Building your first trad rack

[@weirdoclimbing]

Best video about this subject that I've watched so far. Thanks!

[@p.richter9592]

I’m sure you’ve got viewers in Europe, and Scandinavia as well. You put out great content, and I like to learn as much as I can. ATB from Norway 🇳🇴

[@bertrandbonnety257]

I’m viewing from France.

[@robertosullivan9027]

Good vid, but yes very cam heavy! Couple of comments: 1) buy the best quality cams you can afford - my first cams where cheapies and I regretted not saving a bit more to get better ones from the get go; 2) you don’t need all those cams to start - I started with a set of nuts and hexes, and perhaps 1 or 2 cams. That was in the early 90’s though and I was a poor student. If you stick to easy grades you can get up a lot w/out a bunch of cams at a lot of crags - aside from places like Indian creek; 3) glad you acknowledged regional differences in stoppers vs cams - I much prefer stoppers over cams any day, and would recommend a second set of nuts, plus micro nuts. Lots of crags I will do a full pitch and zip it up, and may only place a couple of cams. 4) Offsets also have a place on a rack depending on the location (cams and nuts). I am not a huge fan of offsets, but recognize their place and should probably get around to getting some more rather than relying on a hodge podge of offset booty…; 5) you gotta get some tricams! They are not just for the gunks horizontal breaks - they are also bomber anywhere most cams will go, and also work as nuts. A set of tricams is a must. Much lighter, cheaper and more versatile than cams. I didn’t use them for years, but finally got around to getting some a while ago and love them. You can double up on those more easily than finger sized cams. 6) when doubling up on cams, you could also consider some brand diversity. Camelot’s rock for sure, but there are other options out there that will sit a bit differently in some placements, so having some options can be good. On the other hand, it can get a bit more messy / confusing on your rack initially working out which cams across brands are equivalent.

[@richardsmith9918]

Apparently I was using my sport Quickdraws backwards, it makes since now I have a set of bd stoppers. Thinking about totems but like big Camalots

[@timothybriggs8283]

Wow! This was super helpful. thank you

[@isaacjamesbaker]

I really want to get into trad climbing but the gear... so much of it! Thanks for the video, helpful tips!

[@samsonite813ify]

Dude it's awesome that you climb in vedauwoo! I am from cheyenne and do almost all my climbing out there

[@MrIvanGino]

You are the most helpful and informational video about this. Thanks for sharing!

[@gearaddictclimber2524]

Love the simplicity of ur beginner rack, that is a very useful amount of items and I certainly agree with the amount of items

[@cameronbryan5195]

In the uk bro :) you're right we use loads more passive pro your list us super cam heavy. I went dmm wall nuts, hexes and offsets, doubled up on that with bd stoppers, some other hexes and offsets. Then got a set of bd cams gradually added dmm dragons, tricams and micro wires. You can get pretty far with a single set of wires, hexes and offsets, about 8 draws, couple of slings and beiners for threads and chockstones plus a rope and personal gear.

[@ratherbyexploring4898]

If you perpetually run it out, you can save on cams... *taps forehead*

[@robertosullivan9027]

Or just learn how to place passive pro :-)

[@JesseUnderscoreMartin]

Awesome video! I climbed outside for the first time yesterday and can't wait to go back. There's few well bolted sport routes in my area (or maybe I'm just used to gym run-outs 😉) so I'm looking to supplement the bolts with additional protection! I'm sure I'll get into trad eventually but for now it will be mostly mixed! Watching this video may hurt my wallet!

[@mattgudenau5459]

Excellent video! Thank you!

[@wolverinekut]

Great job, thank you Sir

[@jeffreyschmidt3997]

Do you mind explaining how you organize great on harness bad sling, pros and cons of different setups? Thanks for the great content!

[@ryantilley9063]

I actually already have a video on the topic, here’s the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWGUqpmIa6mKqdU

[@nicolomarcellini3267]

I've read that carabiners with the gates facing opposite sides on a quickdraw is not what producers recommend for security. Do you know something about that?

[@wolverinekut]

Hi! There! Can you please make video for beginners, I mean what gear do you must have .

[@ericcartman8354]

Awesome, thanks!

[@kc22in]

To the best of my knowledge, BD charges 8$ per cam to resling

[@gabrielmarias972]

Hi just thinking in a great trad... Aliens Revolution Green Yellow Grey Red Totem Black Purple Yellow Red My question Orange Totem Vs Yellow BD ultralight Vs Yellow DMM dragon? And same of last brands for a blue +nuts With this i think its enought to start! Thanks

[@ryantilley9063]

Thanks man, looks like you have a great rack going there, as far as which cams to get, they all work pretty well so you can just choose your favorite and get out and get sending!

[@cjmooney3641]

Awesome video! Any recommendations on areas/specific routes for beginner trad leads in WA? I just moved to Tacoma, WA and only have a few easy trad leads under my built in the NRG.

[@ryantilley9063]

Ya a good place to go is British Isles in Exit 32, its smaller easier climbs that are trad. If your looking for some easier multi-pitch trad routes then Great Northern Slab at Index is a good climb as well as some smaller routes at WA pass. Mt. Erie isn't a bad place either, there's a lot of trad there and Zig zag crack is another good first trad multi-pitch.

