Beginner climbing gear?

T

Tcemaint

New Member
Looking to be pointed in a direction to buy climbing gear for a beginner. I guess what would maybe qualify something good for a beginner would be price, support, and comfort. Either by brand or a good website with some info on what to look for would be great!

I own a landscape maintenance company and I did use to climb a little bit about 5 years ago but all my gear got stolen when my shop got broke into, so I’m just looking to get some new stuff and see if I can’t get back into it again.
 
moss

moss

Well-Known Member
Tree Motion Light harness, 150' of any Yale 11.7mm arb rope, a climbing helmet with flip down face/eye protection and ear muffs, a foot ascender, some hitch cord, 15' feet of any 11mm 24-strand arb rope to build your lanyard, a couple slack tending pulleys (people will chime in and argue about which ones), 6 auto-locking aluminum alloy carabiners, 4 sewn runners/slings various lengths. 180' of 1.75 or 2mm throwline, several throwbags, a folding throwing cube, a good hand saw. No way to get in cheap, the thing to avoid is stuff beyond this list you don't actually need until you know you actually need it.
 
RopeShield

RopeShield

Well-Known Member
I would skip hitch cords, self tending pulleys, throw bags and throw cube. Carabiner should be steel with higher rated gate NFPA
Get a mechanical prussik, EBAY is the least expensive option for most everything
There are much better options for throwlining out there.
 
moss

moss

Well-Known Member
RopeShield said:
I would skip hitch cords, self tending pulleys, throw bags and throw cube. Carabiner should be steel with higher rated gate NFPA
Get a mechanical prussik, EBAY is the least expensive option for most everything
There are much better options for throwlining out there.
Click to expand...
Ha, let the arguing begin, it's educational for a climber getting back into it ;-)

I once watched a newish rec climber smack himself in the face with a steel carabiner as he pulled his lanyard back off a limb. He never used a steel carabiner for climbing again. I use steel carabiners for rigging, auto-locking aluminum alloy carabiners are mainstream and proven safe for tree climbers.

Mechanicals are cool but very expensive compared to hitch cords. One could take the argument further and say simply climb on a Blake's Hitch until you understand why you would want a hitch cord or mechanical.

The knock-off throwing cubes from Sherrill or Stein are so cheap compared to the most excellent and long-term durable Faltheimer cube. Collapsing laundry containers work, a paper shopping bag works, a light tarp or your shirt on the ground works, choose your poison. If you climb off of lawns you can get away with not using folding cubes if you don't mind sorting your throwline every time you start. If you're in brush or woods etc. you need something to contain or separate your throwline from the twigs, leaves etc. or you risk premature madness.

It is difficult to get into a tree without setting a rope first, throwbag and throwline are essential tree climber tools. You can make a monkey fist with a climbing rope and throw it over a limb, you can bear hug a tree and inch your way up. It's all about individual philosophy about how to learn to climb, once again choose your poison.

Ebay is a catch 22, you have to know tree gear to buy used gear and not waste your money.

Thomas, what do you recommend as a throwline substitute?
-AJ
 
RopeShield

RopeShield

Well-Known Member
i am just more fearful of new climber side loading ali biners and then falling on the side load and breaking the gate.
same with prussiks, a mechanical is just so mush easier to learn and make work and get comfortable with, just an opinion based on training apprentices
cubes, pails etc can not compare with an inexpensive reel for deployment and retrieval of lines, pail, bucket tarp etc is a must for debris or forested floors
for fear of turning this thread into something els suffice it to say the industry is not interested in my solutions.
 
moss

moss

Well-Known Member
RopeShield said:
i am just more fearful of new climber side loading ali biners and then falling on the side load and breaking the gate.
same with prussiks, a mechanical is just so mush easier to learn and make work and get comfortable with, just an opinion based on training apprentices
cubes, pails etc can not compare with an inexpensive reel for deployment and retrieval of lines, pail, bucket tarp etc is a must for debris or forested floors
for fear of turning this thread into something els suffice it to say the industry is not interested in my solutions.
Click to expand...
I'm not the industry ;-) Your ideas are welcome to me anyway, likely many others. Yes, the 5 gallon bucket is a great throwline container, forgot about that. What you're getting at it in part is the issue of teaching, like proper use of a carabiner etc. that's a whole 'nother animal. As far as the original post is concerned, it's up to a newbie to learn the safety basics, it is best to find a skilled instructor/mentor/advisor, second best is read Jepson's Tree Climber's Companion from beginning to end and then again several times.
-AJ
 
climbstihl

climbstihl

Well-Known Member
bathwalter said:
And I would like to give my answer to the first question about climbing gear for a beginner. You know, among the climbing gear, the equipment from the company Corax is popular. I read a lot of reviews and in other forums, I really saw good words about it.

