How to Build a Trad Rack?
Traditional or “trad” climbing means using gear that you place every step of the way. A trad rack, your personal assortment of climbing gear, is what allows you to safely ascend routes that lack fixed protection (pre-installed bolts and anchors). In this blog post, we'll unpack the essentials for your trad rack and provide specific advice for starting in the world of traditional climbing.
For those just starting out, we recommend having an experienced friend take you out to learn about all the gear first-hand; over time, you'll start to understand your personal preferences.
Finding an experienced climber willing to take you under their wing might seem daunting, but it's easier than you think! Many experienced climbers are eager to share their passion and knowledge with newcomers. Start engaging with local climbing clubs, participating in community events, or visiting climbing gyms and asking around.
In case you have urgency, here is what you will read in this article.
Table of Contents:
1- Core Climbing & Safety Gear
Before we delve into the specifics of trad racks, let's mention the gear basics. Essentials include climbing shoes, a comfortable harness, a certified helmet, dynamic ropes, a personal safety sling, prusiks for self-rescue, and a belay device. For specific advice on choosing your core climbing gear, check out our other posts & guides below:
2- Active Protection
Trad gear falls into two categories: active and passive protection. Active protection has moving parts, and spring-loaded lobes, which cover a wide range of crack sizes. In general, we recommend strategically using active gear in your trad rack as your experience and confidence grow. Although there are some other technologies and options out there, we will only mention the most widely used piece of equipment here, namely the camalots.
Fixe Alien X Cams in Action
Cams (Camalots)
Climbing Cams are essential tools in active protection, designed with expandable and contractible lobes operated by a trigger mechanism. The design of cams makes them simple to insert into cracks but also ensures a secure grip once the lobes expand. They are particularly useful in irregular or flared cracks where passive gear might not provide adequate contact with the rock.
Sizes and Types of Cams
It's important to climb with only the cams you'll use to avoid carrying unnecessary weight. In general, for someone starting out, cams ranging from #.3 to 3 are ideal for most Australian crags. Also, when choosing, consider that different brands and models offer unique features; for instance, DMM Dragons come with an extendable 8mm sling, reducing the need for additional quickdraws. The Black Diamond C4s feature a thumb loop, improving the ergonomics and security in the hand when placing them.
Tip: If you want to nerd out the intricacies of cams, websites like comparator.com offer detailed comparisons of cam size ranges across brands.
2- Active Protection
Trad gear falls into two categories: active and passive protection. Active protection has moving parts, and spring-loaded lobes, which cover a wide range of crack sizes. In general, we recommend strategically using active gear in your trad rack as your experience and confidence grow. Although there are some other technologies and options out there, we will only mention the most widely used piece of equipment here, namely the camalots.
Cams (Camalots)
Climbing Cams are essential tools in active protection, designed with expandable and contractible lobes operated by a trigger mechanism. The design of cams makes them simple to insert into cracks but also ensures a secure grip once the lobes expand. They are particularly useful in irregular or flared cracks where passive gear might not provide adequate contact with the rock.
Sizes and Types of Cams
It's important to climb with only the cams you'll use to avoid carrying unnecessary weight. In general, for someone starting out, cams ranging from #.3 to 3 are ideal for most Australian crags. Also, when choosing, consider that different brands and models offer unique features; for instance, DMM Dragons come with an extendable 8mm sling, reducing the need for additional quickdraws. The Black Diamond C4s feature a thumb loop, improving the ergonomics and security in the hand when placing them.
Tip: If you want to nerd out the intricacies of cams, websites like comparator.com offer detailed comparisons of cam size ranges across brands.
3- Passive Protection
Passive protection devices, in contrast to active protection, do not incorporate moving parts. Instead, they rely on their specific shapes to snugly fit into the natural contours of the rock. Unlike active protection such as cams, passive protection can be used in wet or icy cracks, where friction is reduced.
Nuts/Wires
Climbing Nuts are fundamental for establishing secure anchor points within cracks. Carefully inserted into the natural constrictions of the rock, they allow climbers to protect themselves against potential falls. Their effectiveness hinges on precise matching of the nut's shape to the crack's geometry, ensuring optimal grip and stability.
For a full set of passive gear, we reccommend this bundle.
