As the Rope of a Sport Climber undergoes a lot of stress, quality is very important. Independent what type of climber you are, you should always check that your rope is UIAA-rated. Always use single ropes between 10.5mm and 11mm in diameter. The length of the rope should be at least 50 meters, since many new sport routes feature anchors 30 meters off the deck. A dry-treatment is not necessary. But in order to protect your rope from chemicals, dirt, and the sun, a rope bag is very useful. This extends its life by many pitches. Choose a Lightweight Harness with a Belay Loop and 2 to 4 Gear Loops. Padding is ok, but it is not really necessary. Sport Climbing only makes you stay in your harness for max. 10 minutes. Beginners should choose lace up climbing shoes as these have thicker soles. Many climbers recommend to choose your rock climbing shoes 1 to 2 sizes smaller than the size you would normally wear, but as beginner you do need to make sure you still feel comfortable with it. Advanced climber can go for slippers. Slippers have thinner soles and make you feel the rocks more than lace up shoes. As a beginner you should choose a Belay Plate with an Autolocking Carabiner that has a very firm brake action, but still allows your rope to feed quickly in and out. If you start to climb more often, you can opt for a self-locking belay device. This device is not suitable for beginners, as the rope tends quite often to jam in this device if not properly used. Buy a dedicated climbing helmet that is either (or both) UIAA or CEN certified. If you need to lead a climb and therefore need to setup a number of top ropes that are anchored to bolts, trees, or large rocks, you will need a number of quickdraws, preferably 12 or more. Each should have a straight-gate carabiner at one end for clipping the bolt hanger, and either a bent-gate or wire-gate biner on the other end to accept the rope easily. |
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