What to buy to get set up for sport climbing

Article by Mark Watson

Rock climbing is a fun and engaging sport, blending the athleticism of strength and flexibility with problem solving to climb routes. It's rewarding when you unlock the moves, or build the strength and climb something that at first seemed perplexing or impossible. 

Sport climbing is the most popular subset of climbing and involves climbing routes indoors or outdoors that already have the protection (bolts) in place. ‘Leading’ means climbing the route with no 'top rope' above the climber, while they are belayed by their partner below. The leader uses quickdraws (carabiners on a short webbing sling) to clip the rope into bolts as they climb. 

Here’s the gear you’ll need to get started with sport climbing.

Sit harness

Between catching falls while belaying, hangdogging (resting while you work out the climb), falling off, and abseiling or lowering off after your 'send', you spend a lot of time sitting in your harness as well as climbing in it, so it should be comfortable and fit well.

When the waistband is done up, the harness gear loops should sit equally on both sides of your waist, and you should be about to insert no more than a few fingers between the harness and your body. Look for waist and leg loops that are wide in the ‘sit’ areas, but narrow at the front to allow for range of motion. 

A standard sport climbing harness should have at least four gear loops, where you hang your quickdraws and belay device. Other features to look out for include a clip in point on the back for carrying a second rope, or accessories, and releasable or adjustable rear straps. 

Harnesses usually come in two to four sizes (depending on the brand or model), and some have adjustable leg loops, which are useful if you plan to share the harness with someone, or will wear it for alpine use, when you have thicker pants on. 

Womens harnesses are available, and these tend to have longer belay loops (for taller waists) and sometimes the waistband and leg loops will have different shaping. 

Higher end harnesses are not necessarily the most comfortable, because they sometimes minimise comfort to save weight, but they are fine for shorter periods of sitting. For beginner climbers a mid-range harness tends to be the best starting point. 

Personal anchor system

A personal anchor system, or PAS, is what you use to secure yourself to climbing anchors at belays when you are threading the rope in preparation for being lowered or abseiling, or during multi-pitch climbs. You can use a 60cm sling for this purpose, but dedicated systems are recommended because they often allow you to adjust the length between your waist and the clip point. Generally you leave your PAS on your harness all the time. You’ll need a locking gate carabiner to use with it.   

Belay device

The most common style of belay device used for sport climbing are assisted braking devices such as the Petzl Grigri or Mad Rock Lifeguard. These devices lock automatically when a fall comes on to the rope, and provide controlled lowering when someone is descending or working a climb. 

For abseiling, or belaying with double ropes for multi-pitch or trad climbing you’ll need a regular tube-style belay device too, such as the Mad Rock Wingman. This style of device is completely suitable for belaying sport climbing too if you are limited by budget. Regular climbers usually own a belay device of each type.

You’ll need a basic locking carabiner to clip the device to the belay loop on your harness.

Read more about different types of belay device 

Dynamic rope

Climbing ropes come in a variety of different diameters and lengths. A sport climbing rope should be between 9.5mm to 10mm in diameter and between 50-70 metres in length. For New Zealand 50–60m is sufficient, but some international sport crags require a 70m rope. Generally, thicker ropes–such as 10mm–will be more durable, but they can provide a harsher ‘catch’ when you fall.

‘Working’ routes is quite hard on your rope, so if you anticipate a lot of projecting, then aim for a thicker rope, such as the Trango Agility 9.8mm. But if you like to lead within your abilities and aim for the onsight on routes, a thinner rope such as a 9.5 will serve you well.

While it’s a bit of extra rope to lug around, one advantage to longer (60-70m) ropes is that you can cut the ends down as they wear out, because the first few metres tend to wear the fastest. 

The Beal Virus is a good all round 10mm rope.

Other features to look out for are whether the rope has a middle mark or is bi-colour (a different colour sheath on each half) or is waterproofed. Waterproof ropes are slightly more durable and will not saturate as much when you get caught in the rain. 

Quickdraws

Standard sport quickdraws are short (10-16cm) lengths of webbing with a carabiner at each end. These are used for clipping the lead climber’s rope to bolts, while they climb. Some quickdraws have ‘wire gate’ carabiners while others have straight gate and bent gate carabiners (the bent gate is for the rope end). Generally wire gate ‘biners are the lightest. A set of 12 quickdraws is sufficient for starting out, but some climbs will require more. It’s common to use two in the anchor at the top of a climb before you lower off, so don’t forget to pack two more than the number of lead bolts in the route!

For longer routes, trad climbing or mixed-pro routes, it’s useful to have a few extendable draws as well, made from a doubled up 50-60cm 8-11mm slings. Wire gate carabiners work well for this sort of quickdraw. 

