UKC

Looking at buying some sports draws (normally a trad climber) i've found a great deal on some but are 25cm slings, would it be a bad idea to buy 10 of these?

The only real benefit to the length for me is less drag, but mainly the price as I won't be doing any super steep red pointing

In reply to andork123:

I prefer longer draws generally, have mostly a mix of 18cm and 25cm for sport. Less drag, but also less rope to pull up to clip. Sometimes I have a few linked together for hard clips, can make a big difference.

In reply to andork123:

If a route is bolted well there shouldn't be any point in having long quickdraws for sport climbing hence why sport draws are usually short. They'll obviously do the job well enough but it depends again on what the original bolter was thinking about when they bolted it, eg. if they placed a bolt in a position to stop you hitting a ledge if you fell while going for a tough move while using 10 cm draws and you are using 25 cm draws then you may catch the ledge.
For trad I mostly use 18 cm draws and for sport mostly short but I carry a couple of longer ones for the oddly positioned bolts.

In reply to andork123:

I use mostly short 12 cms but carry a couple of 18 cms for those bolts that may be off to one side. I carry a sling draw for extreme situations which doubles as a cows tail. I have never had a problem with rope drag on a sports climb using this method. 18 cms is OK but 25 cms is too long IMO on every bolt.

Al

In reply to GridNorth:

I agree. I rarely use anything but short (10-12cm) quickdraws on sport routes, and very rarely have a problem. On rare occasions when needed, I'll chain 2 together to make a longer one, but it really is quite rare.

In reply to andork123:

I like 18cm links on my sport draws but find it handy to have a couple at either end of the spectrum too. I'd say having all your draws so long is possibly overkill, but it won't do you any harm.

In reply to andork123:

Unless all your sport routes are straight vertical lines then I'd go for it. I most often find myself reaching for my longer draws, but I only climb easy stuff so my routes are probably more wander-y and have more bulges etc than yours.

In reply to andork123:

They're often good for the belay/loweroff too...

In reply to andork123:

12cm quickdraws for me and I haven’t really had any problems with rope drag even on 40m pitches. Think 25cm ones are too long.

In reply to andork123:

I dont really understand the advantage of shorter draws? Longer the better as less drag. The only advantage I can see as someone mentioned is a few shorter ones mean you have options for not having the biner resting on an edge.

I wonder if some people have shorter draws from the idea that shorter quickdraws = shorter falls. But if (in almost every fall) you fall further than a couple meters..what difference is a few cm?

In reply to Kemics:

My own rack for domestic climbing is almost entirely 25 cm draws - just a few 18 and 12 cm draws for low bolts, where there is the possibility of hitting the ground. Generally, I personally find that minimising drag and having to pull up less rope makes for easier RPs. Also, draws being longer can make it easier to work routes - better for reaching and hauling between bolts and missing out nasty sections (providing the slings are chunky enough). I only tend to use short draws (12 cm, maybe a few 18 cm) for holidays spent on-sighting - lighter and less of an encumbrance on the harness.

In reply to andork123:

When next buying, i'll have 2 to 4 short.. i alwaws put short on the 1st bolt, just reduces how close to decking you will be from a fall above it, by only upto 15cm, but it might matter. Another 2 or 3 shorts could still be handy on sport routes with ledges or other obstacles u could hit.
I thnk the rest could be long ones, but at least 2 for the lower off bolts, and maybe 2 more for easier clipping, but i might go with making all the clips easier, as it is sport climbing!
Long or medium are sometimes useful to stop the biner being crosloaded on an edge, as some bolting hasn't taken that into account with short draws.
Rope drag is rarely an issue though, you'll hardly ever need long draws for that reason.

In reply to andork123:

I generally have 12 QD's: 10 short and 2 long for parts of the routes that aren't straight up.

If it would be a great deal, buy them and replace some of them with shorter dogbones. Some dogbones are ridiculously cheap, so not a huge issue there.

In reply to andork123:

Longer QD's swing around like a Hawaii dancers grass skirt, short ones are far less intrusive on the harness. Rope drag is seldom, if ever, an issue on sport climbs and badly situated bolts are easily accommodated with a couple of longer ones. Contrary to what others say I can't see any advantage in long QD's. Less rope to pull through - really? That's as redundant an answer as the one about falling further.

Al

In reply to GridNorth:


Well surely a 25cm compared to a 10cm qd will require you to reach for 15cm less of doubled rope to pull up, and once the qd is clipped on the bolt, you have 15cm less reach to make to put the rope in the quickdraw. This could be handy especially for shorter climbers, on sighting or redpointing, some clips are a tricky stretch.
With a fumbled clip where u fall clipping u drop 30cm less distance too, which is only occasionally going to be worth knowing.?

In reply to andork123:
They'll be fine. I just used my trad kit (60cm slingdraws mostly) for sport. Never had a problem with that. A mix of lengths is useful.
jk

In reply to Rock to Fakey:

You still have to reach the bolt to clip. 15 cms, is less than a hands span, it's insignificant in the same way that falling a greater distance is insignificant when used to argue for shorter draws. Both arguments are irrelevant.

Al

In reply to GridNorth:


Psychologically it can make a significant difference if you're as scared as I am.

In reply to GridNorth:


Not sure you've thought it all through properly. There are reasonable arguments for and against, which have been given already on here. The only irrelevant point I can see is the grass skirt argument, presuming you were being serious.

In reply to 1poundSOCKS:
You could be right I've not been climbing that long so my experience is very limited.

Al

In reply to GridNorth:



I know the feeling, I´ ve got maybe 25 draws and I don´ t even know how long they are. I´ ve noticed some are different length to the others though.

In reply to GridNorth:

Long enough to know all the tired old cliches I notice.