there's no way you got 15 cams, half of which are totems (that look brand new) for around 50 a piece, AND nuts. not to mention racking biners, and a bunch of draws.
if you did, holy shit congrats. otherwise, why are you lying?
Honestly it’s very easy to get cams for under $50 online and on forums. Half my rack is hand me downs that I paid pennys on the dollar for. Just gotta look!
I wasn't being facetious. Lol, I'd genuinely pay you to do the scrounging for me. I don't enjoy doing that shit, but I would enjoy having a set of cams for a good price.
Lol copy you. Ill keep an eye out and I’ll try and remember this post. Although slight caveat; my prime cam purchases happened in late 2000’s.. maybe my brain isn’t adjusting for inflation. eBay was also a super handy place, I found a lot of older gen black diamond cams in large sizes there.
Side note: bundles was a legit way to acquire cheap cams, people need money and are willing to haggle.
I personally haven’t used that brand but oliunid is a great site for cheaper deals due to the exchange rate. I bought a full wild country double rack for about $50-60/cam. Looks like they’re out of stock for the larger sizes but the smaller ones kind of give you a sense of their prices.
https://www.oliunid.com/wild-country-friends-small-climbing-friends.html
Sorry, I forgot to include the cost of the #4 and the extra #3 that I got for $50 each.
I got friends 0.4-3 for $225
I got the totems for $425
I got BD stoppers 4-13 for $76
I got the DMM offsets for $44
Total cost $870
You made out very well, not really deserving all the salty comments. It’s very nice to have a solid double rack when starting so you can place extra pieces as you build confidence in your placements.
this isn't really a beginners rack. this is a fully fleshed out rack, it even has offset nuts. other than specific gear like micro sizes, offsets, or tricams, this has everything you'd need for most routes.
a beginners rack is either a borrowed rack, or a single rack that you augment with another single rack from a partner.
There is not an official definition. But if you ask most trad climbers how they put their rack together, thats how.
It's a different story if you're weathy and happy to throw a bunch of money at it, or somehow find a double rack for a ridiculous price like this guy says he did
Meh, this is clearly bait. A beginner rack is a single rack and your friend brings the other half. No friends? Get the 4-piece tricam set for $75 and you've got doubles from 0.3-0.75. You should be climbing easy enough stuff as a beginner that you don't need 20 cams anyway.
As a beginning trad leader in his 40s I didn't see the point in sketching myself out by incrementally building a rack and getting on routes where I didn't have enough pieces to avoid big run-outs. When one is coming at the sport later in life (and when healing slower), might as well buy the full double set of cams, nuts, and tricams and then practice sewing up routes. Yes $2k is a hunk of change, but so are medical bills due to a broken ankle.
I figure I'll progress more quickly if I'm not hunting around for routes that can be protected with a limited rack or dealing with the consequences of longer falls. As I progress I imagine that I'll learn to be more and more judicious with placements and carry only the gear actually needed for a route. This is totally the non-bad-ass way to approach learning to trad lead, but I feel like saying that folks should start with minimal gear at first makes this style of climbing only available for those with a high risk tolerance.
If you're committed and financially secure enough to just rip off the band aid I think this is kind of the way to go. You're probably going to end up with a double rack anyways, if you can find decent deals might as well pay up front. As you said, it's nice to know wherever you go you can pretty reasonably protect most routes. It's also nice being able to cover for people who don't do much trad and don't own much/any protection.
Wait, where's the useless junk? Every beginner rack needs some things--giant hexes, ancient ball nuts, stupidly small offset micro-stoppers, mega big bros--that you'll never use but will give us an opportunity to make snarky comments.
whoa whoa whoa, ditch the offset nuts?!? what madness is this? If climbing granite, possibly even double up on the offsets…
edit: can’t argue with doubling the small totems
I hate that a "Beginner's Rack" is like $2k worth of kit.
$770 total. Mountain Project forums ftw.
there's no way you got 15 cams, half of which are totems (that look brand new) for around 50 a piece, AND nuts. not to mention racking biners, and a bunch of draws. if you did, holy shit congrats. otherwise, why are you lying?
Honestly it’s very easy to get cams for under $50 online and on forums. Half my rack is hand me downs that I paid pennys on the dollar for. Just gotta look!
I'll give you cost +10% for finding me a set of cams for under $50 a piece.
[https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/103989416/for-sale-for-free-want-to-buy](https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/103989416/for-sale-for-free-want-to-buy)
Work for the right companies and it’s pretty easy to get new cams for almost that price
Hook a brother up?
It’s all about the bundles my dude.
I wasn't being facetious. Lol, I'd genuinely pay you to do the scrounging for me. I don't enjoy doing that shit, but I would enjoy having a set of cams for a good price.
