UKC

I am trying to find out what people look for when buying gear. Are you attracted to anything shiny or do you do your research? Do you wan't the lightest gear or do you want bomber protection? Will you buy anything new?

I know a lot of products will sell because people are entruiged by new designs & techniques to lock a carabiner or pull back a cam lobe but when you actually use them do they perform as you expected? Have they been marketed well but designed terribly?

There are loads of great innovations out there but there's also some terrible ones too. I guess that taste, branding and requirement also play a large factor in this too.

I wan't to know which products have pleased, which have disapointed & what you would like to see on your rack.

In reply to felixizzy:

A hell of a lot of questions here. I'm not going to be very expansive because basically it sounds like you are doing market research and should pay a score of climbers to sit in a room and debate all of this rather than looking for information for free on a forum :P


Research. Usually exhaustively unless I am constrained for time.


Bomber protection. Lighter is nice too but variety and ease of placement trumps lightness every time.


This can be interpretted in two ways so there are two answers:
1) Yes, I buy lots of things new. In terms of climbing protection I buy everything new though I've bought second hand ropes before.
2) No, I do not just buy anything because it is new.


Things generally perform as I expect. I have been dissapointed by microcams in the past.


Marketting has no effect on what gear I buy. I buy gear because I have tried someone elses and like it or because I see it in the shop, fondle it and like it.


This isn't a question if if it was:
Taste and branding: For climbing protection, nope. I buy many brands and the only piece of gear I routeinely stroke and coo softly too as I explain its sexyness to other climbers is the Reverso.
Requirement? You have lost me here. I buy the gear I need, yes.


Pleased - Reverso. alien cams. IMPs + RPs. Dragons + Camalots.
disappointed - zeros. BD microcams (anytime I use someone elses). Astro nuts.
I'd like to see a sucker cup with a breaking strength of 14kN which can be placed on any rock surface!

In reply to henwardian:

By requirement I mean using specific gear for a specific type of climbing. Slating a bouldering matt because it was really heavy & impractical when you took it alpine climbing doesn't make it a bad product, just a misused one.

You didn't have to answer all of the questions, but I'm glad you did. I'm doing a bit of research for uni project.

In reply to felixizzy:

Bought the BD Magnetron because it looked sexy, but it matched my hopes performance-wise. Will be my go-to belay carabiner for the foreseeable future.

In reply to felixizzy:


I think that if you say it is research for a university project in the OP, you would get more replies.
If you have not already done so, I'd suggest interviewing people you meet at your local wall too. Record what they say on dictaphone. If it were me, I'd wait till they were vulnerable, having a coffee and flapjack and swoop in with the "uni project, just a few questions about climbing equipment"...

In reply to felixizzy:

In short; the cheapest product that gives me the performance I want.

In some case I may want the absolute maximum performance available on the market, in other cases it may be that one of the cheapest products suffices. Although, after nearly 20 years of climbing and mountaineering and another decade on top of hillwalking, I do have the advantage of having a fairly clear idea of what my needs are and what would actually be overkill.

Both. I am naturally curious and actively research new products that catch my attention. I also continually research potential future purchases.

A poor question. What is it you are actually asking?

And another one. It doesn't make much sense either.

A better question but please do get a spell checker.
The vast majority of the gear I have bought recently has performed as expected, but I've now been buying gear for a long time. However, over the years I've bought plenty of gear that didn't perform. In fact at some point I've bought examples of pretty much everything that I didn't like including, but not limited to:
nuts, hexes, slings, carabiners, quickdraws, cams, ropes, rockshoes, rucsacs, walking poles, tents, sleeping mats, boots & crampons.

In some cases, yes. In other cases it was more a case that I didn't have a clear enough idea of my requirements or I was trying a bit too hard to save money.

(Again, please enable a spell checker on your browser!)
That list would run to hundreds of items, but I've had products from most major manufacturers including DMM, Wild Country, Petzl, Black Diamond, Sportiva, The North Face and Mountain Equipment that fall into both categories.

Do you mean in terms of existing gear I'd like to buy or new products I'd like to be available?

If the later:
- DMM Wallnuts 7-9 on spectra cord
- A lightweight micro-HMS for use with a DMM Buggette and/or super-skinny single ropes.

More generally, apart from wanting a dedicated set of Petzl Spirit draws for sport climbing, I am currently very happy with my rack - or in reality multiple different racks; scrambling, trad, sport, winter, alpine, aid, rigging etc. all of which have varying requirements.

In reply to felixizzy:

I want all stuff to be light, cheap and durable.

In reply to felixizzy:

I like gear which just makes itself that bit easier to use than the competition. For example, the Black Diamond Gridlock HMS krab - a little bit of extra metal prevents the thing ever working itself into a cross loading position when belaying. Or the DMM Dragon cams - the built in extendible sling makes them so much easier to rack neatly and extend (makes me wish I'd known about their hexes too before I bought the Rockcentrics - good hexes, but they don't have DMMs extendible sling).