Types of Nuts:
- Standard Nuts: Serving as the backbone of any trad rack, standard nuts are versatile and reliable, catering to most crack types. Available in sizes ranging from #1 to #13, they cover cracks from fingers to about a thin hand size.
- Offset Nuts: Offset nuts have a tapered shape with differing widths on opposite sides. By aligning its wider side with the broader crack section and the narrower side with the narrowest, it maximizes contact surface, enhancing friction and grip. This strategic placement not only prevents slippage but also leverages mechanical advantage.
- Brass Nuts (RPs): Optimal for narrow or shallow placements, brass nuts feature a softer material that can slightly deform to conform to the rock. This adaptability makes them particularly effective in delicate situations where a more aggressive metal might damage the rock or provide a less secure fit.
- Micro Nuts/Half Nuts: Designed the smallest of cracks, offering protection on technical aid routes where larger gear is impractical or impossible to place.
Still need more info? Here is a quick video about nut & hex types.
Still need more info? Here is a quick video about nut & hex types.
Hexes
Climbing Hexes are used in situations where cracks widen irregularly, challenging the secure placement of standard nuts. The broader profile of a hex provides more contact points with the rock, increasing friction and stability. Hexes are especially valued for their ability to provide secure placements – often referred to as "train stoppers" when you get good placement.
Types of Hexes:
- Standard Hexes: These are basic hexes with regular hexagonal shapes and are available in different sizes to fit various crack widths.
- Offset Hexes: Offset hexes have asymmetrical lobes, allowing them to fit irregular cracks more securely. One side of the hex is wider than the other, providing better contact in flared or offset cracks.
- Torque Nuts: Also known as hexentric nuts, torque nuts have additional features such as offset lobes, enhancing their versatility and security in placement. They are often used in aid climbing or for protecting challenging crack systems.
A quick video about Torque Nuts (modernized hexes).
A quick video about Torque Nuts (modernized hexes).
4- Trad Quickdraws, Slings, and Carabiners
Quickdraws
Quickdraws connect your climbing rope to placed gear and consist of two carabiners linked by a short piece of webbing or dyneema sling.
For trad climbing, opt for lightweight quickdraws. The lighter Dyneema slings reduce weight and enhance speed, crucial when carrying several. If you already have some quickdraws with thick nylon dogbones for sport climbing, don’t worry about buying new ones.
For the length, we recommend Alpine-style quickdraws that have a 60cm sling in between the two carabiners. You can leave them short if your placements are all quite close together, or you can extend them if you place a piece far away in an adjacent crack. This will lessen your rope drag significantly. Complement these with normal quickdraws (12-18cm) to complete your trad rack. Aim for a total of about 12 quickdraws, incorporating both short and long ones, and include 4-6 extendable alpine quickdraws for effective rope management on extended climbs.
We highly reccommend DMM Phantom Alpine Climbing Quickdraw -60cm for the job. Armed with lightweight Dynatec Dyneema® sling, the Phantom is suitable for alpine climbing, trad onsighting, and any other scenario where minimum weight is desirable.
Slings
Slings are lengths of webbing or cordage tied or sewn into loops. They come in various lengths, typically ranging from 60cm to 240cm or more. Slings are used for multiple purposes in trad:
- Threads: You can pass a sling through or around natural rock features like horns, ‘chicken heads’ or ‘threads’. These features when slung are usually bombproof (won’t dislodge in case of a fall).
- Extending Protection: Slings can be used to extend the reach of a piece of protection (like a cam or nut) away from the rock, reducing rope drag and the chance of your cam walking deeper into the crack and getting stuck.
- Anchor Building: Slings are often used in constructing anchors because they can be easily wrapped around large rocks, through natural features, or connected to other pieces of gear to create a central point for belaying or rappeling.
We offer a sling bundle of Edelrid Dyneema slings recommended for trad.
FA practical assortment might include around six 60 cm slings and two to four 120 cm slings. These can be doubled over for shorter lengths or used fully extended for longer reaches.
Tip: Nylon slings are durable and cost-effective, while Dyneema slings are lighter and less bulky, though more expensive. Dyneema is almost always preferred for modern trad climbing.
Carabiners
You'll need a variety of carabiners for your trad climbing adventures. We recommend having colour-coordinated carabiners to match your cams, and wire gates will save a bit of weight. Take at least four locking carabiners for things like your belay device, anchor building, personal safety and potential rescue scenarios.
