Trad Climbing Gear

Are you the trained and experienced Adult Lead on this outing?  If so, you already know what you need.

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Cams - Trad Climbing Gear 

Climbing Cam Placement, Use, and Maintenance 

Passive - Trad Climbing Gear 

Trad Climber Gear

In Scouting America, lead climbing is limited to Venturing and is not conducted at the troop level. Trained adults with traditional (trad) climbing experience may, however, need to establish top-rope anchors. These adults should already understand the equipment and techniques required to set up protection on routes and build safe, appropriate anchors.

Traditional climbing remains a specialized discipline, and many climbers are unfamiliar with the nuances of trad protection and the wide variety of available gear. The following list provides an overview of the equipment commonly needed for a trad climb, helping you understand what gear may be required and how it contributes to a safe and successful climbing experience.

• Helmet

• Harness

  • Misty Mountain Threadworks Cadillac Quick Adjust

    • Widely considered a gold standard for trad and big-wall comfort

    • CORDURA polymer composite outer shell

    • 6 reinforced polyethylene gear loops (four up and two down)

      • Easily handles a double rack

    • Integrated ice clipper slots

    • Two belay loops (one slightly smaller that nests inside the other)

    • Integrated rear haul loop

    • Dual Quick Adjust System on the waist

    • Can be ordered with extra Belay and/or extra Gear Loop(s)

  • Arc’teryx AR-395a Harness

    • 4 gear loops

    • 4 ice clipper slots

    • Adjustable leg loops 

    • Rear haul loop

    • Stainless-steel quick hook on the rear leg elastic permits using the bathroom without taking off your harness

  • Metolius Safe Tech Trad Harness

    • Four high-strength gear loops and a high-strength haul loop

    • Every clip-in point on the Safe Tech Trad is rated as strong as the main belay loop

    • Features dual belay loops ideal for multi-pitch anchors and rappels

  • Petzl Adjama (Men's) / Petzl Luna (Women's)

    • All-around alpine, trad, and mountaineering versatility

    • Rigid front gear loops, flexible rear loops, and an extra rear loop

    • Built with Endoframe technology for even pressure distribution without bulky foam

    • Adjustable leg loops for layer

  • Ocun Twist Quattro

    • Budget/mid-tier price point

    • 6 spacious gear loops and 2 ice clipper slots

    • Dual waist buckles that make centering the gear loops easy

    • Gear loop layout and comfort outshine many mainstream competitors for trad racks

  •  Black Diamond Solution Guide

    • Four pressure-molded gear loops

    • Fifth gear loop for extra kit

    • Gear tends to slide to the rear of loops : (

    • Fixed leg loops : (

• Climbing Shoes

  • La Sportiva TC Pro Climbing Shoes

    • Considered the best crack climbing shoe for a reason

  • Other opions

    • Scarpa Instinct VS

      • Toe box designed for delicate footwork on thin cracks

    • 5.10 NIAD Mocc

      • Good for jamming in hand and first cracks

    • Butora Altura

      • Butora version of TC Pro

      • Good for offwidths

• Crack Gloves

  • OCUN Crack Gloves Pro

• Rappeling Gloves

  • Really nice to have for Belay

    • Keeps hands clean

    • Allows you to grab onto rapid moving rope without need to let go

  • Required for Rappelling

• Chalk Bag

• Cellphone Tether

• Rappeling Gloves

  • Really nice to have for Belay

    • Keeps hands clean

    • Allows you to grab onto rapid moving rope without need to let go

  • Required for Rappelling

• Dynamic Climbing Rope

  • 60m+ Rope

    • Ideally 70m Rope

      • Better for lengthy rappels

      • 70m instead of 60m may allow you to link 2 short pitches

• Rope Bag

  • IKEA bag is popular for carrying rope

  • Black Diamond Full Rope Burrito is better, only because it and others double as a rope tarp

• Protection aka "Pro"

  • Cams, Nuts, etc.

  • Cams

    • Usually need a double rack of 0.3-3

    • See Cams - Trad Climbing Gear 

  • Passive Pro

    • Generally need 10 nuts

    • See Passive - Trad Climbing Gear 

• Nut Tool

  • Essential for cleaning and extracting placed nuts and stubborn cams

  • Get one with a cord or add a cord so you don't lose this tool while using it

• Alpine Draws & Slings

  • Mammut Contact Sling Dyneema 8.0mm are the most popular

• 8-12x alpine quickdraws (extendable 60cm slings) 

  • With non-locking carabiners on both ends

• 2x Double-length (120cm) slings

  • With non-locking carabiners on both ends

• Quick Draw

  • Nice to have at least 1

  • Use as redirect at anchor station

  • Quick to deploy or clip into bolts at top of pitch

• Belay Device  

  • +1 Locking Carabiner to rack it and lock to belay loop

  • If the Lead Climber wants their follower(s) to use something special, the Lead Climber should provide that device

    • Cam-assisted belay devices are often preferred

  • Petzl Grigri or Edelrid Pinch preferred

    • Assisted braking features are the standard at may gyms and climbing circles

    • Petzl Grigri must be used right handed

  • There are many others that can be used per user preference

    • Black Diamond ATC Pilot

      • Excellent belay device for lead climbing - may in fact be the best one to use for lead climbing

      • Assisted braking devices without cams or moving parts

      • Can be used left handed

      • Works differently than other braking devices - so you should NOT try it out for the first time on a lead climb with us!

