UKC

Having just read some advice on the needlesports sight, a table there recommended racking nuts as such:

small nuts on one krab, larger on the other.

I used to do this until I realised it was wiser to rack two sets of nuts so that their sizes are spread fairly equally between the two krabs. The obvious reason for this is, if you drop a krab full of nuts, its better to have options left rather than limitations.

Just wanted to pass on some advice really.

In reply to athy: The problem I found with doing it like that was that unless you are guess as to which nut size you want is perfect, then you will need to keep swapping between two different krabs to find the right one... which I would think increases the chance of dropping one set..

But maybe I am just crap at guessing the nut size I need!!

In reply to FunkyNick: You're not alone! The energy I waste hanging on with one hand, faffing for the right size gear

In reply to Marc C: I wouldn't know about that as you don't often have to fiddle bits of gear in while hanging around on one arm on Diffs, am usually stood on a ledge big enough for a picnic..

In reply to FunkyNick: LOL I usually get to the point where I can't hang around any longer, and just go for anything remotely OK - usually hear them ripping out later

In reply to athy:

I do small & big. But if I'm on a multipitch or long route where it might matter if I drop half of them I often have two sets of nuts, so if I drop one lot then I'll still have the relevant sizes from the other set.

In reply to athy: slight variation- rack small and large on separate krabs, then put the two on separate 2ft slings around your neck/shoulder- that way, you can't drop them, and reduce the faffage problem; also if you are in a shitty position, you can drop the whole lot to hang onto the rock and not have them whizzing off to smack your belayer around the ears...

(spot the reformed malco!)

In reply to athy:

Assuming 2 sets = 20 nuts.

I tend to rack them on 3 krabs in small medium and large, but make sure that I have a bit of overlap (I swap 1 or 2 off the top end of one size range for the ones off the bottom of the next IYSWIM) This allows easier removal as 10 nuts on a krab are a bit clumsy, allows rough selection for size, lowers the possibility of choosing the wrong krab and has an element of redundancy if I drop a krab.

Hope this makes sense as I am posting after a night of lambing ewes

Regards

Tim

In reply to dave_strachan: ooooh - nice tip - and I was about to contribute to this thread to say that in 20 years I have only ever once dropped a set of wires, and that was because I didn't clip 'em right on the belay ledge - they were still there when I stood up.

But I carry slings anyway, and place wires a lot...so I'll be trying that one out. - ta.

In reply to athy: While we're on the handy hints, my tip is to always rack nuts on a karabiner that has no notch opposite the gate. I use two Petzl spirits, was converted after one too many incidents involving the nuts getting hung up on bastard notch in karabiner...

In reply to dave_strachan: you forgot to mention that if you fall off after just setting the nut you'll probably hang yourself.

In reply to ttmor:

Great tip, I am the king of getting wires stuck in krab notches.....
Back to the OP, I do small and large on seperate krabs. If my ring finger, (stop sniggering), fits the crack it's small set, if not big set. Anything more complex than that would baffle my tiny brain.

In reply to Ridge:

And another one - don't use an oval krab as you can't see which way the gate opens.

In reply to timjones:

Makes sense to me Tim as this is exactly what I do

In reply to athy: even better is to split them between 3 krabs, small medium and large sizes, means you can add extra small or mediums etc depending on rock type requirements, krabs weigh nothing these days so it doesnt matter.

In reply to athy:

I have one crab of tiny nuts for when I'm really scared/desparate for placements.

Then (more or less) 2 full sets of nuts on separate krabs, one on each side. This means:
a) If I drop one krab then it's not the end of the world
b) If you're placing gear with only one free hand then you don't have to reach around yourself to get a krab off the opposite side of your harness
c) If I go climbing on grit or something else small I only need to take one krab rather than faff about pulling a single set off 2 or 3 other krabs
d) I have problems with racking lots of similar sized nuts together as this means that if you try one and it's just too small/big, it's harder to identify which is the next size up/down (when I'm afraid my ability to read the numbers usually gets impaired for some reason)

Victim of Mathematics

In reply to athy:


I like some of the ideas. I think the sling for long serious routes is a good idea, but I don't see myself doing it. I think I'd rely on my full set of rocks on one krab, full set or wallnuts on the other krab and whatever hexes, cams I am carrying. Perhaps, when faffing high up, I might simply attach the nuts krab I am using to a sling already around my neck - hmmm faffy though, taking it on and off each time.