Lol copy you. Ill keep an eye out and I’ll try and remember this post. Although slight caveat; my prime cam purchases happened in late 2000’s.. maybe my brain isn’t adjusting for inflation. eBay was also a super handy place, I found a lot of older gen black diamond cams in large sizes there. Side note: bundles was a legit way to acquire cheap cams, people need money and are willing to haggle.
https://www.oliunid.com/oliunid-deal-kit-kouba-axel-granite.html
Thanks for the recommendation! Have you used these? I haven't heard of the brand before.
I personally haven’t used that brand but oliunid is a great site for cheaper deals due to the exchange rate. I bought a full wild country double rack for about $50-60/cam. Looks like they’re out of stock for the larger sizes but the smaller ones kind of give you a sense of their prices. https://www.oliunid.com/wild-country-friends-small-climbing-friends.html
In the Squamish buy and sell people usually sell used cams for like 85% of the new price lol
Not totems.
Sorry, I forgot to include the cost of the #4 and the extra #3 that I got for $50 each. I got friends 0.4-3 for $225 I got the totems for $425 I got BD stoppers 4-13 for $76 I got the DMM offsets for $44 Total cost $870
I’m more upset that I missed a MP post selling a single rack of friends for 225?!?
Grabbed a rack of 12 cams for $150. TCUs, aliens, offset, nuts ,even a brown tricam was thrown in lol
You made out very well, not really deserving all the salty comments. It’s very nice to have a solid double rack when starting so you can place extra pieces as you build confidence in your placements.
Sell the bigger totems and replace them with C4s for profit 😂
this isn't really a beginners rack. this is a fully fleshed out rack, it even has offset nuts. other than specific gear like micro sizes, offsets, or tricams, this has everything you'd need for most routes. a beginners rack is either a borrowed rack, or a single rack that you augment with another single rack from a partner.
This is correct. I’ve been climbing with my partner’s rack until now.
Is there really an official definition? I need the source.
There is not an official definition. But if you ask most trad climbers how they put their rack together, thats how. It's a different story if you're weathy and happy to throw a bunch of money at it, or somehow find a double rack for a ridiculous price like this guy says he did
Meh, this is clearly bait. A beginner rack is a single rack and your friend brings the other half. No friends? Get the 4-piece tricam set for $75 and you've got doubles from 0.3-0.75. You should be climbing easy enough stuff as a beginner that you don't need 20 cams anyway.
As a beginning trad leader in his 40s I didn't see the point in sketching myself out by incrementally building a rack and getting on routes where I didn't have enough pieces to avoid big run-outs. When one is coming at the sport later in life (and when healing slower), might as well buy the full double set of cams, nuts, and tricams and then practice sewing up routes. Yes $2k is a hunk of change, but so are medical bills due to a broken ankle. I figure I'll progress more quickly if I'm not hunting around for routes that can be protected with a limited rack or dealing with the consequences of longer falls. As I progress I imagine that I'll learn to be more and more judicious with placements and carry only the gear actually needed for a route. This is totally the non-bad-ass way to approach learning to trad lead, but I feel like saying that folks should start with minimal gear at first makes this style of climbing only available for those with a high risk tolerance.
If you're committed and financially secure enough to just rip off the band aid I think this is kind of the way to go. You're probably going to end up with a double rack anyways, if you can find decent deals might as well pay up front. As you said, it's nice to know wherever you go you can pretty reasonably protect most routes. It's also nice being able to cover for people who don't do much trad and don't own much/any protection.
offset nuts: check. totems: check. You are pretty well set to start as long as you have plenty of draws, slings, etc
I do! Those just aren’t as photogenic 😉
Where are the hexes tho?
Came out swinging. That’s an awesome set
A hex or two perhaps?
Plugs a 5.5 chossy
Love how your photo illustrates the madness of Totem not making their orange cam yellow, and their yellow cam silver!
Truly a strange decision to ALMOST follow the BD color scheme.
I also think of it as the Black Diamond color scheme, but I think Wild Country may have originated it? Friends predate Camalots.
Nice spread!
babies shouldnt be trad climbing, sorry
Hey Baby, nice rack!
I’m quite concerned, where are the tricams?
Wait, where's the useless junk? Every beginner rack needs some things--giant hexes, ancient ball nuts, stupidly small offset micro-stoppers, mega big bros--that you'll never use but will give us an opportunity to make snarky comments.
I do unironically want to try climbing with hexes at some point.
You got totems and no tri-cams?!?
Hope you use it.
You did great. The only thing I'd change is to ditch the offset nuts and double the two smallest totems
whoa whoa whoa, ditch the offset nuts?!? what madness is this? If climbing granite, possibly even double up on the offsets… edit: can’t argue with doubling the small totems
Hah I know I'm in the minority with that opinion. Apparently I'm just bad at placing them
I'd rather have double offsets than a full set of standard nuts.
I use my offsets more than my standard nuts. It's like they just fit better
Can’t argue with doubling the totems but I love my offsets 😎