    • Black Diamond ATC Guide and Petzl Reverso

      • Multiple uses in climbing world

        • Rappelling with one or two ropes

        • Multi-pitch

        • Belaying from top 

        • Ascender

      • Light weight 

      • This does NOT have an assist feature and requires constant focus and should only be used by instructors experienced with this device

    • Edelrid Giga Jul

      • Assisted braking like ATC Pilot

      • Allows you to rappel like ATC

      • It's a bit clunky when lowering and rappelling, requiring you to pull on green loop 

      • Slider that switches between manual and assist adds complexity and confusion to new users

• Personal Anchor with Locking Carabiner

  • Adjustsable Lanyard

    • Preferred PA

    • Example: 

      • Petzl Connect Adjust Lanyard 

  • Dyneema Anchor Chain (NOT Sewn Daisy Chain!)

    • Example: 

      • Black Diamond Link Personal Anchor 

      • Metolius Anchor Chain

  • Sling

    • 120-180cm Nylon or Dyneem Sling

    • Tied with overhand knots

  • Using climbing rope

    • Great backup option

    • Not recommneded as primary plan as PAs are really nice to have

    • You will need an Extra HMS locking Carabiner if this is your plan

• Anchor Kit/Material 

  • Anchor Kit generally consists of a cord and 2-4 carabiners

    • Single Anchor Kit for Single Pitch

    • Second Achor Kit for Multipitch

    • Additional Cord and Carabiner for Rescue per climber

      • You should have an additional 5-7mm Alpine Cordelette for rescue use

      • +1 Locking carabiner used to rack it and for rescue use

  • Anchor Cord for each kit

    • 7mm Alpine Cordelette 

      • Multiple uses

        • Recommend 21 feet of 7mm cord

        • Note: a Double Fisherman's Knot for 7mm climbing accessory cord will consume roughly 35-40 cm of the cord's overall length

        • Quad Anchor

          • 14 feet of 7mm cord makes a loop close to 190cm

          • ~17 feet of 7mm cord is needed for a 240m loop

        • Masterpoint

          • 21 feet of 7mm cord makes around a 300cm loop

        • Self Rescue

          • 20+ feet of 6-7mm cord

      • Breaking Strengh

        • 5mm cord: ~5.1 kN

        • 6 mm cord: ~7.5 kN 

        • 7 mm cord: ~13 kN  

          • At almost twice the breaking strenth, 7mm is preferred over 6mm for anchor use

          • 5mm is NOT appropriate for anchor use

          • 6mm is NOT recommended for anchor use on Rock (but could be considered for glacier use)

      • Weight

        • Around 110g for 21 feet of 5mm cord

        • Around 140g for 21 feet of 6mm cord

        • Around 200 g for 21 feet of 7mm cord

      • Best Examples

        • 7mm Sterling Accessory Cord

        • 7mm Mammut Pro Cord 

    • BD Infinity Cord - 240cm

      • 4.5 mm Continuous loop of Dynex filament core inside a Dynex/nylon blend sheath

      • Breaking strength of 22 kN+

      • 62 g 

      • Easy to untie knots

    • Metolius Open Loop Sling - 240cm

      • 11mm wide Dyneema and Nylon fibers

      • Very easy to untie knots after they have been weighted

      • 22 kN rating

      • 93 g

      • Note: formerly known as Monster Sling

      • Quad Configuration

        • Doubled up and tied with knots on two separate bolts or pieces, a standard quad distributes the load across multiple strands, yielding a total system strength around 40 kN (before tieing knots)

      • Knot Strength Reduction

        • Knots reduce the strength of individual Dyneema strands by roughly 40% to 50%

        • Double-redundancy of the quad setup compensates for this loss, basically bringing the breaking point back down to around 22kN

      • Shock Loading Risk

        • Unlike nylon, Dyneema has very low stretch and minimal energy absorption

        • A severe fall directly onto a rigid Dyneema anchor can generate high shock loads

        • There is a valid concern that falling from above the anchor can cause a signficant shock to Dyneema

  • Locking Carabiners for Anchor Kit(s)

