Indoor Rock Climbing & Bouldering Gear: Chalk Bags & More

Shoes: Climbing shoes make you climb better. Their special rubber soles give you better friction. We recommend you start with a flat and stiffer model. Then you can move on to more ‘aggressive’ downturned shoes later on.

Belay device: A belay device allows you to hold your partner if they fall and lower them safely. You can also use them to abseil with. There are three main types: manual tube belay devices, tube devices with assisted braking, and ‘semi-automatic’ belay devices. Which one you choose depends on the kind of climbing you do.

HMS carabiner:

A belay device is always used together with a screwgate carabiner. These big pear-shaped belay biners have a locking gate and a large basket end that will take an Italian hitch (HMS knot).

Rope:

Your rope connects you and your partner. Ropes are made with an inner core and a protective outer sheath. They come in different lengths and diameters and have different characteristics.

Climbing harness

Your harness keeps you safely attached to the rope. Climbing harnesses all have a padded waist belt with auto-locking buckles, leg loops, a tie-in loop and gear loops along the sides. They are made of strong flat webbing with padding.

Chalk

Chalk stops your hands getting too sweaty to allow you to grip holds better. You carry it with you as you climb in your chalkbag – a small bag with a drawcord closure attached to the back of your harness or slung around your waist.

Helmet:

Play it safe – many climbing accidents can be avoided by wearing a helmet.

Quickdraws

Having your own quickdraws means you can lead sport routes. We recommend getting at least ten – this will cover most climbing walls or outdoor routes.

Pro Key Nut tool: Useful to help you remove protective gear when you are seconding a lead climber while trad or multi-pitch climbing.

Rack:

Once you take up lead climbing, you’ll want to build your own rack of protection.

Rocks:

Nuts and hexes are the main type of passive protection, or ‘pro’. These removable metal wedges mounted on wires work best in tapering cracks. There are many different types out there, including nuts with offset tapered sides.

Hexes:

Hexes can be used in tapering and parallel-sided cracks. They cover sizes larger than nuts.

Camming devices:

‘Cam’ is short for spring-loaded camming device (SLCD). The Wild Country Friends are the original cam and one of the most important inventions in climbing. When you release their spring-loaded trigger, the aluminium cam lobes expand to fit a crack placement.

Locking biners:

Locking carabiners are used for placements to provide extra safety, to support building anchors, or to connect yourself into an anchor.

Slings:

Slings are sewn loops of strong webbing. Use them to extend your quickdraws to decrease rope drag or to set up an anchor.

Webbing:

Webbing is used during trad climbing to create custom lengths for extending or building anchors.

Cord:

Thin accessory cord is useful for threading holes, protecting other features, building anchors and making a Prusik or Klemmheist/ Machard friction hitch.