UKC

Hi all

Just starting out indoor climbing and sick of borrowing the shoes, harness and karinbar each time I visit.

What are some of the better equipment to start out with at a reasonable price? I stay near Glasgow so any recommendations on shops in or around the city would be ideal as well.

Thanks for your patience as I am sure loads has been posted about this and don't wanna be a kid in a sweetie shop when buying some gear.

Nicky

In reply to Cammykaze:

Shoes is the tricky bit, take every opportunity to get into as many different shops as possible to try on as many different make/models in different sizes. Then see if you can pick up a good second hand pair on here, outdoor gear exchange or ebay. They may feel very different after a couple of hours climbing compared to five minutes in the shop. So there's always "barely worn" ones available, check notice board at climbing wall too. Again, don't be shy in the shop, five minutes seems ages when someone is trying to sell you something, ignore them and keep shoes on for as long as possible, forget about being embarrassed get up on the tips of your toes and weight the part you'll be climbing on as best you can, then still go look for a good second hand pair; better to regret a £40 purchase than a £80 one. If you're just starting, unless you're already a gifted athlete, ignore the really cool looking aggressive shoes.

If you're a female "Nicky", female consensus would seem to be get a female harness. If you've got ambitions to do some trad get one with at least 4 gear loops. Again, if you're already an accomplished athlete and reckon you're going to go fleeing through grades consider whether you're likely to be spending lots of time hanging in your harness working routes, if so get a good one.

Lots of cheep deals on belay device/ carabiner sets, ebay, GoOutdoors, decathlon.etc, lots of nuanced debates on here about the finer points of different models but doubt it'll make much difference to start with. Check it matches the ropes you'll be using, always have a wee feel of how it handles with different ropes before committing someone else to it. My advice (old school maybe) would be get familiar with straight forward friction devices before moving onto assisted breaking devices.

As for shops
Very expensive ones, I'd expect good advice; but tend to avoid cause I'm tight.
Decathlon have good prices and just let you get on with it, I like them.
Bought a harness for my son from GoOutdoors, good prices but they insisted that their "climbing expert" checked the fit "Hi I'm...." was probably the only thing he said that made sense, and even then I'd not be surprised if he had got his name wrong

In reply to Cammykaze:

When you are ready to buy your harness make sure you do so from a shop which has a suspension point to which you can attach yourself while wearing the harness. This allows you to free hang in it for as long as it takes to decide whether it feels comfortable around the waist and the back of both thighs. Ask to try all the harnesses in your chosen price range and take your time deciding.

In reply to Cammykaze:

Both of the other posts have given you good advice. Just wanted to add that decathlon do good kit that's very affordable under the simond name. I'd also say to go for a comfy harness, no-one has ever dropped a grade for a few grams on a harness. Also don't get too tight shoes, it won't make any noticeable difference other than sore feat!

Thanks a lot for the informed advise. To answer one question I am male and am aware there is a difference between male and female harnesses. Our instructor had a female harness for years and advised they were comfier.

Will take the advise on board and let you know how it goes.

In reply to Cammykaze:

Try Go Outdoors if you have one local, our one (Bristol) has a small climbing wall so you can test out a harness and shoes before you leave the shop. Useful as the harness is usually non-refundable unless it's faulty.