CLIMBING EQUIPMENT GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS

 

GETTING STARTED

Many people get their first experience of rock climbing on our indoor climbing wall, using equipment loaned by friends or hired from Reception.

For those who 'get the bug' and want to do more, there are several basic items of equipment that they will need to purchase or hire.

• Climbing shoes
• Harness
• Belay device
• Karabiner
• Chalk bag

 

Climbing Shoes

When buying your first pair of climbing shoes, comfort is the most important factor. As you get better at climbing, you may decide that with subsequent pairs of shoes that you are willing to sacrifice some comfort for extra climbing performance (the ability to stand on smaller edges, etc), but when starting out, you will climb much better in comfortable shoes than in a pair which cripple your feet. Go for a basic lace-up shoe.

 

Harness

For any type of roped climbing, a harness is one of the most important and probably the most used item of equipment for the beginner. There are a wide range of harnesses on the market, all designed for different types of climbing (sport, alpine, winter, trad, etc.), but any CE marked harness that fits correctly will be OK for a beginner.

However, most climbers have aspirations to try different styles of climbing (i.e. to progress from indoor to outdoor, rock climbing to ice climbing, etc) and for this reason it makes a lot of sense to buy a versatile, 'all-round' style of harness. Go for a fully padded, fully adjustable harness that is big enough to be comfortable even when wearing lots of clothes but adjusts enough to be tight and safe when wearing a tee shirt at the wall or if we get a summer!

Always read and understand the manufactures instructions.

 

Belay Device

A belay device is essential for most types of roped climbing in order to control the rope when belaying.   These come in a variety of shapes and colours but are simply divided into three main categories.

Slick devices, such as the ATC, are good and are probably the most diverse and common friction device used at most walls to date.

Grabby devices, such as the old fashioned sticht plate, are a bit sticky and aren’t really suitable for lead belaying.

Locking devices, such as the EDDY or GRI GRI, are very popular - if somewhat expensive - but they do auto lock if your climber falls. They are not designed as hands free units, a controlling hand must be kept on the dead rope at all times.

Always read and understand the manufactures instructions.

 

  

 Karabiner

When choosing a karabiner to use with your belay device, go for a larger 'HMS' type. Only ever use a karabiner with a locking gate for belaying purposes.

 

Chalk Bag

There are loads of shapes, sizes and colours to choose from - some designs have a zip pocket which can be very handy for small items like jewellery or keys.  Inverness Leisure asks that climbers use chalk balls inside their chalk bag as they produce less dust than loose-chalk.