UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => equipment => Topic started by: shark on September 11, 2013, 01:29:34 pm
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Heading off to Kalymnos in a few weeks and been thinking about getting some lightweight quickdraws for the longer routes but there don't seem to be any recent comparative reviews. I looked at the websites for the brands I am familiar with but no obvious winner.
http://www.wildcountry.co.uk/products/quickdraws/ (http://www.wildcountry.co.uk/products/quickdraws/)
The Astro, Helium and Nitro all look good and come with either 10,15 or 20cm skinny tape
http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/non-locking-carabiners/ange-finesse (http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/non-locking-carabiners/ange-finesse)
The Ange Finesse also looks good and comes with 10 or 17cm skinny tape
http://dmmclimbing.com/products/alpha-light/ (http://dmmclimbing.com/products/alpha-light/)
The Alpha Light again looks good and comes with 12,18 or 25cm skinny tape. The Thor has a similar spec but doesnt have a clean nose.
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/climbing-carabiners-quickdraws/oz-quickdraw-BD3810650000ALL1.html#start=10 (http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/climbing-carabiners-quickdraws/oz-quickdraw-BD3810650000ALL1.html#start=10)
Had a quick look at the Oz but 22mm gate opening seemed too tight and the Hoodwire didnt grab me as an alternative.
Gate openings are 23mm on Ange Finesse, 24mm Astro, 25mm Alpha Light, 27mm Helium and 27mm Nitro
Any thoughts?
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I've had a set of wild country Heliums for a while, and have had to retire quite a few of them as the gates stick open. Unless there has been a design change recently, I wouldn't buy these again. Can't comment on the other quick draws you mention, I'm afraid.
Enjoy Kalymnos!
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Edelrid 19g if you want to scare people (including yourself)
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I don't generally like small draws but the petzl ones are surprisingly easy to clip for their size. Might be worth trying to borrow a couple off Steve to see if you like them? You can't use them in a clipstick though so you probably wont be interested :ras:
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Got to climb with quickdraws with Ange S and Ange L carabiners in the Dolomites this summer. Wasn't impressed by the Ange in the shop, but in action it was definitely a favorite over the WC biners. Very solid build and will last long. Ange S is to small for the rope end of the quickdraw. I'd buy the quickdraws with ANGE S on top and ANGE L on bottom. Gate opening on Ange L is 26 mm.
Want to go really light weight on long multipitch routes? The Edelrid Nineteen G worked better then expected. The weight is ridiculous. Not for sport though.
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Ange finesse - won one that I then gave away, personal preference but the single bar gate just felt weird to use. Maybe I should have persisted.
Astro - smaller crab, not quite phantom small, but feels nice enough to use, doesn't clip stick easily
Helium - Got a couple of draws but they never end up on my harness :shrug:, just prefer to use others. Clip sticking is possible but a pain and the nose is quite bulbous for small bolts and removing them after threading.
Alpha light - Used a friends on trad and really liked them, easier to handle than a phantom. Haven't tried a clipstick with them.
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Always found it difficult to get too excited about krabs - they all seem to do the job so just buy cheap and lightish. Have loads of DMM pro-wires and never had any problems with them, cheap and only a couple of grammes heavier than more expensive / smaller krabs. Looking on the Needlesports website they have an updated version:
http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Rock-Climbing-Equipment/Quickdraws-2/Quickdraws/Spectre2-Quickdraw-DMM-SP2QD (http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Rock-Climbing-Equipment/Quickdraws-2/Quickdraws/Spectre2-Quickdraw-DMM-SP2QD)
73g to 78g and £9 to £10 depending on sling length.
Obviously as a website entrepreneur price is not a consideration for you!
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Have loads of DMM pro-wires and never had any problems with them, cheap and only a couple of grammes heavier than more expensive / smaller krabs.
Precisely why these are my main sport draws. Not got a clean nose though if that's a must have.
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The updated version of the prowire (the spectre 2) is essentially a bigger phantom - I like this style of biner but it doesn't have a clean nose - something which is usefull somewhere like Kalymnos...
