help me to lead climb

[supafly]

hello. cheeky i know. but i don't want to pay 300 bucks or whatever it is to be part of a group of 4 dudes.. plus i just want some pointers on placing gear myself, the rest will come with time.

anyone interested in helping me out a bit with gear placements etc? i have done a bit of lead placing (on toprope) but just need someone with some experience to help me out a little.

i'll be around in squamish this saturday/sunday/monday.

thanks for reading.

[EnigmaM]

pay the money and learn properly. take a course with Squamish Rock Guides. No i don't work for them. spending the cash gives you peace of mind knowing what you are doing is correct. and you could have a class full of ladies for all you know.

plus the community would rather not have a repeat of the tragedy that happened at the bluffs as a result of someone testing their gear on flying circus.

[Tradrenn]

anyone interested in helping me out a bit with gear placements etc? i have done a bit of lead placing (on toprope) but just need someone with some experience to help me out a little.

I'm free next Sunday(Aug 17), keep in mind that I will not let you lead more then a 7 until I know you are plugging good gear. Take your $300 and get some Camalots C4 from .4 up, one of each is all you need in this place.

[jefffski]

Take your $300 and get some Camalots C4 from .4 up, one of each is all you need in this place.

save your money. learn to place stoppers. If you're going to buy cams, buy a few and buy the cheapest, well known cams you can--you don't need a whole set. DMM's are quite cheap. BD c4's are the most expensive.

I lead on 3-4cams and a set of nuts for at least a year. I stayed on stuff i was very comfortable on. it's not the only method, but it worked for me.

now we're both about to hear 14 methods of learning to lead.

taking a course is a wise choice.

[supafly]

i bought two sets of BD stoppers this last weekend - gonna go and try them out this weekend. weighing up buying the a set of four metolius cams, they're much cheaper than the camalots - what do we all think of them?

[bradley3297]

i like camalot c4s. trust me youll appreciate flexable stemmed cams as there easier to place. metolius are safe yet inferior cams in my opinion. if youre going to spend money on gear buy what youll like the best. c4s are the cadillac of cams.

[bradley3297]

i started with a .5, .75, 1 and 2. most common sizes.

[tobyfk]

weighing up buying the a set of four metolius cams, they're much cheaper than the camalots - what do we all think of them?

I bought the full Metololius Ultralight Powercam set 1 through 8 last June to augment an existing rack of Camalots, Friends and Aliens, then used them pretty extensively at Squamish. I think they are definitely inferior unless you specifically want the lightest rack possible. They move and walk far too easily and don't inspire confidence. Camalots from 0.5 upwards plus Aliens in smaller sizes are the best possible combination IMO. As to relative price: these are life-saving devices. How much do you value your own hide?

[Brendan]

Camalots from 0.5 upwards plus Aliens in smaller sizes are the best possible combination IMO.

and a good opinion of that. only thing i'd add in there would be the .4 Camalot

[jefffski]

he's a beginner leader. A range of sizes of nuts and a handful of any kind of cam that the shops here carry will work for a beginner leader on easy territory.

[Brendan]

any kind of cam that the shops here carry cam

[Tradrenn]

If you're going to buy cams, buy a few and buy the cheapest,

I would strongly disagree with that.

I had DMM Cams and they suck, so do Forged Friends.

"Buy nice or buy twice" is what I go by this days.

[jefffski]

over the years i have had the pleasure (mostly) of climbing with a variety of partners--we often pooled our gear, so that i've used many brands of cam, and other gear, including tri-cams and hexes (omg). IMHO, it's all good. there are some minor variations. Holding power is not one of them.

btw, i love solid stem cams. they're light and cheap.

If money is an issue, buy what you can afford. Buy a variety. Learn what you like and what works for where you do most of your climbing.

Most of all, get out there, place lotsa gear, be safe and have fun. it ain't about the gear.