[@cjmooney3641]

@@ryantilley9063 wow thanks! I'll check those out, we spend a bunch of time over at exit 38, so maybe ill start screwing around on some of the exit 32 routes.

[@KillroyX99]

That is a tiny rack for a new Trad climber. I guess it depends on the route: route length, bolted anchors or trad anchors? ect.....

[@halenball-vant1772]

I don't quite understand what the alpine draws are for?

[@TheMurraySkull]

Its to avoid 'walking' of the friend and to reduce rope drag

[@Fluffypantaloons]

What kind of marker did you use to tag your alpine draws? I'm also looking to put tape on the neck just above the lobes, but am worried it might block the range of motion 😬

[@ryantilley9063]

I used tape for a long time, but now that it's starting to fall off I just recently switched to nail polish, that seems to be what all the cool kids are doing, and the tape doesn't restrict the range of motion at all :)

[@erikjackson132]

If you place a cam and decide you need to put a draw on it, do you just leave the racking biner on the cam and clip the draw onto the cam sling for a total of 3 biners, cam, and quickdraw sling? I've heard some people like to have alpine draws with just a single biner on them and then clip the cam racking biner onto the draw. I guess it's a tradeoff of efficiency vs weight?

[@ryantilley9063]

For your first question, you'll want to clip the quickdraw to the webbing on the cam, if you clip it to the carabiner then there is a high chance it coming unclipped in the even of a fall, this is one of the few times where metal on metal is actually bad! For the one carabiner on the sling, yes, many people will have only one carabiner on their slings and store all their alpine draws on their shoulder. I personally don't do this mainly because in most of the areas that I climb I won't always need to use an extended draw. If you keep the slings around your neck then you don't have the option of using the alpine draw when it's folded up it always has to be extended. Usually people that use this climb in places where you have to extend your gear a lot- like the gunks for example where you're always pulling over small roofs. They also carry a few sport draws for their stoppers or for a smaller extension, they'll also have a few "free biners" on their harness so they can use their alpine slings for stoppers or other gear that doesn't already have a carabiner on it. In the end it really all amounts to personal preference so experiment with both and pick your favorite! Thanks for watching!

[@erikjackson132]

@@ryantilley9063 Hey thanks for the detailed reply. For now I'm just planning on using sport draws to extend gear (saw your video on the biners getting burrs from hangars, good tip 🤟) and then if I feel like the weight is an issue grab some 60cm slings and swap the sport dogbones for the slings.

[@sabindaman]

Whats the reason for alternating gate direction on the draws? I've been getting ready to start getting trad stuff for extra pro on run out sport routes. Any thoughts on getting offset set vs normal set?

[@ryantilley9063]

The reason why I have the gates facing different directions on my quickdraws is because no one else does it, so I can easily tell my gear apart from other peoples. Do you mean offset nuts or cams? I know a lot of people really like both, and I use offset's every so often too, but they aren't as useful as having the normal gear first, so after you get a rack of the usual stuff its worth looking into maybe getting a few of the middle sized offsets, the .2/.3 and the .3/.4 seem to be the most useful, may be worth getting a .1/.2 but the best thing you can do is talk to someone in your area for the best beta. thanks for watching!

[@sabindaman]

@@ryantilley9063 Thanks, I was thinking of nuts specifically.

[@erikdejong9754]

Do you prefer nuts or micro cams on horizontal finger cracks? I’m just getting it on it and I’m curious how you would place it. Live the video by the way great work !!

[@ryantilley9063]

erik de Jong I would prefer whatever gear works the best in the crack, generally since cracks have parallel sides a cam would be better suited for that placement, but if there is a good slot with a construction that would provide good surface area for a nut then that would be just as good as a cam. So you really just want to go with whatever protection is the most solid.

[@ryantilley9063]

I would prefer whatever gear works the best in the crack, generally since cracks have parallel sides a cam would be better suited for that placement, but if there is a good slot with a construction that would provide good surface area for a nut then that would be just as good as a cam. So you really just want to go with whatever protection is the most solid.

[@robertosullivan9027]

Tricams work well in horizontal breaks. Black or pink should work well. Much better than a cam, as if you take a whip on a tricam in a horizontal break you don’t mash the shaft. But yep I agree w Ryan - whatever works is also good!

[@nigelmtb]

Building?

[@ryantilley9063]

Wow that’s embarrassing, why did no one point that out sooner haha

[@pbamma]

if only there were a thing called non-linear editing.

[@ryantilley9063]

P Bamma I know right, somehow the original video got uploaded instead of the one I edited, it bothers me all the time, I’ll upload the fully edited version eventually

[@eugenejkim]

Totems.

[@ryantilley9063]

Those are awesome! I don't own any but as soon as I get the money I'm totally buying a set of them! They're really nice cams to bring along when your climbing a route where you need a supplemental rack for a mostly bolted route.

[@eugenejkim]

Yeah totally should grab a set! They're, imo, the next generation of SLCDs. If you like your small aliens, definitely grab a pair of the blue and yellow totems.

[@JB-rt4mx]

Trad climbing? It's the Only Climbing...Ground Up, Solo, On Sight, No Topo or Beta, LoL No Cellphones, No Rescue...since 1978

[@justriley9157]

vid starts at 4 min, the 4 min intro is just ego talk