UKC

I know this all comes down to personal preference, but how do you like to rack your gear on a 4-gear loop harness? Do you split your nut sets, rack QDs in order etc? I only ask because I'm still playing around with mine and every now and then someone comes up with a little gem of an idea as to putting something somewhere that turns out to be really useful.

Thanks in advance!

In reply to Barney_GT:

Roughly:

gear on front loops (even split side to side)
quick draws on rear loops. Long ones at front of the loop, short ones at the back.

It's a little ocd but it means if im gripped, it's one less thing to think about.

In reply to Barney_GT:

All my quickdraws go on the back two gear loops, equal numbers on each side, along with belay device, prusiks, nut tool, etc. leaving the front two for the protection.

Nuts go right at the front (unless there's a very good reason otherwise): full set on one carabiner* on one side and two carabiners (small wallnuts and either large alloy offsets or tiny brass offsets if it looks desperate) on the other side.

I then line up any cams and hexes I'm taking in size order and alternate which side I put them on. This works great for me, but I know some people don't like it! The guy who taught me about trad used this system, on the grounds that if you're in some super awkward position and can only reach one side (thing offwidth/chimney, I guess) then chances are there's something approximately the right size. If you have all the small stuff on one side, large stuff on the other, you could be completely screwed. This has never been at all relevant, but I've got used to it now.

As for less well-known ideas, have you come across Yosemite racking? (for those routes where you need 40 quickdraws!)
http://www.planetfear.com/articles/Yosemite_Racking_283.html

*Metolius curve nuts are less bulky, so a full set can go on one krab without causing a cluster

In reply to Barney_GT:

Normal
Front right - Wires/Toy gear/A couple of draws
Front left - Cams/Couple of draws
Back right - Draws/Slingdraws/Anything big
Back left - Draws/Slingdraws/Anything big

Gogarth
Start of route - As above
Halfway - Everything everywhere
Top - Some on harness, most in sea, a couple of small wires and big cams in the rock

In reply to metal arms:
Heh, made me smile

In reply to Barney_GT:

If I'm doing something easy where I don't carry much gear, I try to get a split of stuff each side. So for that time when I can't reach one side, I can still get gear. Ditto for harder stuff.

So for a normal, long limestone rack (for me) which is 2 sets of nuts and about 6 cams and hexes, this is what I'd do:

Left Front
Odds on one krab
Evens on another krab
Couple of cams or hexes
Couple of QDs

Left Back
Rest of QDs
Half of my slings / belay kit


Right Front
Odds on one krab
Evens on another krab
Couple of cams or hexes
Couple of QDs

Right Back
Rest of QDs
Half of my slings / belay kit

In reply to metal arms:

Excellent

In reply to metal arms:

^like

To the OP - Gear where you can see it, qd's within easy reach, belay kit at the back.

In reply to Barney_GT:
nuts, small/medium cams, and camera case - front right.
hexes and big cams - back right
quickdraws (long at front, short at back) - front left
spare screwgates, massive belay sling, belay plate - back left
slins over shoulder
I don't bother putting nuts in any sequence.

Basically, experiment, find what suits you, and stick with it so it becomes second nature

In reply to Barney_GT:

Quickdraws front left and right - equal numbers on each side.

Back left wires on 3 krabs, back right cams on 2 or three krabs.

I don't like the longer heavier gear near the front it feels unbalanced.


Chris

In reply to metal arms:

That one...but I have 6 loops available!

In reply to Barney_GT:

Nuts/cams on front loops, quickdraws on back loops. Generally nuts in front of cams on limestone, cams in front of nuts on grit - Based on what I mostly place on thee given rocks.

In reply to Barney_GT:
Thankd for the replies fellas, very uesful stuff. Definately like the ide of splitting my nuts down onto different krabs, seems odds and evens would be sensible.

In reply to Barney_GT: I have 4 x gear loops on a BD Chaos.