More information about my recommendation:
Petzl CORAX Climbing Kit. This is a very good quality harness which has pretty much every feature you could need whether you are an absolute beginner...
Click to expand...
There is no company called corax, and the petzl harness with the same name is a rock climbing harness, not a tree climbing harness, so I don't know why you'd recommend it here.
 
Jan_

Jan_

Well-Known Member
bathwalter said:
And I would like to give my answer to the first question about climbing gear for a beginner. You know, among the climbing gear, the equipment from the company Corax is popular. I read a lot of reviews and in other forums, I really saw good words about it.

More information about my recommendation:
Petzl CORAX Climbing Kit. This is a very good quality harness which has pretty much every feature you could need whether you are an absolute beginner...
Click to expand...
The Corax climbing kit is for rock climbing and not for tree climbing. It will be pretty much useless to you if you want to get to the trees. The kit has:
-Corax Harness , rock climbing harness. Could help you and would work but it's not for tree climbing and lacks important features, not to mention how uncomfortable it is if you are hanging in it.
- Chalk, you dont need this
-Carabiner, great now you need about 10 more
-Tube style belay device, This is not for tree climbing and while you can make it work It makes no sense to use it.
- Chalkbag, dont need this either. You can put throwline in it though so it's not completely useless.

Overall, pretty much none of this stuff is any good for tree climbing. I guess you are either trolling, advertising or you have no idea what this forum is about.
 
Brocky

Brocky

Well-Known Member
It might not be good for day to day production work, but it would be able to hold you safely in the tree. The tubers are a good way to make hitches or mechanicals last longer.
 
RyTheTreeGuy

RyTheTreeGuy

Well-Known Member
"Cheap" improvised gear is a false sense of economy IMO...I agree with Moss. Look for gear you can advance and grow with as a climber because if you have experience with climbing and are an astute learner it can happen quickly...Quality hank of rope that has been tried and proven for both MRS (Ddrt) as well as SRS (SRT) such as a yale 11.7. A solid pulley for tending that can also be used in conjunction with a rope wrench (or Hitchhiker) once you are comfortable and confident with your MRS. A couple of 5' pieces of hitch cord...for 11.7 I would recommend sterling RIT 9 mm or Epicord 9.3. The 8mm can bind if loaded for extended periods based on weight/hitch etc and the 10 mm may to large to provide adequate friction or require more wraps. Auto locking aluminum biners, I like the DMM ultra O's and if you buy the 3 pack you can save some cash. 15 foot rope for lanyard (Ideally a different colour then climb line) and a few slings. Footie is a good luxary, but I believe in learning from the ground up so hip thrusting and foot locking will really make you appreciate all the luxuries and allow you to understand why you need them. A closed system (1 rope, no hitch cord) is a great way to start...throwline and a friction saver if climbing MRS. Think ahead to what you will be doing and needing in a year or two and begin by building the foundations of that system. Educate yourself, practice tying hitches and knots, read, watch, hire a trainer, buy the Schultz effect, low and slow to start, be safe and have fun
 
Crimsonking

Crimsonking

Well-Known Member
As most have said, pull the trigger on the good, necessary stuff. If you’re serious, then buy seriously. It sounds like you are planning to, since you posted here first. Moss nailed it with the gear list, though I recommend two throw line kits. Yes, pricier, but how expensive is having a line stuck when it’s your only one?
 
B

B_Strange

Well-Known Member
I am a beginning climber as well and agree with all the comments on buying quality gear first. You won’t regret it. I am climbing on a TM. Super Light and love it. I would LOVE an Evo for the extra back pad and buckles.
@Crimsonking has a good suggestion on an extra throwline kit. Throwline loves to get stuck and when you only have one count on it getting stuck.
If you are going to be using a saw get a pair of saw pants. I use Clogger Zeros year round in SW Virginia and like ‘em. A friend wears Arbortec’s and really likes them. The Notch pants are super scratchy on the inside but my mom wears them and likes them.
READ READ READ! And ask questions here. No BS and good advice. I am learning a lot. Practice low and slow and leave your ego at home.
 
Scratch

Scratch

Active Member
There's a HH2 with holster in Treebay right now. I don't think you'll find anyone here that will say much bad about it. It's a simple multiscender for someone new to learn, and since it works so well, there's really no need to ever upgrade if you don't want.

Might want to snatch it up quick if you don't have a way to get into the canopy.

EDIT: it's sold
 
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Jan_

Jan_

Well-Known Member
If you really want to get started on SRT without spending too much money, use a RADS with a GriGri and a hand ascender. It will save you about 200$ and is not a bad system for "slow and low" climbing.
 
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