UKC

Any wise views ?

What are the pros and cons of quickdraw length ?
PlasyB taught me, as I remember, that the further you extend gear, the less likely it is to pull out. And several months climbing later, I tend to agree - I've never found anything against this advice.

So, when buying a set of draws, I'm tending to go for the longest. What difference does it make ?

1) Gear less likely to pull
2) A wee wee wee bit heavier
3) I guess you fall a bit further...
4) They dangle around your knees irritatingly

They'll be used in the Alps as well as UK crags, so let me know what you think. Thanks !

Y

In reply to Yanchik:
i always carry a mixture with a few shorter ones for the lower pieces of gear that extra 4 or 5 inches might be the difference

In reply to Yanchik:

most of mine are 20cm dyneema witha couple shorter and one on a very stiff stitched tape which was invaluable for a reachy peg in a thin situation.

20cm seems to give loads of flexibility without beating your kneecaps up

In reply to Yanchik:

I've got a load of 4ft dyneema slings trebled up so you get the best of both worlds. No dangly things on your harness, works well as a short runner and the flexibility to pull out a long runner when you need it. Very useful in the big mountains too as it can be used effectively for spikes, threads etc..

Don't know how to describe how you treble the sling up best: I think there was a long thread about this a while ago. Bascially hold one crab in your hand and let the sling and the other crab hang. Pass the bottom crab through the top crab. Stop and look at what you've got when the bottom crag has been passed halfway through the top crab - you've got two loops of sling hanging down. Finish passing the crab through and clip those two loops. In effect each crab is clipped into 3 loops of sling. Unclip any two of these to extend.

My quickdraw lengths are:
4x20cm
6x30cm
2x60cm

I guess its a personal thing as to how long you like your quickdraws but their are definate advantages of having longer extenders on trad gear but for sport climbing long quickdraws can be annoying...

Daniel

In reply to Yanchik: Outside are doing a deal on the very tasty Wild Country Wire/spectra ones, they offer them in a longer format for trad which is ideal for the alps. I did a route with a mate recently who does'nt use quickdraws at all, he has a set of wires, a set of rocentrics, and 10 60cm slings that go over the shoulder with a krab on each plus some spare. This is purely for easy trad or alpine stuff, you can use these for spikes/threads or as quickdraws. It seemed to work well, you can make up a couple of quickdraws as said above if you need them.

In reply to DannyB:

Good work to everyone, thanks. Particularly like the sling idea - most handy.

Y

In reply to Yanchik:
Also the main reason for having different lengths of quick draw is to keep the rope running straight instead of zig zagging up the rock alot less drag

In reply to Yanchik: I'll second that about the extendable quickdraws - very handy, but worth practicing extending them one-handed!

In reply to Ali:

All personal preference, I know, but I find extendable quick draws too bulky (they don't sit well in constricted placements either). Nowadays, I just carry a mixture (8 shorter, 4 longer and a couple of slings) on longer pitches.

Don't underestimate the psychological value of those extra few inches of fall saved by using a shorter quickdraw !

In reply to GrahamD:

I tend to place something quite early just to get the rope routed/slack taken up. That'd be an obvious candidate for a short draw, and then another short one for the first "effective" piece of gear.

For my mighty VSs, the best psychological value I'm getting is when I think the gear might stay in more than a couple of moves... Hence my enthusiasm to extend, and for slings. You know when you've placed a good sling...

Y