A_Little_Off_Route

It's because you posted in the "Newbies" section about a cam up your ass. C'mon man, how could you NOT think that would get sarcastic responses? Are you kidding? Sarcasm is what I was hoping for (and a little good advice). I was expecting jokes about lube, camming range based on the "experience" of the climber, jokes about kilonewtons of sphincter tightness etc. It was the "that's the dumbest question I've ever had anyone in world ask, and by the way all your other posts suck too" comments that I took offense to. I think you can see the difference. I'm all about the sarcasm and humor. Which leads me to my next quesion, is Metolius the smoothest cam lube???? :-) Off_Route

Amen brother. The more you know, the less you need to bring. Off_Route

Bullshit. I spend hundreds of hours every year instructing beginners. Nobody has ever asked me anything as stupid as "how do I not sit on my cams?" If you lack common sense to this degree, I would advise you that climbing is not a sport you should be involved in. In retrospect, it's a stupid question. I'm not going to apologize for wasting your time though because you are the one who keeps coming back and keeps replying. Your last sentence is once I've seen hundreds of times on rock climbing forums during my research and lurking. Ask a question: and either get called a n00b or told "yr gunna die" or "if you ask questions that stupid you're not smart enough to climb." As for trolling, I was starting to let your posts get to me and seriously considered just departing CC.com entirely. I am pleased however that others have taken the time to answer my less than stellar question with good advice, or have the good manners to ignore my question if it's really that bad. So I'll stay here, since I think the good outweighs the bad and I found the ignore button! Troll problem solved! If you think my posts are wasting your time, I suggest you try it. You can find it under my profile by clicking on my name. Thanks again for everyone else's responses. I'll try and ask better questions in the future. Regards, Off_Route

Why do you reply to this thread if you think it's worthless? Didn't your mother tell you that if you don't have anything nice to say..... geez... this is supposed to be the only spray-free place on CC.com Why so many stupid questions? Partially to generate traffic. I'm currently days away from expecting my first baby and so I can't really be out on the rock 5 pitches up, away from cell reception, learning it all in person right now. Instead I come to learn some stuff from these forums and I find active topics much more interesting than just searching old threads and mining them for info (which I also do). One of my issues is that I've learned most all of what I know following guides for 4 years on rock and have only now started reading books and asking theory questions in the net. Where are the small ledges you ask? Arapiles, where I did almost all of my climbing for the first 4 years I climbed. It seemed that half the belay ledges were tiny. Maybe the sandstone and granite you have up here never have that problem. Off_Route

Thanks buck. I hadn't thought of it from the angle of intentionally using up the big gear. Makes sense, and is exactly why I asked this kind of question. The title was used to add some levity and humor, and I'm not sure why it would be seen as a troll post. In my experience posting on forums (anyone remember bulletin boards and 14.4 modems?) troll posts are usually when people are trying to piss other people off. If my post looked like a troll post then I offer my apologies for that! I'll ask a better n00b question next time. Promise. Thanks for the answer though.... Off_Route

I've noticed that rock climbing is really not friendly to their less experienced participants. It's so different on the rock climbing forums compared to say, the sailing forums I frequent. I find it rather disturbing that the biggest insult in rock climbing is to refer to someone as new. Everybody was a n00b once right? So on a small ledge what do you do? I'm not talking about one where there is room to move the cams aside. Do you not rack the big ones in the back, or what? Off_Route Am I the only one that's ever belayed off of a 12" ledge before?