Tip: Anti-snag carabiners are great to have on your trad quickdraws because you’re going to be clipping and unclipping them a lot.
These are great for colour-coding cams: DMM Spectre Wire Gate Climbing Carabiner - 6 Pack
These are great for organising nuts/hexes: DMM PerfectO Straight Gate Climbing Carabiner - 4 Pack
Lightweight locking carabiners to organise crucial items: DMM Shadow Screw Gate Climbing Carabiner - 3 Pack
5- Other Trad Items
Nut Tool
A single nut tool is a must-have for retrieving stuck nuts and cams. There's no need for different sizes; one standard tool will do the job.
Tip: Look for a nut tool with a comfortable grip and a built-in carabiner hole so you can easily attach it to your harness.
Cordelette
One cordelette, typically around 5-7 meters in length and made of 6-7mm cord, is sufficient for most climbing scenarios. Its primary use is for constructing anchors, particularly when you need to equalise multiple pieces of gear.
Tip: Practice different anchor-building techniques to become efficient and safe in its use.
DMM Nutbuster Tool in Action
6-Gear Tips for Popular Climbing Destinations
We will now go through some popular destinations for climbing in Australia, and things to consider when building your trad rack for them. Keep in mind, that climbing gear preferences can be highly individual and vary greatly depending on the specific route.
Frog Buttress
At Frog Buttress, the size of the crack can vary from fingertips to chimneys. There are plenty of off-widths that require big gear (all the way up to size 6 Camalot). Climbers should pack a broad range of cams, especially larger ones if you plan on sending those off-widths.
Also, consider taking double ropes or a single 80m rope, so you can get back to the ground safely off the longer pitches - walking off is highly discouraged due to loose rock on top of the cliff. Most climbs at Frog follow very obvious cracks meaning protection is straightforward to find, but some venture out onto blank faces which are bolted normally with carrot bolts so a few bolt plates come in handy. For more info on carrot bolts.
Offset nuts are a great tool to have at Frog - even though most cracks are parallel-sided, sometimes they are flaring. Some people will even carry doubles of their favourite size!
You can find more information on On Sight Photography Frog Buttress Climbing Guidebook.
Arapiles
Arapiles (aka araps) is a world-class trad climbing mecha with climbs for budding trad newbies all the way through to the seasoned trad climber. The rock at Arapiles is a dense quartzite/sandstone and is generally more solid than the Blue Mountains. If trad multi’s are your thing, then one of the unique features of Araps is the selection of enjoyable multi-pitch routes.
Unlike the multitude of splitter cracks that one would find at say Frog Buttress, Araps differs in that it offers face features, steeper terrains and more varied cracks. The area's multitude of cracks requires a broad spectrum of cams. In particular, the need for smaller protection sizes is notable.
Fun Fact: wired nuts are really practical at Araps, in fact, the creation of the RP, a type of wired nut designed by Roland Pauligk, was created specifically to fit these small cracks.
If you intend on a trip to Arapiles, we recommend picking up a guidebook which you can find here: On Sight Photography Arapiles 444 Climbing Guidebook.
The Blue Mountains
Moving to the Blue Mountains - the climbing here is renowned for its diversity, offering a blend of traditional and sports routes that demand a versatile approach to gear. To prepare for the varied types of mixed climbing, carry a set of around 10 bolt plates in your rack. Also note the region's signature textured sandstone which calls for crack gloves or tape to protect your hands.
You can find more information on On Sight Photography Frog Buttress Climbing Guidebook.
Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond in Tasmania is characterised by its breathtaking alpine environment and distinctive dolerite columns. The dolerite's slick, uniform cracks make hexes pretty useful in Ben Lomond due to their broad faces and angular edges which give their ability to make secure placements with the parallel sides.
Heading into Ben Lomond’s alpine territory also means upping your climbing safety with skills in anchor building and self-rescue. Double ropes are also recommended for their extended reach and security on descents.
For additional information on Ben Lomond and other climbs in Tassie, consider grabbing a specific guidebook here: Climb Tasmania - Selected Best Climbs Guidebook Vol3.
K2 Base Camp Trad Climbing Kits and Bundles
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Come to our Brisbane climbing store!
Ready to build your trad rack? K2 Base Camp has a curated selection of trad climbing gear, including bundles for beginners to advanced climbers. We are always happy to help you in-store with any specific questions about your trad gear!