You’ve mastered the gym. You’re lead belay certified, you’ve taken ‘how to build sport anchors’ classes, you’ve gone outside a few times with someone else in charge, and you’ve learned all of the LNT and etiquette that sets the gym apart from outside climbing. You’re ready to buy some gear so you can get out on your own - but what do you need?
This is my shopping list for the beginner sport climber. The options are endless, so I’m sticking with items that my sponsors offer - but feel free to ask me about other brands and products, because odds are I’ve tried them.
This list is loosely ranked in order of ‘must have’, but that’s not a hard and fast rule. We’re also assuming that, from your gym climbing, you already have a harness, shoes, belay device, and chalk bag.
Rope - Sterling Quest, 9.5 mm, 70m, $289.99 Climbing ropes are tricky - they’re the most expensive single item in your kit, the most important as it’s a non-redundant part of your system, and also need to be considered disposable - even the most expensive, burly rope can suffer product ending damage on its first day out. All that said, I have found that nicer ropes do last longer and handle better than cheaper ones. For a general, durable all arounder, I love the Quest - at 9.5 it handles skinny while being beefy enough to last a long time with proper use. Fun fact - my first rope was 10.9! This rope is also a dry rope, and I’ve always found my dry ropes lasting longer. Finally, I like a 70m length - depending on where you mainly climb, you could do a 60, but a lot of more modern climbs need a 70. Also, your rope ends get the most dings and wear, so a chopped 70 could become a 60 (or a nice gym rope!) Also consider: Rope Tarp with Stash Pocket, $29.99
Quickdraws - Petzl Djinn, $15.95 each Are there lighter draws? Yup. Are there heavier draws? Uh huh. I love the Djinn’s as a perfect middle - beefy enough to yard the dog bones, but lighter than the big brother Spirit. These are nice, snappy draws that I’ve used for years.
I like longer draws, so for a starter kit I would recommend 12 of these in the 17cm length. Also consider - a handful of alpine draws, which you can make out of regular wiregates and slings, or buy pre packaged here.
Anchor Material/Quad: Sterling Sewn Cordalette, $29.99 When we know we’ll have a second on a route or have a crew toproping, we all hope that we’ll have a nicely spaced bolted anchor at the top of each sport climb, so we can just dump our rope into two draws and call it good. However, we’re not always that lucky, so in instances of an offset anchor or for large numbers of top ropers in an insitutional setting, a quad is the more appropriate choice. You can tie your own with cord-by-the-foot for much cheaper than this cord, but I love the ease of this one and the low profile sewn joint instead of a bulky knot. For more on the Quad anchor, check out this blog post and this YouTube video.
Locking Carabiners: Petzl Sm’D, $17.95 If you’ve been climbing for any time at all, you know that the right number of locking carabiners is always n+1. No matter how I pack, I could always use one more! I’d recommend starting out with at least 2, but 4 would be better. This Petzl carabiner is a favorite of mine. It’s lightweight, versatile, and the gold is just dead sexy. I prefer having the auto locking version for my belay device and personal anchor attachment, but that’s total personal preference.
Backpack: The North Face Cinder 55, $189 You can only do so many trips to the crag with your school sized backpack before your partners will start calling you out on not carrying your weight. You’ll want a bag big enough for your share of the group gear, and your own gear - food, water, shoes, layers, snacks, etc. The TNF Cinder is a Mary Poppins style magic carpet bag that seems to fit everything you need, always with room for just one more thing. It’s also wicked durable, and I can confirm - the heavy vinyl makes cleaning out sticky beer a breeze.
What do you think of this list? What’s missing, and what would you change? Comment below!