    • Number needed depends on what type of anchor(s) you will need to build

      • 4 Locking Carabiners will cover most of your anchor needs

    • Quad Anchor on Bolts

      • 4 locking carabiners if using a quad anchor on bolts

        • 2 Autolocking carabiners to clip into bolts

        • 2 smoother HMS locking carabiners for rope

          • Smooth top great for top rope and belay with ATC/Reverso

          • HMS shape is great for Munter Hitch, belay devices, and multiple clove hitchs

          • Examples:

            • Petzl Attache screwgate

              • Wide pear shape handles multiple master point strands, clove hitches, or a Munter hitch with ease

            • Metolius Rig Auto Lock Carabiner

              • Triple-action auto-locking

              • Maximum security against accidental opening from rope drag, shifting master points, or human oversight

              • Heavier and larger than Attache

            • Black Diamond Rocklock Twistlock Carabiner

              • Lock is easier to use with one hand than Rig Auto

              • Heavier and larger than Rig Auto

    • Masterpoint on 3 Cams

      • 2 HMS Carabiners for each anchor kit 

        • HMS shape is great for Munter Hitch, belay devices, and multiple clove hitchs

        • One Locking Carabiner for Masterpoint

        • One Locking Carabiner for self anchor, for top rope use, as a backup, or any other task that may come up

• 2-3x Extra Locking Carabiners

  • 1 Triple Locking Carabiners

    • Petzl Sm'D Triact-Lock 

  • 1-2 HMS Carabiners

    • Petzl Attache

• Belay Glasses

  • Optional

Rappelling Gear

If you might rappel:

• ATC Guide or Petzl Reverso

  • +1 Autolocking Carabiners to clip into anchor

  • +1 smooth HMS Locking Carabiner for rope on ATC/Reverso

    • Smooth top great for top rope and belay with ATC/Reverso

    • HMS shape is great for Munter Hitch, belay devices, and multiple clove hitchs

    • Examples:

      • Petzl Attache Screwgate

        • Wide pear shape handles multiple master point strands, clove hitches, or a Munter hitch with ease

      • Metolius Rig Auto Lock Carabiner

        • Triple-action auto-locking

        • Maximum security against accidental opening from rope drag, shifting master points, or human oversight

        • Heavier and larger than Attache

      • Black Diamond Rocklock Twistlock Carabiner

        • Lock is easier to use with one hand than Rig Auto

        • Heavier and larger than Rig Auto

• Rappeling Gloves

• Prusik Loop with Locking Carabiner

  • Sterling HollowBlock

    • Top choice for rock climbing

    • Heat-resistant aramid/nylon blend 

    • 22kN breaking strength

    • Sizes

      • 13.5-inch (34 cm) loop for a traditional prusik knot or a standard wrap-around-the-leg autoblock (rappelling backup / third hand)

      • 19-inch (48 cm) loop for a French prusik, Klemheist knot, or more complex multi-wrap friction hitches for rescue use

  • 5mm to 6mm nylon or aramid cord joined with a double fisherman's bend

    • Abseil / Rappel Backup (Third Hand) - 30-35cm Loop (~1.2 meters / 4 feet of cord) 

    • Ascending or General Progress Capture - 40-50cm Loop (~1.5 meters / 5 feet of cord) 

    • Foot Loops or Special Rigging -1-2 meters / 3-6 feet of cord

  • 6mm TRC Sewn Prusik Loops

  • Beal Jammy

Single Pitch Crag Bag 

A dedicated Crag Bag will help you keep your gear organized, stored and clean. 

• Belay Jacket

• Real First Aid Kit

• Headlamp

• Knife

• Waterbottles

• Real snacks

• Extra cord and carabiners for Rescue Use

Multipitch Gear- For Multi Pitch

Be prepared for wind, weather and possibly darkness if the day goes a lot longer than planned

• Small lightweight pack if you can't rack all of your gear and snacks

• Top Down Belay Device

  • Double Rope Belay Device

    • Black Diamond ATC Guide

    • Petzl Reverso

    • Edelrid Giga Jul

  • Single Rope Belay Device

    • Petzl GriGri

    • Edelrid Pinch

• Second Anchor Kit

  • Cord and Locking Carabiners

• Rescue Cordelette

  • 21 feet pf 6-7mm Cordelette

• Extra locking Carabiner for ATC for use in Guide Mode

• Spare ATC with carabiners recommended

• Seasonal clothing

  • Sun shirt

  • Windbreaker

    • Patagonia Houdini is considered the best

  • Puffer

  • Beanie 

    • Must fit under helmet

• Headlamp

  • Must be able to mount on helmet

• Radios

  • Rocky Talkie recommended

• Waterbottle that can be clipped to belt

• Snacks