Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Get Tradical: New Trad Climbing Gear at Touchstone
Touchstone just picked up a bunch of new gear for those climbers who want to get tradical this summer. In stores now are the TC Pros, high top edging shoes that will shrink El Cap into Swan Slab, 4 step aiders for cruising up Washington Column, ultra light curve nuts, and the standard BD cams including C4s, C3s, and HB brass offsets.
The best place to start building your trad climbing gear is on your feet. High top shoes are nice because they protect your ankles in many of the grueling offwidths in the Valley.
Chris McNamara reviewed the TC Pro for Supertopo. It's an awesome shoe!
The second step is to start building a rack. Buy passive protection like nuts and hexentrics first. They are less expensive than camming units and a little more versatile. The HB Offsets are excellent for Yosemite pin scars and these Metolious Curve nuts are great for standard placements. Check out a quick instructional bit from EHow on placing stoppers.
Now comes the fun stuff. The Touchstone gyms have a fun line of Black Diamond Camalots as well as Metiolous cams. Tri-camming units like the one pictured below are good for pin scars and small cracks.
Make sure your gear is solid. Don't be this guy!
Try your hand at one of the many cracks at the Touchstone gyms, keep an eye on the weather in Yosemite, and get ready to get TRADICAL!
The best place to start building your trad climbing gear is on your feet. High top shoes are nice because they protect your ankles in many of the grueling offwidths in the Valley.
Chris McNamara reviewed the TC Pro for Supertopo. It's an awesome shoe!
The second step is to start building a rack. Buy passive protection like nuts and hexentrics first. They are less expensive than camming units and a little more versatile. The HB Offsets are excellent for Yosemite pin scars and these Metolious Curve nuts are great for standard placements. Check out a quick instructional bit from EHow on placing stoppers.
Now comes the fun stuff. The Touchstone gyms have a fun line of Black Diamond Camalots as well as Metiolous cams. Tri-camming units like the one pictured below are good for pin scars and small cracks.
Make sure your gear is solid. Don't be this guy!
Try your hand at one of the many cracks at the Touchstone gyms, keep an eye on the weather in Yosemite, and get ready to get TRADICAL!
Labels: TC Pro, trad climbing gear
¶ Wednesday, March 09, 2011
