IN GEAR TRAD PETZL SIROCCO HELMET | £105
Super-light, amazingly comfortable, you’ll not even know you’re wearing it. So you might as well wear it! Some people don’t bother with a lid because there ‘won’t be any loose rock on this classic’, but really, you never know.
petzl.com
CLIMBING PETZL SWIFT HEADTORCH | £96
I ALWAYS take a torch. Even if just single-pitch tradding, inevitably I’ll have too much fun and end up walking back in the dark! The Swift is ultra-compact but has a huge beam to get you out of difficult spots (like locating an abseil!).
petzl.com DMM DRAGON CAMS | FROM £70
Cams are an essential part of a trad climber’s rack. These are my absolute go-to. Being a qualified and slightly geeky engineer these bits of kit really excite me. Just feel that smooth action as you place them into the rock!
dmmwales.com
A NUT KEY | ABOUT £10 MARMOT FEATHERLESS HYBRID JACKET | £140 Trad climbing is the full package. There may be long belays in the wind, sea
spray, a second who you were so sure was up to it… Basically, you need clothes that will perform well to climb in but also keep you warm when stationary. The Hybrid Jacket is the business – I consider it my ‘Pembroke’ Jacket.
marmot.com
Without a nut key you may not get protection out, which is expensive and frustrating, but more importantly, a lump of rusty metal is now stuck forever; potentially handy as ‘in-situ gear’ for a while but jamming up what might be a useful hold. Don’t get the most expensive one, as inevitably you’ll drop it into the sea at some point.
Available from all climbing shops
PETZL VOLTA 9.2MM TRIPLE-RATED ROPE | £158 (50M)
The triple rating means the rope has been approved to work on its own as a single rope (as for sport climbing), as one half of a double-rope system (typical for British trad with protection points out to the side and not in a straight line), and as one half of a twin-rope system (both strands clipped as one). The beauty is that you’re armed for everything, including bailing to a sport cliff if the mountains are rained off, or even indoors!
petzl.com 14 | CLIMB. WALK. JOIN. HARDBAR | £19 / 12 BAR BOX FIVETEN NIAD LACE ROCK SHOES | £120
These revitalise the classic Anasazi: the same awesome performance with an even better heel and time-tested Stealth C4 rubber. They have a flat profile and stiff midsole which is essential for most trad climbing; we need relatively comfortable shoes that provide support for long-term standing on small holds.
fiveten.com
For when you get hungry, and your food is in your bag at the bottom of the cliff at least an hour away… Chuck a hardbar in your pocket. Hardbars taste great, and they’re actually good for you, too!
hard.bar
WHAT THE PRO TAKES:
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