UKC

I have currently got 10 DMM Wirelock QDs on 10cm slings and being mainly a trad climber need longer QDs.

I am debating whether to replace all the QD slings with longer slings that are doubled/trebbled over on themselves and so can be made longer/shorter as required. This will however mean a greater bulk.

I am also debating what krabs to use. I have only ever used DMM Wirelocks and don't really have anything to compare them to. I have been wondering if its worth getting a solid straight gate for the gear end and wire biner for the rope end. As the gear end is not going to be shocked and so won't open in the event of a fall were as the rope biner may do.
So my question is do I get more Wirelocks or but some different solid gates and/or wire gates to replace them?
Thoughts Please?
I think I want to get to a total of 16 QDs in total, so I will have to buy a few more anyway.
Cheers
DTE

In reply to DTE: Just buy 6 longer QD's. I always carry a selection of short/medium/long ones.

If I need to extend any further I turn to the multitude of slings I carry.

In reply to DTE:

Krabs don't get much nicer than wirelocks - if your happy with them, stick with them. Although the tripled over sling seems like a nice idea, I personally don't like it that much as it makes extenders bulky and there is more probability that the krab won't sit as well or you'll drop a krab. If I am carrying say 12 extenders, I'll carry 9 10cm ones and 3 20cm ones. I also carry a couple of slings. If I need to extend a runner, I'll clip in to a 10cm quickdraw for safety, then extend it with one of the slings.

On Alpine routes, I usually take krabs off most of the extenders and put two snap gates on each sling I carry.

In reply to DTE:

I carry 5 15cm quickdraws, and 5 extenders made from 2' slings, doubled back in the standard fashion, which makes them about 20cm long un extended.

In reply to DTE: I prefer wire gates to solid gates for pretty much everything except racking wires. BD Wirelocks look very nice. I think the WC Helium Clean-wire is similar to the Wirelock. I use WC Wild Wires for my QDs and DMM Pro-wires for my cams.

I'm a bit dubious about your argument for using solid gates at the gear end, but in any case you should remember that wiregates have other advantages ie lightness, and less risk of freezing up in winter (if you do any winter climbing). If cost is an issue then Needlesports do a wiregate version of their Clipper krab for the same price as the solid gate versions.

In terms of QD lengths I carry two 10cm QDs, six 15cm and two made up from tripled 60cm slings which are ~20cm unextended. I agree with GrahamD that the tripled sling can be bulky, which is why I use Mammut Contact 8mm dyneema slings for this job.

I also carry a total of about half a dozen 60cm and 120cm slings.

In reply to DTE: As regards krabs I am a massive fan wire gates and of DMM Prowires in particular. If you are happy with wirelocks I'd stay with them.

For trad I have been carrying a basis of 6x30cm extenders and 4x60cm extenders (tripled - 20cm effective) and 2x 60cm slings with a single krab each. If I require more extenders I add addtional 60cm slings and as many of my 15cm (sport climbing) extenders as I see fit.

I would recommend you get around x6 30cm slings (Mummat 8mm versions if finances permit) and change some (say 4) of your 10cm to that length and buy additional krabs if required.

I would also get four (x4) 60cm x 8mm Mummat slings + extra krabs and make up 4 tripled extenders. [The Mammut slings are expensive but in this case being very thin, the reduction in bulk is extremely desiarable - most of the better gear shops are now stocking them]

Assuming you rack each of your cams on its own krab I would also make sure that you have at least x4 60cm slings with a single krab each for extending them.

HTH

Mark

In reply to DTE:Splitting between solid and wire gates only makes sense if you cant afford wiregates all round. personally I have DMM Prowires, which I'd highly recomend. They are also a bit lighter than your current Wire locks. (Probably worth it for the number you intend to carry). Prowires also have the benefit of being available in different lengths. Doubling slings etc is just a hassle (and potentially very bulky for 16 'draws).