Behold the long quickdraw!
You know how sometimes you just want to buy gear because you like the feeling of new gear? Of course you do. We’re climbers and that’s part of the game. Well, I was bored one day and decided to go to the local climbing shop and blow ten bucks on something cool. A long (12″) quickdraw caught my attention. Most of my draws are short little guys except for one longer (maybe 9″?) draw that I bootied a while back that I really liked. I felt that my quickdraw rack could use a little diversity, so I bought the thing.
I have to admit that this was probably one of my more brilliant impromptu gear purchases.
Oddly enough, there is often rope drag on sport climbs! But for some reason we usually don’t use long slings like we do when trad climbing. Having one (or a couple) of these long draws on your rack is perfect for that “why-the-crap-did-they-put-the-bolt-way-over-there?!” clip. I wouldn’t recommend getting a dozen of these things, but my two have definitely been put to good use. I also find myself taking these draws with me on trad climbs. They’re just cool. Highly recommended!
(Mine are Yates brand but the one pictured above is Metolius.)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve got the Yates one, too, and I like it a lot. I don’t know why, but it just feels satisfying to have a really long draw hanging off your harness… It’s a pretty useful piece to have.
Also, when you’re clipping tired, sometimes it’s just nice to have the draw a little lower and closer to your body.