UKC

So, why were quickdraws given this name? I have my own theory, dating back to the '70s, but I'd be interested to hear other people's ideas.

In reply to Mark Kemball: got to be something to do with smoking your foe hasn't it?

In reply to Mark Kemball:

Cos ya shoot from the hip

In reply to Jimbo C:

Dunno. Plausible on the face of it, but iirc it was an American term originally and Americans generally racked on shoulder slings back then.

In reply to Mark Kemball:

Isn't it a brand name that has become synonymous with the product? Like hoover, or sellotape, or durex?

I can't remember which manufacturer came out with them first.

In reply to JJL:


There was a time when I thought that friends were going that way too but then they started to be superceded by cams

In reply to Mark Kemball:
This is discussed in http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=567687#x7558820 ; have a read of that.

For sport climbing, one set up in the '80s was to have some or all of the extenders/quickdraws pre-clipped on the lead *rope* tied your harness, with the other ends clipped (in the correct) sequence (i.e. from front to back) to the gear loops on your rack. Provided you didn't get confused, the bolt-clipping action then made the 'quickdraw' name very apt.

At the time, Wild Country brought out a harness called the 'Gunslinger': a couple of the frontmost loops were actually tear-off velcro loops - so you didn't even need to unclip the krab of the quickdraw from your harness when clipping the bolt - you just tore the krab off!

In reply to Rob Parsons:

This is where I thought the name came from - I remember some people using a similar arrangement with the extender pre-clipped to the rope and velcroed to the Whillan's harness back in about '75 or '76. This then allowed you to make a very rapid clip of an in situ peg when climbing close to your limit.

In reply to Mark Kemball:

Did people really use extenders in the 70s? I remember double krabs with no sling still being normal in the early-mid 80s.

In reply to AlanLittle:


I was certainly still using double krabs in '84. I used "extenders" when I wanted to extend. I always assumed "quick draw" was a term which came in with sport climbing.

In reply to Rob Parsons:


I did an advertising photo shoot for this harness at the time, leading Shot Yer Bolt at Horseshoe before it got a sport grade. An 'interesting' harness concept which had a tendency to rip the Velcro loops off during moves, so you needed to carry some 'spare' quick draws just in case. Which I found out to my cost!

In reply to AlanLittle:

I think double krabs were the norm, but short extenders were occasionally used on pegs. I was Martin Berzins' apprentice / rope boy when he was in Manchester '75 - '76 and I'm fairly certain I remember him or some of his friends using them.

In reply to AlanLittle:

We used to thread wires with tape and a krab on the end. I don't think I would do that today but the wires on nuts were much thicker back then.

In reply to GridNorth:

Yes, I remember avoiding larks footing slings onto wires. At one time all my wires had individual short slings tied onto them. (Not that I carried so many wires back then!)