UKC

I've decided I want to buy a clipstick and I gather the Beta Clip Stick is the main, if not only, option out there.

I think getting one will help me to push my grade outside.

What I'm wondering is... would one of those collapsible fibre glass or aluminium tent poles with a bull clip taped to the end be a suitable alternative? Or would they be too bendy to hold the weight of rope when clipping? I'd only want to bother doing this if I could get the stick for less than £15, any more and I may as well just go for the real deal!

Anyone got any interesting home made clip stick ideas? I've seen a few on'tinternet.

Thanks

In reply to elliot.baker:

Have you seen this ?

https://www.bergzeit.co.uk/?cl=search&query=trango+squid&cat=search...

In reply to elliot.baker:

There's one company that does an attachment thingy that looks like a squid. You have to buy your own pole to attach it onto but i think it's cheaper than a beta stick.
It's called a trango squid.

In reply to elliot.baker:

A tent pole would be far too bendy for a longish clip. To give you an idea, Beta do make a clipstick that works that way - the Technical - but it is made by a company that manufactures avalanche probes and is far stiffer than a tent pole. My Beta Compact goes everywhere with me and has saved me gallons of adrenaline! And at 2.75m it can reach most bolts that would otherwise have that run-out feeling. At under £40 it's probably no more than a bendy tent pole...

In reply to elliot.baker:

A telescopic pole would suffice, I have one with a brush taped on the end for cleaning holds, but not used it as a clipstick.

You'd be able to duck tape something on the end to hold the draw and rope, you can then hold open the draw with a rock.

http://www.diy.com/hand-tools/harris-telescopic-roller-extension-pole-185-5...

In reply to elliot.baker:

You can make a long clip stick using a Telescopic fishing pole from Decathalon (about £10-12 depending on length). Remove the two thinnest sections as they are too weak. You can then mount a crocodile clip or similar on the end to hold the carabiner; it will be strong enough to hold the gate open. Last one I made, I attached the croc clip with a nut and bolt having drilled a hole through the pole. I then wrapped finger tape around the point of attachment for extra strength. Worked fine for several years.

Something like this one...

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/pole-travel-600-id_8324373.html

You just need to be a bit careful as they tend to flex under the weight of the rope as you lift it up.

In reply to elliot.baker:

I made mine from a 6 or 7m carp pole with the two whippiest bits thrown away. I made an end from sheet metal but a big spring clamp, crocodile clip or bulldog clip would do. Tent pole is too bendy.
jk

In reply to elliot.baker:

I use a decorators pole, but otherwise as you describe. Works fine.

In reply to elliot.baker:

I used tent poles but as others say they are a bit wobbly. I made mine in 2 parts. A "cheating stick" comprising a 30cm sling threaded through flexible but rigid plastic tubing that also slots onto the end of the pole. The pole is kept rigid by pulling a draw wire tight to hold the sections together. One end of the sling is a bent gate the other is one of those krabs that is held open with a clip and releases when it has clipped the bolt.

http://www.needlesports.com/3461/products/mad-rock-trigger-wire-karabiner.a...

Al

In reply to elliot.baker:

Thanks for all the tips folks I'm going to check out all these links and decide from there! I'll let you know what I do in the end and if it works!

In reply to elliot.baker:
Probably the cheapest and best solution is a 7m roach pole (decathlon used to sell them for about £8), remove the skinniest couple of segments and stick an old jump lead clip onto the end (araldite or epoxy works well).

The problem with the beta designs ones are the twist-locks invariably stop working about a week after you buy one, and there's no easy way to pull the rope down to leave the first bolt(s) clipped given the head design.


edit: what jkarran said.

In reply to Aly:


Is that your personal experience? What did you do to them? Mine gets used virtually every day and no problems, and it's more than a year old now.

In reply to jon:

Yes, that's my experience of them. I've had two of them, and same problem with both hence why I switched to a home-made one and have never looked back. It always seems to start on the smallest section.
I would say maybe I'm just not careful enough with them, but I've borrowed several of them at various crags over the years and never found one with a working twist-lock for the top bit.
Perhaps I've just been unlucky!

In reply to Aly:


Clip one end of the draw around the top of the pole and under the head bit, put the other end in the head and clip it to the rope above the bolt. Now pull the rope down.