In reply to felixizzy:

I don't buy stuff very often, just when I really need it because something old has broken or worn out...

I want something that does the job, so fairly standard stuff often. If I've had a bad experience with something in the past, with it not working properly, then I will make sure that I avoid making the same mistake twice. I'd rather have gear that works and is good quality than worry too much about the look or the price, especially as I'm not really into shopping full stop, and will usually have a good idea of what I want it to do.

When it comes to metal gear, what I already have is fine - I'm not that bothered about weight or having the latest stuff as it wouldn't make much difference to my grade, but might buy things to replace existing gear. I've never actually bought a cam! I have other people's cast offs, which are fine.

I get quite frustrated sometimes when I can't get what I want and have looked into getting custom built stuff in the past (which is virtually impossible) or have customised kit myself.

In reply to felixizzy:

Usually I just buy Buffalo and Ronhill. As for climbing kit ('technical' stuff) I tend to go with whatever is cheapest, then I sell that and get what I should have got in the first place.

R

In reply to felixizzy:

You haven't asked what style of climbing each respondent does. I suspect that may change people's responses.

Trad (mostly mountain and multi pitch), ice and mixed.


Research. Advertising isn't something I am susceptible to (at least I think not!).


Bomber protection (which I interpreted as functionality). I've been down the lightweight route with camping stuff and ended up going back to things that were more durable. I don't understand the huge demand for lightweight this and that. Why on earth would I want a helmet which is 30g lighter but doesn't protect my head as well? Or a carabiner which is 7g lighter but I can't clip with gloves?


Going to take Henwardian's interpretation of this question:

1. I buy a mix of second hand and new. Most metalwork is now second hand. I often buy second hand stuff to replace bits I have lost or broken. Ropes are always new though that's not a conscious decision particularly, just something I do.
2. No. I wouldn't buy anything just because it's new. I prefer to let other people do that, then I can borrow it and decide for myself if it's any good.


I had a Black Diamond gridlock carabiner which I initially thought was great but eventually found that the little gate to prevent cross loading always got stuck on stuff at the most inopportune times.

I was given a GriGri as a gift a couple of years ago. I'm still trying to find uses for it but I often find something else does the job better or just as well. It gets used for route setting mainly.

Short quick draws have no place on my rack either but I suspect that is to do with my preferred climbing styles.


I don't think I own anything which has been designed 'terribly'. It's all horses for courses: some stuff suits me but not others and vice versa.



I am currently cutting down my rack size as I have too much and not enough room to store it. Tricams and WC rocks won't be going anywhere in a hurry. Likewise the reverso and 60cm sling extenders. They are all versatile pieces of kit.

In reply to felixizzy:

From a relative beginner's perspective:


I'm a techie so I get drawn to items that are clever and perhaps a little needlessly overdesigned

My last purchase was a Black Diamond Magnetron karabiner - always my go-to 'biner. Shiny, sexy and clever but needlessly expensive. Love it.

My major issue with gear though is ease of use and this sometimes clashes with my want for techie-gear. I have a fairly severe mobility issue so I need to play with stuff if I can before purchase to ensure I can operate it smoothly. Therefore for me a visit to ye olde shoppe to play with the shiny-shiny is the best way to research.


Lightness for me. I struggle to move when weighed down.



I'd like to say no.....but sometimes I'm a sucker for the next new thing. Retail therapy works - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it


So far so good, yeah. My BD Magnetron (and my Asus TF101 that I sometimes take to crags as my guidebook) being the perfect example(s).


I rarely listen to ads. Reviews in places like UKC can sway me but until I have it in my hands, I won't make my mind up easily.


My best product that pleased? I'll be boring and say my Red Chilli VCS Sprit shoes. Nothing improved my climbing more dramatically than these and the design allows my fingers to get these on and off easily however bad my mobility or fatigue level is on a climb day. Perfect.

SO far none of my climbing kit has disappointed - I've played with most of my kit prior to purchase quite deliberately. I have a quality head torch that really was rubbish though. And a cheap one that completely outperformed it.

What I want on my rack? I need more QDs so some WC Heliums have caught my eye. Other than that a Petzl shunt and a GriGri. My WC cams are great and my WC and DMM nuts do what they're supposed to. Lighter ropes would be a godsend though.

In reply to gdnknf:


or how long people have been climbing, which will also make a big difference.

or what people's disposable income is...

In reply to felixizzy:

Welsh

In reply to andrewmcleod: "Welsh "

Actually, I tend to go for DMM when there's not much to choose between brands simply because it can only be good for UK climbing to have a strong climbing business based up there in North Wales.