UKC

As per the thread title, recommendations for best walkie talkies for sea cliff climbing would be welcome. Not sure if I will get them, so thoughts on usefulness also welcome. Thanks. 

I bought a set of Motorola Tlkr T40. They're pretty cheap, so if you don't end up using them you haven't broken the bank. I've mainly used them in the alps, where they can be a bit annoying as you do quite often get overlap with the channels the lift operators and station staff use. They work well over a decent distance, and it's easy enough to swap the channel over when you start hearing the shop staff ask for someone to check if there's anymore cuddly toy marmots in the backroom.

Similar to rattusrattus I bought some secondhand Motorola T90s. I have no idea if they are the best as they are the only once I've used but they do everything needed for a days sea cliff climbing in my experiance. 

Thanks both - much appreciated 

Not totally against these but a bit like relying on electronic devices to navigate rather than a compass. Great to have but personally I'd make sure you have an agreed system in place if one of you drops it. The 3 rope tugs works very well for us.

They're really useful when something other than "ug" needs saying. Loads of old crusty boring good old boys will flood this thread with assertions that rope tugs have always been fine for them and you'll never need anything more, but ignore them. Radios aren't always necessary but save you so much faff and ballache when something's gone slightly awry or anything slightly complicated needs to happen that they're absolutely worth owning. Not always carrying, but definitely owning. 

I'd say just get cheap ones. I've had cheap ones and mid range ones and they're equally annoying, so may as well go cheap.

Thanks. I have been multi pitch climbing for 35 years including sea cliffs, Alps. V familiar with rope tug methods etc. Just interested in a potentially handy supplement. 

Rope tugs are all well and good, but radios saved my marriage after an incident where I confused "take" for "slack"

I've got a set of Motorola T72s and they've been great

Agree with this, but I'd recommend paying the extra for a set that support subchannels. It just means you get bothered less by other people on the same channel. I used to have this, but not with my current ones cos I went cheap. This was a mistake.

T92s are waterproof?

Agreed. My cheapies have that. I thought they all did these days. It's been a while since I had a set without.

I'd love someone to tell me how to communicate "Bring a jumper. It's freezing down here" or "Move the ab line left a bit so you don't knock that loose block onto my head" with rope tugs.

Absolutely, I've got a couple of partners that I've used them with and I've nothing against them.

I got a pair of cheap yellow Motorola Talkabout T72 ones earlier this year and they've been great for longer sea cliff stuff. They don't subtract from the adventure but they cut out a certain amount of uncertainty, subsequent faff, and so speed things up. Rechargeable, multi-channel and good battery life.

I find tugging ropes hard to distinguish from simply moving/pulling when anchor building (and it can lift gear on a traverse).

Downsides of the Motorolas:

- Attached by a tiny cord with flimsy carabiner plus clip. Carabiner broke quite quickly but easy to rig up better attachment using a swaged wire or cable tie and prussic loop.

- Voice activation has a lag, it activates part way through a sentence but seemingly through any kind of gear clank on the harness. Much better to leave it in "press button to talk" mode.

(edited - T72 not T42) 

..

Definitely push to talk. Even push to talk has a half second lag before engaging though so it's best to wait before starting to talk. 

We have the Motorola and if you buy second hand, you can replace the batteries and they last forever (well over 24 hours left one). 

Don't forget to disable the annoying beep though!!

As for carabiners, the little DMM XSRE ones are perfect!

Tim

I've only carried one once and it was a pain ! whenever I was being called was always when I couldn't get a hand free easily to respond, and then its a distraction as the person naturally keeps trying to call.

It's easy to use and not annoying if the general rule is that the climber initiates the calling, which is the obvious thing to do anyway. It's so nice to be able to say in a calm voice, "Safe", "climb when ready". 

I've only used children's ones, and they work fine for the job.

I would imagine the only reason for the belayer to call the leader would be if if there was a serious safety issue and they don't need you to answer if that was the case. 

The walkie talkie is there for signalling only (the usual calls) and for safety issues. i.e. only use to to give pertinent, timely, helpful information - it's not there to have an ongoing gossip.

Dragons Den moment:
Design a system where the radios are integrated into a helmet(s).

I've heard plenty of people using it this way and seen a few examples of where it actually lead to worse communication and more confusion than might have been the case without.

I think that's why walkie talkies get a bad reputation. " " etc

I noticed Jessie Dufton uses a boom microphone connected to a radio mounted on the back of the helmet. Looks like a neat solution. 

That's why you need to use proper strict radio protocol:  Broadsword calling Danny Boy

It could be worth asking Jesse and Molly Dufton what they use...