comfort is the most important factor. As you get better at climbing, you may decide that with subsequent pairs of shoes that you are willing to sacrifice some comfort for extra climbing performance (the ability to stand on smaller edges, etc), but when starting out, you will climb much better in comfortable shoes than in a pair which cripple your feet. Go for a basic lace-up shoe with a more supportive midsole (often described as being board-lasted). Lacing allows more variation in fit and a stiffer sole will support your foot better. A more flexible shoe needs to be fitted much tighter and needs your feet to be stronger - again something you may consider with subsequent shoes.

Tips for buying:
• Go for as snug a fit as possible, but not at the expense of comfort.
• Try on both shoes! Most people have slightly different sized feet - choose the size for your bigger foot.
• Walk around the shop a bit - you'll very quickly realise if they are too small.
• Try a variety of makes and styles - they all fit differently and suit different shaped feet.
• It may be deemed 'uncool' to wear socks, but they will certainly make your shoes more comfortable, and will make a huge difference in stopping them becoming too stinky.

Harness
For any type of roped climbing, a harness is one of the most important and probably the most used item of equipment for the beginner. There are a wide range of harnesses on the market, all designed for different types of climbing (sport, alpine, winter, trad, etc.), but any CE marked harness that fits correctly will be OK for a beginner. However, most climbers have aspirations to try different styles of climbing (i.e. to progress from indoor to outdoor, rock climbing to ice climbing, etc), and for this reason it makes a lot of sense to buy a versatile, 'all-round' style of harness. Go for a fully padded, fully adjustable harness (padded, adjustable waist and padded, adjustable leg loops). This will be more comfortable for hanging in (when abseiling, being lowered off, semi-hanging belays, etc), than an unpadded harness, and will allow for different amounts of clothing to be worn underneath (be it thin shorts in summer or over shell clothing and warm-layers in winter).

Features to consider:
Gear loops - More loops allow more gear to be carried and/or better organised. Moulded plastic loops are easier to clip gear onto, but make the harness more bulky when being carried in a pack.
Buckles - Several brands of harness are now available with pre-threaded, quick-adjust buckles, which are much quicker and easier to use than the traditional type of buckle. Harnesses with 2 waist buckles allow more size adjustment and ensure that the belay loop and gear loops remain correctly positioned across the size range.
Drop seat - Allows a fully adjustable harness to be put on without taking your feet off the floor, which can be a big advantage for mountaineering and winter use.
Women's fit - Women's specific harnesses have a smaller waist-to-leg size ratio and a longer rise (the distance between waist and leg loops) than men's harnesses, providing a much better fit (therefore more comfort) to most women. Do bear in mind, however, that people come in lots of different shapes and sizes - some women still find men's styles fit better.

Tips for buying:
• Make sure you get a chance to hang in the harness (good retailers should have a suspension point in their store).
• Make sure the harness does not restrict leg movement when walking or high-stepping.
• Ensure you wear the waist belt around your waist, NOT your hips. Wearing it too low on your hips can enable you to fall out of the harness, should you fall in an inverted position.
• Waist belt should be snug but not restrictive. Leg loops should be done up tight enough to only allow 3 fingers to be pushed between loop and leg.

[ escape2 online store - harnesses ]

Belay device
A belay device is essential for most types of roped climbing in order to control the rope when belaying or abseiling. In some situations, you could use a special friction knot called an Italian Hitch, but in general the most versatile and user friendly device will be a tube or plate device such as a Black Diamond ATC, Wild Country Variable Controller, or DMM Bug. Don't go for a traditional figure-of-eight device as these are very heavy and bulky, and too 'slick' (do not provide enough friction on the rope) for beginners.

Tips for buying:
• The Black Diamond ATC-XP in particular is an excellent belay device for climbers of all levels due to it's very smooth rope handling combined with it's ability to hold of heavy climbers, and function with very 'slick' or thin ropes.
• For mountaineering and winter use, the Petzl Reverso and Black Diamond ATC-Guide are highly recommended as they both offer very smooth rope handling, but can also be used as a 'magic plate' for semi-automatic belaying of a second, and as an emergency rope ascender.
• If you plan to only ever climb indoors or on bolted sports routes, then a Petzl Grigri (or similar device) may be worth considering. They are much heavier and nearly 3 times the price of a normal belay device, but offer a semi-automatic belay, locking off the rope virtually instantly in the event of a leader or second fall. However, due to their high weight, the fact that they only work on single ropes, and the fact that they can put a much higher shock-load on leader placed protection, they are NOT recommended for any other type of rock climbing.

[ escape2 online store - belay devices ]

Carabiner
When choosing a carabiner to use with your belay device, go for a larger 'HMS' type (usually made from 12mm diameter bar) as they are a better shape for belaying and also allow the rope to feed more smoothly through the belay device. Smaller carabiners can also be used, but will not be as smooth. Only ever use a carabiner with a locking gate.

Tips for buying:
• Some carabiners such as the Black Diamond Rocklock have no notch in the nose of the gate mechanism, which can make them less likely to catch on ropes, slings and wires during use. However, this will be more of an issue for climbing outdoors.
• The Dmm Belay Master is arguably one of the safest designs available, and therefore ideal for beginners, kids, etc. It features a second gate mechanism which can only be closed if the normal gate has been closed correctly. It also prevents the carabiner from being cross-loaded during use (a situation in which the carabiner is much weaker).
• Avoid carabiners with automatically locking gates (such as twist-lock or triple-action). Although widely used in industry, they are always heavier and bulkier than standard screwgate carabiners, and can easily lead to lazy habits - checking screwgates are properly closed should be second-nature to any rock climber.

[ escape2 online store - HMS carabiners ]

Chalk bag
There are loads of shapes, sizes and colours to choose from. Some designs have a zip pocket which can be very handy for small items like jewellery or keys. If you have big hands, make sure you get a larger size chalk bag, otherwise it will be a fight to get your hands in and out of on a climb. You will also need some chalk to go inside! Most climbing walls insist that climbers use chalk balls as they produce less dust than block-chalk (which you crumble into your chalk bag).

Tips for attaching your chalk bag:
• Some bags can be clipped straight onto the back of a harness, otherwise you will need to buy an accessory carabiner to do the job.
• If you want to use your chalk bag for bouldering (when a harness would not be worn), use a lightweight snap buckle belt, a piece of climbing accessory cord (to tie round your waist), or a waist size loop of 3mm bungee cord (this does not need to be tied/untied every time you take it on or off).

[ escape2 online store - climbing accessories ]

Other useful items
If you are belaying someone who is quite a bit heavier than you, you will need a way to attach yourself to ground anchors or some form of 'ballast' (climbing walls often have heavy-duty bags filled with gravel). The most convenient option is a 'daisy chain' - a special sling with sewn pockets, effectively creating and adjustable length sling. It is best attached to the back of a harness using a larks foot/girth hitch, and then attached to the anchor using a lightweight screwgate carabiner. A normal 120cm sling also works fine, but it will ideally need to be tied off each time it is used, to make it the correct length.

What next?
• Your next step for climbing indoors will be to purchase a rope.
• If you plan to climb roped outside, get a helmet. If you think that you will never need one (i.e. you will never fall off) then why are you using a rope?
• A couple of slings (120cm) and screwgate carabiners, a small selection of wires, and maybe a couple of Rockcentrics will allow you to set up a top or bottom rope climb on a small crag.
• Build on this to create a basic rack for lead climbing.

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