The Alpha light isn't actually in the shops yet - I have 1 quickdraw set but only to show people not used it yet, to be honest I prefer the Alpha Trad - it is a little bigger and feels a little more chunky and is only 2 grams heavier (27mm gate open I think) plus clean nose. I have used them sport climbing and they were good. I am biased.
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The Alpha light isn't actually in the shops yet
Oops, guess I used the non-light one then :-[
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DMM Thor is really tough and strong; has a 11kN gate open rating! Single biner still only 36g too (same as Alpha Trad) Sport biners do take a lot of abuse so might be worth going for the Thor.
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I found the Petzl lightweight offerings to be dreadful.
The Alpha trad would be my pick but pulling on skinny tape sucks (for when you fall off). I also like buying DMM equipment given where they're made etc.
This trip I've been using DMM Phantoms and they're amazing for trad stuff, the Metolius biners of a similar weight look like accessory krabs. Its been really annoying as they seem to be our most dropped/left item and I haven't been able to replace them anywhere! If these could have a clean nose they'd be perfect.
Be warned that lightweight krabs (especially those with an I-beam construction) tend to wear your ropes a lot faster than the heavier more rounded offerings. If you're using a skinny rope this can be quite significant.
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Spectre 2 seem a good size, bought some longer sling ones for trad and took them as a spare set for onsighting whilst had another set in project. Worked well, the longer ones move around a bit, maybe longer slings are useful in kalymnos.
+1 for DMM i dont think you can fault the gear they're making. Support British manufacturing!
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I'm veering towards getting new Petzl Spirits for all round use. They aren't the lightest but at 93g they're pretty light as well robust looking and nice to use.
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classic Shark. Ask for advice then don't listen to any of it!
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On the clip-sticking front...
I've got a set of Heliums that proved tricky to clip-stick, the solution is to squeeze the wires of the clip-stick together and push them inside the wire gate. The slight flare on the ends of the clip-stick wires seems to hold the gate back just fine.
Haven't had a problem with the gates sticking open, but then they have seen very little use really.
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classic Shark. Ask for advice then don't listen to any of it!
:-[
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From my recollection, the Astro's are very hard on the rope when you're working a route. I remember taking some falls onto one and hanging about on it and it doing some real damage to the rope.
I've always been a fan of the Helium though (albeit not the lightest).
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Personal 0:02 thrown into the mix - I like Spectre2s. Nice and simple, classic D design is easy to use, 2gm lighter than Alpha trads.
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Have been using Nitros (with a mix of Heliums and Xenons) for a while with skinny tapes, both for trad and sport and I get on well with them, apart from the skinny tape being hard to pull up on. No clean nose on the Nitro though.
Just recently I picked up a couple of Grivel beta draws which were cheap at Go Outdoors (hack, spit), which have a skinny tape with a plastic handle that makes it easier to pull up. Clean nose solid-gate alpha at one end and gamma wire gate (slightly smaller than the xenon but similar gate opening) at the other. Weighs in at 105gm. Haven't used them enough for an opinion other than they look nice...
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I'm veering towards getting new Petzl Spirits for all round use. They aren't the lightest but at 93g they're pretty light as well robust looking and nice to use.
If you decide on spirits definately worth looking at DMM alpha sports, I have a few of both and in my mind the alpha is the next generation spirit! You'll never fumble a clip again, 18cm slings great for getting clips in.
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If you decide on spirits definately worth looking at DMM alpha sports, I have a few of both and in my mind the alpha is the next generation spirit! You'll never fumble a clip again, 18cm slings great for getting clips in.
Funny, the first time I used Alpha sports was onsighting something on someone else's draws and I nearly blew two clips in a row by fumbling them. The gate shape just wasn't what I was used to.
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I'm veering towards getting new Petzl Spirits for all round use. They aren't the lightest but at 93g they're pretty light as well robust looking and nice to use.
I concur, they seem easier to clip than anything else somehow. Though the BD and DMM sport draws i like too.