I've noticed that rock climbing is really not friendly to their less experienced participants. It's so different on the rock climbing forums compared to say, the sailing forums I frequent. I find it rather disturbing that the biggest insult in rock climbing is to refer to someone as new. Everybody was a n00b once right? So on a small ledge what do you do? I'm not talking about one where there is room to move the cams aside. Do you not rack the big ones in the back, or what? Off_Route

I was practicing making a belay the other day and when I sat down on the ledge, I noticed that it was darn difficult to sit on a bunch of big cams. It seems that most people rack small gear at the front of the harness and large gear at the back. What do you do about sitting on a small ledge with big cams on your rear loops? It was mighty uncomfortable. Off_Route

I just acquired a couple of BD's smaller cams. Unfortunately, compared to my DMM cams, the slings are a joke. Why even bother if they're so short? Would anyone clip these directly without adding a quickdraw or shoulder-length runner? I may end up adding my own slings to these puppies and I was wondering what the "perfect" length for cam slings would be. I know many use a quickdraw, but they very in length. Many use a "trad draw" or fully extended shoulder sling, but is 24" really the best length or is that just what's used because it's available? Imagine you can send your whole cam rack to Yates, what length sling would you ask for? Off_Route

Gold. All signal, no noise. Thanks! Off_Route

Yeah, that's what I know of as a trad draw. Cool trick, but I'd like to carry some extra 24" slings without needing 2 biners for each. Maybe I could tie an overhand knot in the middle and clip that.... Off_Route

I'm familiar with the "trad draw" that uses 2 biners. How does one rack a sling with one biner? Just let it hang down 24"? Off_Route

...with a gear sling. The hardmen that taught me to climb all used an over-the-shoulder gear sling on one side, and sewn or knotted slings on the other shoulder. I've just bought a Yates big wall harness and I have to say I like it. I've run into one problem though. Where to put the shoulder length runners? Double length runners fit nicely, Rambo-style around the chest with a biner. They can go under or over the Yates sling itself but under the gear itself. Unclip the biner and they come off. The shoulder length ones get stuck in all the hardware when you're trying to get them off and over your shoulder. Where do you put your 24" runners when you rack a Yates or similar gear rack? Off_Route

I am reading through the falcon guide on self rescue. Having learned to climb (rock not gym) nearly 20 years ago, and spending the last 11 years as a live-aboard sailor, I'm loving the serious complexity of some of the self rescue stuff. I guess I'm a bit of a rope/knot nerd at heart. It's been suggested many times that if you can't get through a tough part of a pitch, you can A0 your way through the hard bit and climb on instead of bailing. I like that idea a lot and the book shows the "classic aid sequence". I have to admit, it was more complex than I imagined, and involved aiders and daisy chains, which I don't plan on taking with me on a trad lead. What is your "sequence" for aiding through part of a trad lead? I know you can put a piece in, put a runner on the piece, and step on the runner, but does anyone have ideas that are better than that, but simpler perhaps than what's in the book? Off_Route

Ummmm... don't people these days use fancy expensive cams to build top rope anchors? I always used slings nuts and hexes but falling on a cam as part of a TR anchor is what I had in mind. Off_Route

DMM 4CU size #1 DMM 4CU size #1.5 DMM 4CU size #2 These are nearly new in box condition. They have been placed at ground level about a dozen times each. Never body weighted, never fallen upon even by top rope. The lobes show minimal scratching and the rest of the cam does not. The double length dyneema slings are in good condition and not frayed. They have been stored on top of my car's battery for easy accessability. Asking $120 +5 shipping. Cheapest price I could find for new ones was Gearexchange 55+55+60 = 170 for all three. Off_Route EDIT: I can't seem to find my camera but when I do I'll post pics. They are all shiny and anodized.... EDIT: Reasonable offers considered. though I'm not desperate to sell them....

Thanks for the write up. Why is it that flexability is a good thing in the smallest cams? Seems like a floppy cam might be hard to place and if you've got a runner on it, it won't walk or come out from rope drag.... What you you think of the 0.3? Not good? Off_Route

Awesome, what do you like better about these two types? Off_Route

What does everyone think of the 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 C4 camalots? I know camalots are heavier but have greater range etc etc, but do these same advantages/disadvantages play out in the smaller sizes? I currently only have BD double axle cams (older camalots) in size #1 and #2, my other cams down to 1" are DMM quad cams. Should I spring for some smaller C4s or are they crap and I should spend nearly twice as much on the ever popular Aliens? What says the hive? Off_Route

