Trad Climbing Gear

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

Trad Climber Gear

In Scouting America, Lead Climbing is limited to Venturers and is NOT conducted at at Troop Level.  Trained adults with trad climbing skillsand gear may need to set up top rope anchors.  If so, they should be aware of the gear they need.  This list is to give you an idea of what is needed for a climb. 

• Helmet

• Harness

• Climbing shoes

• Chalk bag

• Dynamic climbing rope

• Rope Bag

  • 60m+ Rope

  • IKEA bag is popular for carrying rope

• Protection aka "Pro"

  • Cams, Nuts, etc

  • See Below

• Belay Device - Cam-assisted 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 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

• 3x extra locking carabiners 

• Personal anchor

  • Petzl Connect Adjust Lanyard preferred

  • Dyneema Anchor Chain (NOT Sewn Daisy Chain!)

• Belay glasses

• If rappelling - ATC Guide or Petzl Reverso

Protection

What pro you need will depend on what you intend to climb and personal preference plays a huge role in what trad climber cary.

Cams

• A double set of 0.3 to 3.0 cams will cover most climbs

• Usual a mix of cams:

  • Black Diamond Camalot C4s 

    • 0.3 to 3.0

    • BD Ultralight Cams are 25% lighter, but have a limited lifespan since they use braided Dyneema cord instead of steel cables

    • BD C4 are built to be used infinitely - slings are replaceable by manufacturer

  • Totems 

    • Patented direct-load lobe design allows them to hold securely even when only two lobes are engaged

      • These are in standard Totems - NOT in Basic Totems

      • Great for aid climbing and irregular surfaces

    • Add 1-2 Black 0.5 Totems (which is smaller than BD 0.3)

    • If you have extra money, replace smaller BD with:

      • Blue 0.65 Totem to replace BD Blue 0.3

      • Yellow 0.8 Totem to replace BD Gray 0.4

      • Purple 1 Totem to replace BD Purple 0.5

    • If you have lots of extra money:

      • Green 1.25 Totem to replace BD Green .75

      • Red 1.5 Totem to replace BD Red 1

      • Orange 1.8 Totem - to fit between BD Red 1 and Yellow 2

  • Alien Cams

    • Some climbers use Aliens for micro sizes

      • Black 1/3 and Blue 3/8 are smaller than Black Totems

      • Use for micro cracks

    • Incredibly narrow head profile

      • Can fit into tighter holes than Totems

    • Soft aluminum "bites" Washington Granite 

      • Alien cams, Totem Basic and BD Z4 use a softer 6061-T6 aluminum alloy for its lobes

      • Totem (standard) and BD C4 uses a harder 7075-T6 aluminum alloy

    • Extendable sling is nice

    • NOTE:

      • Fixe Alien Lite (EVO Lite) 

        • Used heavy plastic-nylon trigger components to cut weight by 25%

        • Severe durability and fraying issues

      • Alien Revolution (Revo) 

        • Upgraded parts to solid aluminum and wires to fix durability issues

Nuts

• A full set of wired nuts 

  • DMM Wallnuts 1-5

  • DMM Offset 7-11

  • Usually separated into two oval carabiners

Nut Tool

• Essential for cleaning and extracting placed nuts

Alpine Draws & Slings

• 8 to 12 alpine quickdraws (extendable 60cm slings) 

• Double-length (120cm) slings

Anchor Material

• Anchor material

  • 4 locking carabiners

  • Sling or alpine cordelette to build anchors

    • 240cm Dyneema sling 

    • 15–20 ft of 7mm alpine cordelette

Clilmbing Bag

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