Advantages: Fantastic design - great for beginners Disadvantages: Can be difficult when using thick or stiff ropes
...There isn't much you can say about things like belay devices, but I do know that when you are just getting into climbing and there is an entire wall covered in strange climbing related objects it would be nice to have someone point you in the right direction.
What is a belay and what is it for? Basically when you climb (99% of the time) you climb with a partner. Your partner is there to catch you when you fall and to do so so he or she needs some sort of device that gives full control of the speed of the rope. The rope is folded over and threaded through the hole in the belayplate, then the loop that has been threaded through is attached to your harness via a screw gate carabiner. The loose end of the rope should be hanging down towards the floor and the end attached to the climber points up.
To stop the rope from moving the loose end...
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Advantages: safe bit of gear, great forwall use and beginners Disadvantages: can just be awkward and annoying - especially outdoors
...restricted
now for the plastic bit. dividing the crab in half means that once used in the system and the plastic clip lock on, the bottom half is attached to you and the half contains the belayplate and rope. and it does one simple, but useful thing, now the crab cannot move round to the side and become cross loaded (where the rope pull is on the crabs width), so there will be no reduction in strength. because, if your not careful crabs can flip around on their side and reduce the force they can take. so it sounds like a nice life save device.
on the other hand, its really annoying, in order to stop the plastic bit sticking out and flapping around it has to be clipped across both sides of the crab,and to do this the screw on the gate has to be locked. however, when you've got it crab clipped to you gear rack, or you taking it on and off...
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Advantages: Comfy, grippy, good fit with laces Disadvantages: Not much
...I have owned a pair of these for about a year and a half now and although I don't get to climb as much as I'd like I would have to say my next pair will be another pair of these.
First of these shoes are very comfortable for climbing shoes. I've had shoes in the past thathad such an agressive profile that I would climb a route then take them off and spend at least half an hour belaying others just to rest my feet. Not so with the scarpas. I climb, belay, climb some more and even sit in the cafe and have a coffee when I'm finished before taking them off and they are still comfortable at the end of the session. The top of the heel section does dig into my ankle at the back but then so do all climbing shoes and these haven't made me bleed so far.
The actual profile of the shoe is pretty good and the point of the toe is shaped just...
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11.05.2006
