Rock Climbing Gear: Slings and 'Biners

Welcome back, AkshunKat fans!

I've been talking for a while about how to get started in Rock Climbing, but I want to take a step sideways for a minute here to talk about some of the gear that I've mentioned - mainly for Sport Climbing and Traditional Lead Climbing.

Below is the ubiquitous carabiner.  This is the most basic piece of equipment that you'll need once you move beyond the gear-free (or at least mostly gear-free) world of Bouldering.  Once you get into roped climbing and belaying - even just Top Roping - you'll need at least one of these little guys.  

You'll notice that I have marked my carabiners with red and black electrical tape so I know which ones are mine when I'm climbing with someone else.  (If you find a carabiner with that tape on it somewhere in the world, you'll know it's mine.  And believe me, I've left gear - accidentally or sometimes on purpose - all over the place!)

For Top Roping at a gym or anyplace where someone else has already built an anchor for you to use at the top of the climb, you'll need 1 locking carabiner to attach your belay device to your harness.  You might also need another 'biner or two to connect you to the ground if you are belaying someone who is much heavier than you.  You'll find out why if the Climber that you are belaying falls, and you find yourself being pulled up into the air!

For a "fixed" (permanent) anchor/belay station at the top of a climb outdoors - NOT in a gym - you'll probably need at least a couple more (plus some slings) to connect yourself while you do whatever it is you're going to do next.

If you will be building your own Top Rope anchor, then you'll need a few of these - as well as some other gear like cord, webbing, and protection.

As you can see in the picture, locking 'biners have some kind of mechanism that prevents the "gate" from opening accidentally.  The two on the upper right are "screw-locks," which means that you screw them closed to lock them.  There is a red indicator that tells you that the gate is not locked, so if you see red, you know that you are not locked!  To lock it, screw it closed until you can't see any red.

Other carabiners have a "twist-lock" mechanism, which means that you can't open the 'biner unless you twist the gate and THEN open it.  Both systems work, and there may even be a few other systems that I'm forgetting; but as long as it's really hard for the 'biner to open accidentally - while still being easy enough for you to open it when you need to - it should be fine.

The two non-locking 'biners in the picture above are of the oval shape (the black one) and the "D" shape.  Oval carabiners are more versatile, and "D" shaped carabiners can actually be a little stronger, but they'll both work fine for most purposes.

If you are Leading, you'll need a bundle of carabiners when you get to the top of your pitch.  You'll use them for all of the basic tasks of building an anchor, connecting yourself to that anchor, belaying your partner up, and so on.  They also come in handy for securing certain items so you won't drop them, like a water bottle or a backpack.

The next most basic piece of equipment is the sling, or the "quickdraw".  In the picture below, the yellow thing is just a regular sling.  It's about 2 feet long (they come in different lengths), but if you double or triple it up it's easier to manage.  You don't want 2 foot long slings hanging off of the gear loops on your harness, because they'll interfere with your footwork or get snagged. 

You could leave them at full length and throw them over one of your shoulders, but that can make it more difficult to access sometimes.  Usually, it's a good idea to put some slings on your harness (on both sides - right and left), and two or three over your shoulder, just so you have a choice.  If you get into an awkward body position, one may be easier to get at than the other.

One non-locking carabiner on each end allows you to clip the sling into a bolt or other piece of "pro" and then clip the other end into the rope.  If friction, or "rope drag" isn't a problem (I'll address that in a separate entry), then you can leave it doubled or tripled up, but if rope drag IS a problem, you can let all of the sling out (in this case to 2 feet long) to reduce it.

Basically, if a climb goes straight up, then you won't have much of a problem with rope drag, but if the climb meanders around, then you'll want to extend your slings to reduce that drag. 

The yellow sling below has regular oval-shaped carabiners.

On the bottom of the picture is a typical "quickdraw."  It's a more specialized (and expensive) version of a sling, with sewn loops on each end to keep the 'biners in place.  Used mainly for Sport Climbing, they are also usually paired with specially shaped carabiners.  This includes the "bent-gate" version on the left end in the photo.  The bent gate is used for the rope end, because it makes it a little easier to clip in the rope if you are really tired and freaked out because you're about to fall.

Quickdraws also usually have a little rubber holder that keeps the carabiner from flipping upside down and holds it firmly in place while you're trying to clip.  If you are climbing at the limits of your abilities, then those little details could make the difference between success or failure.

The downside of quickdraws is that they are not very versatile.  You can't lengthen them to reduce rope drag, and it's not that easy to pull that bent-gate 'biner out of it's little rubber holder to use it for some other purpose.

This is why it's good to have a mix, depending on what kind of climbing you're actually doing.

And remember, you need to have enough slings to complete the pitch AND have some left over to use at the belay station.

Let's say that you are climbing a 100 foot pitch, and you put in a piece of protection every 10 feet.  That means that you'll put in 9 pieces, so you'll need 9 slings for the route.  Then, when you complete the final 10 feet to the belay station, you'll need 2 more slings (or you can just use your rope plus 1 sling) to attach yourself to the anchor.  So, in this case, you'll need 10 or 11 slings for the route.

I usually carry 12, plus a little bundle of extra locking carabiners and a cordelette - which is just a really long sling that can be useful for wrapping around a tree, building an equalized anchor (I'll cover that in a later entry) or tripled or quadrupled up and used like a regular sling.

So that just about covers carabiners and slings, which really are the backbone of your climbing system.

In the next entry, I'll go into the different types of gear that are used for PROTECTION.

Until then, stay safe, and don't climb anything until you REALLY know what you are doing!

See you soon,

Chris at AkshunKat