Gear Chat -- Beginner Kit, Part One
A beginner proposed a list of gear they NEEDED to get. Here is my response to the first half. VERY opinionated Am I.
Tom says: I love your enthusiasm, and welcome to the obsession - but...
Slow down sailor! (I am prone to hyperbole:) It is like you are all gung ho to go help the Ukrainians, and have rounded up a musket, a cavalry saber and a spear, plus a drone you bought from Temu... (That’s a bit harsh).
First off, Climbing and Canyoneering are very different sports. Climbers think there is an 80% crossover in technique and gear; Canyoneers have learned there is a 20% crossover. It's like Tennis vs. Ping Pong. - but at least that has Pickle Ball halfway in-between.
So, don't mix the two. Your proposed gear list says 'gear need for climbing and canyoneering'. Climbers in general know nothing about canyoneering. Canyoneers definitely know nothing about climbing. (exception: some people do both, know both.)
Climbing/rappelling/canyoneering gear List (proposed)
Part one
Climbing Harness - Petzl Adjama
Static/dynamic rope 60 meters
Pull rope/retrieval rope 6mm x 50 meters (?!)
Primary Biner - Pirate ORCA
Helmet - CAMP Armour
Gloves - Black Diamond
Shoes
ATC - BD ATC-XP
PAS system - Petzl Dual CNX
Pealess Whistle
Rappel Device - Critr
But let's go through the list one by one:
00: The first thing you should be buying is a course. Canyoneers know how to do stuff. You should take a canyoneering course that will get you at the start of the path of how to do that stuff. Then you should go do that stuff with people that know how to do that stuff, so you can learn it. Learning the things to do is the first step; learning what things to do when by doing canyons with people ^ is the second step. Then you go take the second course. etc. etc. (Usually only 3 courses).
A -Harness: I like using a climbing harness for canyoneering, but then again I climbed for 30 years before becoming a canyoneer. Adjama is a fine harness, and it has the separating leg loops needed for you to add a seat to it. You will want to add a seat. I recommend the ShuffleButt that I make. The seat is a sacrificial layer that protects the harness, your shorts/pants/wetsuit from getting torn up. 20$.
"I like lots of gear loops". Good when you are climbing. Ungood when you are canyoneering. You should have minimal gear dangling from your harness when you are canyoneering because it gets in the way most of the time. What you should have:
1. Rappel Device including one fat carabiner;
2. if using a climbing harness, you should have one small carabiner on the belay loop, and the Rap Device biner clips into that. This is so that the Rap Device aka Critr is correctly oriented so you can use all the features as intended. The little bit of Extension tends to be a good thing most of the time.
3. Safety Leash.
4. Two 'free' carabiners. Preferably large round-stock biners like the Cypher Iris. 'Free' biners are biners with nothing on them, so they can be used for rigging.
And that's it. The rest of your tech gear should be IN YOUR PACK. When you come to a long rappel, your ascending gear goes on your harness. When you finish that rappel, it should go back into your pack.
B -Rope: no. Climbing ropes and canyon ropes are cats and dogs. Superficially similar, but not interchangeable. As a beginner, you should not buy a rope (* see below). You will be going out with people that know what they are doing, and they have ropes. That way, you get to use a variety of rope brands and styles and see how they work. Also, you will learn how we use ropes, and thus learn what lengths are most appropriate.
*Except: sounds like you want to at least get a piece of rope to go set up somewhere and practice stuff. -- okay, but I think this is also a bad idea. Because you are unlikely to be a good teacher.
C - Pull Rope: see B above. Much safer in the beginning to bring more real rope. Because you are going to get ropes stuck. We all do.
D - Primary Biner: (and other carabiners): The Orca is a spring-loaded gizmo. We do not use these in canyoneering for one main reason and one secondary reason. Main: Our canyons are sandy, and spring loaded gizmos fail quickly in a sandy environment. Usually by locking closed, which can be a serious problem. We use screwgate locking carabiners ONLY. Simple screwgates don't get wrecked by the sand. And everybody knows how to use them. Look at the Cypher Iris screwgate or the BD Rocklock screwgate as examples. The secondary reason is that your gizmo has a secret combo to open and close - and only you will know this. Carabiners in the canyon become group gear. So everybody in the group needs to be able to operate all the carabiners. If you think your rappel device carabiner ('primary') will not be used by anyone else, then you lack imagination.
D2 - Secondary Biners: I like to have smaller, lighter carabiners for other jobs, like the Cypher Vesta or BD Hotforge. Screwgate. One for my knife, which might also have a rapide or two on it. One for my ascending gear. One on the end of my safety leash.
E - Helmet: Excellent. Any climbing helmet will do. Very Helpful if it fits you, best to try on a couple different brands and see what you like. Best if you can wear it with a ball cap underneath it and with a lightweight warm hat underneath it, but not at the same time. If you use it a lot in Utah, and weigh more than 130 lbs, you might need to stand on it at some point, so consider that in your choice.
F - Gloves: climbing gloves are made of leather. Leather does not respond well to getting wet a lot. I suggest the carefully chosen high-performance gardening gloves that I sell. And I'm serious, they really are quite good. 7$. I wear gloves primarily to protect my hands from the rock, so I can canyoneer the next day. Secondarily they are nice for rappelling, but if you are using your gloves for friction while rappelling you are already in trouble! Once or twice a canyon I end up 'using glove' while rappelling when I mess up the friction, though when using a Critr there is no reason for this.
G - Shoes: yup, gotta wear em. Lots of different opinions about what works. I have wide, old man feet and works for me is some unusual choices, not generally available. So I will no opine on this.
H - ATC: The ATC is a fine belay device. I like the BD ATC-XP a lot. For when I belay. Sometimes for canyons that don't have much in the way of rappels. Possibly appropriate as a backup rappel device to keep in the pack. Otherwise inappropriate for canyoneering. And don't get me started on using a Gri-Gri.
I - PAS system: Climbers like em. Really essential for big wall climbing with hanging belays, or long free routes with semi-hanging belays. Possibly a good idea in flowing water canyons with exposed rap stations. Yes, you need a safety leash as a more-or-less permanent part of your harness. It does not need to be adjustable. It does not need to be a $100 gadget. (A PAS is a specific product made by Metolius, which is a simpler gadget, but still a gadget). Gadgets get in the way and can be unsafe.
J- Pealess Whistle: Yes. Whistles are useful in general, and essential in flowing water canyons. The louder the better. Attaches to the helmet so you can get to it easily when in an emergency.
K- Rappel Device: Canyoneers now use Modern, Figure8 style Dynamically Adjustable Rappel Devices. These allow you to add friction safely while dangling from the rope. I prefer the one I sell, the Critr. But there are others that are good like the Sqwurel, the Hoodoo, Palikoa Pivot... a few others. This is the modern world!
And thus ends Part 1 on a happy note.