Kit List

A climbing rack for sport climbing and Trad climbing is quite personal. If you are thinking of buying any equipment for the festival, see below for some articles on the basics of a good rack, or even better, visit a good climbing shop and speak to their staff for advice. PLEASE DO NOT buy anything from Amazon, eBay or second-hand.

Buying A Rack Of Trad Climbing Gear (ukclimbing.com)
Getting started: sport climbing outdoors (thebmc.co.uk)
Belay and abseil devices for climbing (thebmc.co.uk)

You might already have a climbing rope for climbing indoors, however, you will often need a longer rope for climbing outdoors. For Trad climbing, some routes might need twin ropes. For more information on ropes, here’s a great article: UKC Articles – Everything You Wanted to Know About Ropes (ukclimbing.com)

Climbing gear gets swapped around on climbing trips, so label your gear to make it easily identifiable as yours. The most popular way to do so is to buy a roll of electrical tape (cheap and readily available in a
variety of colours and patterns) and wrap small sections of tape on, e.g. the spine of a carabiner, the sewn part of a sling, the inside of your helmet. Some people will pay a little extra to get customised tags with their name, email and mobile number on them, very snazzy.

A head torch is more useful than a torch light – it is easier to pitch your tent in the dark if you have both
hands free!

Your rucksack really does need to be at least 30L big – even if you clip your helmet to the outside of your pack, 30L is the absolute minimum size needed to fit all of your personal climbing gear (harness, shoes) as well as a half rope and half a rack inside it, along with food, water, warm and wet weather clothing, first aid kit etc.

When packing your rucksack(s), make sure that your head torch and waterproofs are easily accessible.

Bring 2 or 3 spare tent pegs if you can.

Ear plugs and eye shades/masks are a great help for a good night’s sleep.

Multitools can be useful.

Please remember that what you wear is incredibly personal, and there is by no means a foolproof system that works for everyone. This is just some ideas if you aren’t yet sure what works for you in the outdoors.

For climbing it is best if your clothes have some movement or stretch to them, won’t get heavy if they get wet, and don’t matter if they get ripped or damaged. Some walking clothes will work, but not all as some walking trousers might not give you the movement you need.

Think Layers! The weather and how much heat you produce can change quite a lot over the course of the day. You might feel very warm when climbing but pretty cold when learning new skills on the ground, belaying, etc. Even on a sunny warm day it is important to bring spare layers, hats and gloves.

Bottom half: Stretchy, softshell type trousers, climbing trousers or leggings all work well. Long johns underneath if it’s really cold!

Top: Ideally: Base layer; Microfleece pullover; Softshell jacket; Thin, synthetic insulated jacket or vest. Plus a big down jacket with a water-resistant outer shell to put on top of everything when cold.

Waterproofs: Waterproof jacket and Waterproof over-trousers. You probably won’t want to wear them when actually climbing as they might tear, but they are essential to have in your pack when adventuring, especially in Britain!

What to avoid:
Cotton or flannel t-shirts and trousers, tracksuit bottoms and sweat pants – these will become extremely heavy and lose their ability to keep you warm if they get wet. They also take a long time to dry, and nothing dries properly overnight when you’re camping.

Also, don’t wear anything that you wouldn’t want to see ripped, trashed, shredded or mud/dirt-splattered in any way.