No experience with it myself but here are some reviews: Amazon reviews Campmor reviews Trailspace review Looks interesting. REI has one called the minimalist that looks similar though it has a face mesh and no ability to totally seal it off like the baffin. REI minimalist bivy Another idea if you don't mind the extra weight is to get a new/surplus or used US-ARMY 3-layer Gore-Tex bivy. They're about 2lbs (maybe more) if I recall correctly but they can be had new on ebay cheap and they are REAL Gore-Tex. Search for "ECWS bivy" and you'll find them on Ebay for $50 shipped. They do need to be seam sealed though. ECWS bivy My question about the Sierra bag is "Is it waterproof, and is it breathable." Because if it isn't both, it's not much good. If you get one, post a review. It looks promising, especially for the weight. Off_Route

Oh yeah, for alpine I think they have real advantages. Remember the old mountaineering books that talk about slinging horns and hanging something heavy off of it to weight it down? Well the Torque nuts have a double length sling, so you can use them as a hex, OR you can use them as a sling with a weight. Girth hitch, or overhand your horn and the weight of the cowbell can weigh it down. They can be runners, or hexes, and can be used to wrap around a tree as an anchor etc etc... The largest two are the loudest ones. Don't allow them to hang out on together unless you like the sound of the Swiss cheering you on. Off_Route

Morons??? You rang? I clicked that same button you did on gearX a couple of weeks ago. Torque nuttage is mine! I watched the slick DMM marketing video and I drank the Kool-Aid. Once they arrived though, my first impressions were a little mixed. For starters the DMM video says that their asymmetric shape makes them cover a larger range of sizes than regular hexes. I call bullshit! In fact the dimensions of the Torque Nuts is nearly identical to some of my other hexes. For example the yellow #3 Torque is nearly identical in all dimentions to my BD #9. I had thought that the small face (the widest measurement) would be a lot wider, and the other orientation would be a lot narrower. Nope, nearly identical held side by side. My other beef was that they were larger than I had though they'd be, but that was wholly my fault for not checking the sizes. They're big. #3 is a BD #9 and their #4 is as big as my largest (camp?) hex. Now the good. I am a convicted hexophile and as hexes go, they're better. They're not revolutionary, but they are evolutionary. What I like is that they're lighter (thinner aluminum) than my old camp hexes, I like the color coding for quick identification and I REALLY like the double length sling. The double length sling saves you the weight of a sling and second biner, or a quickdraw and it is long, slick, and works well. Over all, I'm glad that I have them, but honestly if I had to do it over again I don't think I'd spend the coin because 3 of the 4 are identical duplicates in shape to hexes I already have. For someone considering hexes for alipine though, I'd say go for it! They're light, and that double sling saves you even more weight in needing to carry less slings/biners/quickdraws. I'm off right now to my favorite practice spot to play with those very same torque nuts (and the rest of my gear). Off_Route

Granted it's not as important as some of the other gear perhaps, and definitely not as likely to be used but what exactly is the downside to carrying one whole asprin tablet? Weight? Expense? Space? Strokes aren't that common in the field but heart attacks are reasonably common. Think of say..... a grandpa taking his kids out and trying to keep up on a steep trail, exerting himself more than he ever does at home. Sound relevant to the original question? I think it does. Off_Route

Don't give aspirin for a suspected stroke!!! Actually that depends. What you say is true for 99% of the time, because 911 and help is close at hand. Unfortunately there is VERY VERY little we can to do help a stroke victim if they are not physically at a hospital within 3 hours or a stroke center within 5 hours of the onset of symptoms. Most strokes are embolic strokes (blood clot in an artery of the brain) and asprin can help relieve these just as it does with heart attacks (also blood clot in an artery). Furthermore, the signs and symptoms of a hemorrhagic stroke are different enough from what most people think of as "stroke symptoms" that it's not very likely that someone will give as asprin for a hemorrhagic stroke. Indeed, if you are at home, or anywhere near rapid transport to a hospital it is best practice not to give asprin. Out in the woods, with slurred speech, facial droop and a lame arm, you bet it's a good idea! Off_Route