Front Right: Rocks up to 10 and larger cams size 2/3 and/or 2 smaller Torque nuts plus 2 or 3 QD's
Rear Right: 4/5 x QD's including 1 x sling draw and belay device
Front Left: Duplicate nuts and/or DMM offsets in extreme cases and smaller cams plus 2 or 3 QD's
Rear Left: 4/5 x QD's including 1 x sling draw and nut extractor. micros unless I know I will need them soon.

When I think I will need larger cams/Torque nuts I usually resort to a bandolier. This may change depending on the route so I may not carry any Torque nuts or larger cams and if the route looks like it warrants it I may make the micros more accessible.

I tend to rack Rocks 1 to 6 on one krab and 7 to 10 on another.

So in essence I have a basic set up that changes a little according to the route which I add to when required and usually with a bandolier.

In reply to Barney_GT:


I hate this idea with a passion. If it turns out that the no.6 placement is actually a no.7 you have to fish out the other bunch. Anyway, you need duplicates in at least the middle sizes, a single set is only enough for short and/or easy routes.

In reply to Barney_GT:

Noticed the trend? There isn't one, everyone racks differently.

Just try a few different methods and see what suits you. You will probably change your rack set up sooner or later once you get on a few routes

In reply to Barney_GT: For long routes I have three of every nut up to size six split accross two crabs so one each front left and then one each of the larger sizes on each side at the front.
I also have three hexes on wires that are small ish that go on one side at the front, opposite side goes my try-cams up to about 2.5.

I have six loops so middle is quick draws, back are Big gear and bits and bob such as prussik loop, belay device cams if I take them.

In reply to Barney_GT:

Get a bandolier for even more permutations. Find what works for you, I rack the same, as I like to be able find a particular bit of gear quickly if under duress etc...

In reply to Barney_GT:

nuts front-left
micros front-right
quickdraws both sides, front and middle
cams and 'other' back, both sides evenly weighted

Why? No beneficial reason but maximises the chance of getting a cam stuck in a crack on the descent, which is good fun/good cause of death for the tombstone.

If you think this is a conundrum wait til you see someone racking their quickdraws facing outwards! Morons

In reply to Barney_GT:
There are only two things I really care about:
* belay stuff on the very back, quickdraws on the back gear loops, all other hardware on the front gear loops
* 120cm slings racked in via the One True Method ie wrapped over the shoulder and fastened with a krab.

In reply to metal arms: Thanks for that, made me snigger in the truth of it.

In reply to Ramblin dave: i agree with you. split wires into 2 or 3 crabs. odds and evens is madness.

I only use 60m dyneema draws, they all go at the back so I don't need to worry about what I'm grabbing.

In reply to Barney_GT: I break my nuts down to micros, small, medium and large. These go on my right, cams on the left, belay gear at the back and quick QD on a bandilier.

In reply to Barney_GT:

I use a BD chest rack, pro on the right nuts to the front, friends further back, QDs on the left. slings etc at the back of the harness.
The vital piece of gear you definitely need will be in the rucksack.

In reply to Barney_GT:

rock pro (cams, wires, hexs etc) gets racked according to 'finger', 'hand' and 'bigger'.
QDs go on rear loops.
belay stuff, nut key, oddities on back loop.

whe seconding i clean onto 2 slings over the shoulders; QDs on one, pro on the other. makes change-overs easy.

winter is either easier (screws on clippers, QDs on front loops, misc at rear) or a whole new level of combining the summer rock system with the winter one.

In reply to Barney_GT:

I hate my gear sling with vengeance every time I bend over. I do like that it seems to reduce faff sometimes though.

In reply to Barney_GT:

I like racking gear in such a manner that when you sit down on a belay it self places itself in a convenient crack and stops you getting up again.

I also like it when it self places when thrutching up a chimney.

To avoid the above I tend to move things about a bit. Ie if going into a crack facing left, I will rack the majority on the left (the outside bit).

In reply to Barney_GT:

Nuts in the front (mixed sizes, so no big and small nuts), then normal QDs followed by cams small to medium. Bigger cams, specialty gear and long QDs (alpine slings) on the back loop, as well anchor stuff+prusic+belay gear and so on.

In reply to alasdair19:

Real man's quickdraw size there!