Had a chat with an old school climber that made me question my whole gear setup

I was at a supply house in Phoenix last Tuesday picking up some throw line and this guy in his 60s starts talking to me about my saddle. He said I was carrying way too much on my belt and that all these extra carabiners and pulleys are just slowing me down. At first I got defensive because I like being prepared for anything, but then he showed me his setup - just a handsaw, a couple biners, and a lanyard. I realized I've been treating my gear like a tool belt when really I should be thinking about movement and balance up there. Has anyone else gone minimal on their climb kit and regretted it or actually found it helped?

2 comments

2 Comments

dakotaknight29d ago

Counterpoint: that guy is probably just set in his ways from a different era of climbing. I used to climb super minimal and guess what, I ended up having to bail on a pruning job because I didn't have a strop long enough to reach a limb that needed a redirect. Having extra pulleys and biners isn't about looking cool, it's about being able to adjust your system on the fly without coming down and rerigging everything. Sure, you don't need to carry every piece of gear you own up there, but going full minimalist just sounds like an accident waiting to happen when you hit that one awkward crotch or need a mechanical advantage to deal with a heavy limb.

markl7529d ago

Read something the other day from a guy who used to climb with just a handsaw and a couple carabiners. He said eventually he got caught in a situation where he needed to lower a heavy limb but had no way to get mechanical advantage. Had to cut it in risky pieces instead. That kind of story makes me think dakotaknight is right. Having a few extra pulleys and a strop or two is cheap insurance against having to make bad decisions up in the tree.