Best placing hexes climbing reddit. Cams are certainly easier, but I'll take a well placed hex over any cam placement anyday. 3M subscribers in the climbing community. So far my favorite things to place have been the DMM torque nuts (hexes), which have been quicker for me to place and much more solid when pulled from any direction. This is because I have spent years placing these. On top of that, hexes provide better protection than cams only at a couple climbing areas in the country, and probably even then only on a handful of routes. Been trad climbing with some buddies for a while now and ready to commit and buy my own rack. You often hear that they are hard to place, which I personally disagree with. In my own personal experience, I found learning how to place hexes almost as difficult as Tricams. So I saw that article from a week ago saying hexes make you look like a noob. Very overwhelmed on where to start. It took me a while to visualize how the two cammed placements work and even longer to make use of the sideways placement. 1. I wouldn't worry about the cowbell noise too much - do you really think you'll be carrying a full set of hexes every time you go out? I started climbing trad in the 90s, but didn't buy my first cam until 2014. I only have about 2 years experience climbing and 1 year leading. Now that I have plenty of cams I still reach for my stoppers more than anything else. Nuts and hexes all have a curved side, this is for camming them in, a fall will cam them in harder. I've seen both positive and negative about hexes and nuts. It just seems Aug 8, 2022 · With no moving parts (hence, “passive protection”), nuts are inexpensive, lightweight, and sturdy. Hundreds of trad routes with no problem. It's simply a new skill, and it takes months of climbing with them regularly until they are as "easy" to place as normal cams. 10 and harder as stances that allow one to use both hands to place hexes or tricams become more rare. Here's what you need to know. Also frees up my cams if I'm setting an anchor for my friends and then leading something else. ) It's a new skill to learn. I don't carry them in the Gunks (my home crag) but I carry them in other places I've been to. I climb mostly in Utah in rock canyon and Ibex with the occasional moab trip. Wouldn't it be best to start on hexes and nuts? Not only are they less expensive, but you're more likely to learn proper placement. The chances that you'll need big gear is pretty small, and the hexes are light, cheap, and effective. Knowing how to use hexes means understanding that they are best CAMMED into place. I led on this all through college. That said if I was multipitching, I rather sink a hex into a belay than anything else. I was climbing in Arkansas though and the rock there eats up passive gear. They make hexes in bigger sizes than nuts, and I've found them useful for wider constrictions for that reason. The home of Climbing on reddit. I find placing Tricams/Abalaks equally easy to placing normal cams. Red Camalot 30-52 mm; #4 Rockcentric 30-36 mm Hexes are great for alpine climbing where the weight savings are significant and you may need to leave bail gear to get down. My favorite use for hexes is building gear TR anchors, since they won't walk like cams. So if I'm anywhere near typical of a rock climber getting on lead without having a lot of ground placement practice with them, you'd probably hate them too. Edit: Accidental press of save. Also, I'm all for using the rope, but using a cordlette has it's advantages too. When I was in high school I bought a set of stoppers set of hexes and set of quick draws. There are two camming modes, and the cables are already too stiff to allow the larger mode (in horizontal cracks at least). And yes we are scared of falling. Here is my thought and correct me if I'm wrong. Like tricams, hexes are practically obsolete, especially for climbers pushing 5. Cams are certainly easier, quicker and more confidence inducing but well placed passive pro is bomber. Next to Tricams, hexes took me the longest to conceptualize and visualize how they place in their cammed positions. If you can't place a hex, what makes you think you're nut placement will be any good? I personally don't place them much when climbing because a cam is more convenient. Hexes really come in to their own when winter climbing, they're unaffected by ice and respond very well when you smash them with your ice axe (standard practice, can help a lot with placing gear in tricky spots. If your in a place like Utah with parallel cracks you’ll need cams. 73 votes, 32 comments. Any suggestions on what a good “starter pack” would look like as far different cam/nut sizes? and then I can experiment and add to it based on need from there. Based on the shape of the hex, I wouldn't place it. New hexes have a lot of variability of size so they'll fit a lot of places, that one looks to have sides of equal length so it's more of a glorified nut. nocd fgeqj tgfnxkz uuqpxn mgeflym bdrpw anpzza cwbaw mezix glcx