Carabiners

As well as your quickdraws, you’ll need some other carabiners for building anchors and carrying other equipment.

Non-locking carabiners

Two to four non-locking carabiners can be a useful part of your set up if you need to build top rope anchors, attach a rope protector at the top of the cliff, or clip your shoes to your harness. They are essential if you plan to trad climb too and can be used to rack, or clip slings or trad equipment. Offset-D carabiners are best. 

Locking gate carabiners

This style of carabiner has a small sleeve or mechanism that prevents the gate from opening accidentally. These are used on top anchors, on the anchor focal point (where the rope is clipped in) and for attaching your belay device to your harness and on your PAS.

Aside from your belay device and PAS, it’s useful to have two spares for making top rope anchors, because it’s better to top rope through your own carabiners instead of directly off fixed anchors. 

The Mad Rock Hulk Screwgate has a rounded profile, making it good for top rope focal points (the ‘biner that holds the rope)

While the Mad Rock Ultra Tech Screwgate (I-beam) is a good all-round locking carabiner and lightweight.

 

Slings

If you have some extendable quickdraws (as mentioned above), then the only slings you should need for sport climbing will be for building top rope anchors, unless you plan to trad climb too. For top rope anchors it can be handy to have one or two 120cm slings and a 60cm sling, in 11mm width.

Rock climbing shoes

Rock climbing shoes have soles made with ‘sticky’ rubber that grips the rock, and the soles are designed to work on all sorts of holds, from edges to slopers. 

Velcro closures are quicker to open and close, but lace up shoes are precise and work just fine too. Buy shoes tight for precision (about one size down from your usual street shoe size), but not so tight that they are uncomfortable to the point of distraction while you’re climbing.

Beginner climbers tend to drag their toes and scuff the shoes around more, so beginner shoes usually have thicker or harder rubber that will be longer lasting. 

A mid range shoe that’s suitable for all angles is the best thing to buy if you are just starting. Avoid aggressive ‘downturned’ shoes unless you intend to only climb overhanging routes. 

Slipper style shoes tend to be best for sensitivity (feeling the holds) and smearing (more rubber contact) but are less stiff for face climbing. 

Womens-specific rock shoes tend to have a narrower heel, lower volume and smaller toe box. 

Chalk bag

Chalk is recommended because it improves your finger and hand contact with the rock by absorbing moisture. With chalk you’ll feel more secure on small or sloping holds, especially when it’s hot. Using a chalk ball is a good way to make powdered chalk last longer, as you won’t use as much, and you can squeeze it to cover your palm with chalk. You carry it in a nifty bag around your waist.

Helmet

Climbing helmets protect you both from objects or rocks falling from above, but also falls and come in two main types: expanded foam and hardshell. 

Expanded foam helmets are the most popular style for sport climbing and look a bit like a bike helmet, with thick foam. Generally this style is the lightest and most comfortable, and will protect your head well in a lead fall. 

Hardshell helmets usually have a tough knock-resistant hard plastic shell and a small amount of foam inside. This style is probably the longest lasting, and they’re better as sustaining blows from falling objects, but more common for mountaineering and multi-pitch trad climbing.

 

Optional equipment

Approach shoes

Approach shoes are hiking-style shoes with sticky rubber soles and rands. The sole rubber is harder (longer lasting) than you’d find on a rock shoe, but much more sticky than typical hiking shoe rubber. Once you’ve hiked in sticky rubber shoes it’s hard to go back to normal shoes as they feel so much more secure, which makes them great for hiking to the crag, especially if there are rock slabs or scrambling sections. 

Rope bag

Rope bags usually include a large mat that you can put on the ground to keep your rope clean. At the end of the session you just roll the rope up in the mat and secure it in the bag. Keeping your rope clean will considerably prolong its life. 

Belay glasses

Belay glasses use prismatic lenses to save the belayer from straining their neck by looking upwards all of the time. They’re very useful for belaying long pitches or when the climbing is spending a lot of time working a route.

Sunglasses

Cliffs can be highly reflective of the sun, so sunglasses are recommended, especially for long days at sunny crags.

Belay gloves

Belay gloves protect your hands while you belay, and also keep your hands clean from the aluminium oxide that tends to rub off the rope – avoiding those black hands at the end of a climbing day.  

First aid kit

A bit of lost skin is not uncommon during climbing sessions. A basic first aid kit is a good start to managing minor injuries. 

Climbing tape

‘Finger tape’ is very popular among regular climbers for supporting finger pulleys and tendons or wrist and elbow tendons. You can also use it to tape your hands for crack climbing. For small cuts, it’s better to use tape than sticking plasters, as it’s less likely to come off when you continue climbing.