UKC

After a trip to Swanage earlier this year I'm considering getting some micro nuts. Planning other trips back to Swanage but also climb in the peak and snowdonia. Only climbing around severe to VS so is it worth getting them and any ideas which ones are most suitable for those rock types?

In reply to Richard L: I would be surprised if you need micros if your climbing at that sort of grade,I climb around that grade and never have need for them, I do have a set but there used by my climbing partner on E grades,which I follow up because Iam too scared to lead!

In reply to dale1968: I'm climbing similar grades and i think i've placed 2 in around 35 leads, 1 was highly dubious with a better placement just above. I got them free but wouldn't recommend buying a set if i didnt have them.

In reply to Richard L:
Personally I'd get a couple smaller than a size 1 rock (you won't need more than that for 99% of routes until you are climbing harder than HVS IMO). DMM IMPs are the strongest in the smaller sizes

In reply to Richard L:

I would say you will not place then very often, save the money and maybe buy some alloy offsets.

When you are pushing HVS/E1 micros are helpful. But i bought a 1/2 set of WC rocks to complement my wallnuts first.

In reply to Richard L: I have a set of brass rp`s they don`t get used often but sometimes invaluable, the only thing with them is if you take a good whipper on to them they tend to deform so much that if you manage to get it out the crack they are pretty much destroyed.

In reply to Richard L:

Big micros, which are often stronger than the smallest 'regular' nuts and expand your possible range of placements in similar/slightly smaller sizes...

So I've got complete sets of BD Micro Stoppers (aka Swedges) and DMM Brass Offsets, place the 4/5/6 size range a fair bit, usually carry the 3s but leave the smaller ones at home.

In reply to Richard L:

I carry the bigger ones as I don't climb hard enough to need to really small stuff. The biggest IMPS and BD jobs overlap with the size ones, but are a different shape, which can give you more choice.

In reply to Duncan_S:
Actually IMPs and BD Micros overlap more like to a size 2-3 WC rock.

In reply to petestack:
I find I prefer normal nuts in small sizes to micros in larger sizes, plus the normal nuts last longer and seat better (than swedges), are cheaper and are a bit wider so less likely to break the rock. I do carry some superlight nuts (but not sizes 1 and 2 as they are not very strong) which are quite narrow in the sideways placement (and also flared).

It's very rare / pretty much unheard of for me to find a size 1-3 nut placement too narrow for the nuts I carry which is why I stopped carrying the larger micros. Plus the smaller micros I do carry can be used sideways if needs must!

In reply to Duncan_S:

That's such a load of rubbish! There's no excuse for not placing gear regardless of your grade - you may only be on a VDiff but you're just as likely to break a hold as you are on an E5. I place my micros on pretty much every route I do over here (gneiss) - without them I'd be putting in decent runouts or looking at groundfalls from cruxes on a regular basis - and I'm not leading harder than HVS. I know of 75foot Vdiffs where the biggest gear is a Rock 2 15 foot up - without micros the majority of the route would be unprotectable.
Anyhow, brass Offsets seem to be more useful than IMPS over here - tiny cracks are often flared.

In reply to Toerag:
I know of 75foot Vdiffs where the biggest gear is a Rock 2 15 foot up - without micros the majority of the route would be unprotectable.

I think I would question if it really is a V Diff.

Al

In reply to Gaston Rubberpants:
My stairs have no decent gear on them, but they wouldn't even get Vdiff

If you are regularly climbing around VS at Swanage I'd be tempted by a set of micros, I've got a set of swedges, a few peenuts and a set of WC micronuts. The swedges are placed fairly regularly.

In reply to Toerag:

Fair play...I've climbed at quite a few different locations, but I'm willing to accept that there may be v diffs you do need them on.

In reply to Reach>Talent:

Not even a thread or two?

In reply to petestack:
Nothing that would take bodyweight although you could cam 4' of 2"x4" across the bend at the top

In reply to Reach>Talent:

Maybe try whacking in a piton or two next time.