Broadly speaking, rock climbing is an act of ascending rock formations that are steep. Normally, gear and safety equipment especially designed for the climbers use this purpose. Mental control, strength and endurance are very essential in rock climbing, to cope with dangerous and tough physical challenges. It is also vital to have the required knowledge of climbing techniques and know the method of using essential equipment and gear. Although rock climbing is done outdoors, many cities are becoming home to indoor rock climbing gyms that can be used to match the skill level that is needed for outdoor climbing.
Rock climbing is a very exciting sport that involves challenge and a lot of physical exertion. However, it can be very dangerous if it is not done properly. Basically, there are two types of rock climbing:
. Aid climbing- In this type of climbing, gears such as ladders, ropes and bolts are used.
. Free climbing- In this type of climbing, no gear is used except for safety.
You need to use the right gear to make rock climbing easy and safe for you. Some of the basic equipment for rock climbing includes:
Rope, webbing and cord:
Ropes for climbing typically consist of a core of long and twisted fibers and an outer sheath of woven colored fibers. The core provides most of the tensile strength, while sheath acts as a durable layer, protecting the core. It also gives the rope some desirable handling characteristics. The two types of ropes are static and dynamic. Static ropes are not elastic and are usually used to carry or attach equipment. They reduce bounce and make it easy for the person to descend. Dynamic ropes have some elasticity and are used as belay ropes. Webbing is a flat rope without a core. It is made from exceptionally high strength material.
Carabiners:
They are metal loops with spring loaded gates that are used as connectors. Carabiners meant for recreational climbing are made of aluminum alloy. You need to select the shape of carabiners and type of gate, based on your specific requirement. Locking and non-locking carabiners are the two varieties.
Quickdraws:
This equipment is used by the climbers to attach ropes to bolt anchors and allow the rope to run through with less friction. This gear usually consists of two non-locking carabiners that are connected by a pre-sewn, short, loop of webbing.
Harnesses:
The equipment is used for attaching a rope to a person. Most of the harnesses that are used in climbing are worn around the waist, although other harnesses can be worn around the chest or full body. Sports climbers typically use minimalist harnesses, except with sewn gear loops. The Alpine climbers go in for lightweight harnesses with detachable leg loops.
Belay devices:
Belay devices are mechanical friction brake devices used when you are belaying. Belay devices allow careful control of belay ropes. The purpose is to let the rope lock with minimal effort.
Rappel devices (descenders):
These are like friction brake devices designed especially for descending ropes. Some of the belay devices can also be used like descenders. Rappel devices can be used just for descending, since it is not easy to feed rope through to belay.
Kris Koonar
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/rock-climbing-gear-128616.html
4 users commented in " Rock Climbing Gear "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackWhen are their good rock climbing gear sales?
I need a full rack for lead climbing and i have been searching like crazy because im not stoked about dishing out 2 grand for gear. I checked out REI and Backcountry outlets but they never seem to want to sell what i need for cheap
Get a job in a gear shop, then you'll get 50% off..
References :
The big iconic stores will hardly have a sale on all the gear you need. You’ll have to watch for clearance reductions when ever they occur. As Pro and ropes are kind of high end equipment and specialized the production people typically have a lot of stock they need to get rid off. Very often though a small gear store might be going out of business or changing their lines which might prompt them to give you some bargains. And you can always look on line, Mountain Gear.Com as well as others (check some of the past Q&A’s of other links to good gear stores) are great places to find cheaper prices. The other thing to do is to build your rack slowly, sharing leads will allow you to double the size of your rack and give you an idea as to what you might want to get for yourself.
References :
Good luck trying to build your rack over night. Some of the best racks (the climbing kind) I`ve seen were built up over a long time. Also, you don’t need every single type of pro out there. If you know the routes you will be leading you can pretty much guess the size of the cracks you will be using. I`d start off with just even or odd sizes and then maybe one or two extras. You also don’t need the entire spectrum from micro to super sized.
I would check out the major retailers from time to time for sales on different pieces of gear. Also like some one above suggested getting a job in an outdoor store to get huge discounts, but then you may not come out of there with a paycheck, I know I wouldn’t lol. If you know what you want I would search for deals online. Check out Backcountry.com they have great deals, especially in their outlet section of their site. Good Luck
References :
http://www.backcountry.com/store/cat/5/Climb.html