Quick Draws: what makes a good one?

By Warren Gans and Simon Larsen

The un-advertised truth about draws is some people stretch nearly 10 years out of their draws, longer then most other items in your gear cupboard: If you are about to make such a long term investment isn’t it worth buying the right one rather than the cheapest? In 5 years you would have forgotten the price, but still be cursing the bad purchase.

Arguably there are 3 types of draws: Trad/on-sighting, projecting and general purpose. They each have a slightly different set of primary concerns, however most people are more concerned with price and “a good, all purpose draw”, which becomes the 3^rd option. It is difficult to talk about the ideals of mediocrity, and so I won’t talk of the later configuration.

Anatomy of an ideal sport draw:

All draws are 2 karabiners and an Express Sling – (some times called a Dog Bone) separating them. These ‘biners usually differ from one another due to a couple of factors :

1. The clipping function of each ‘biner is different – when clipping the “bolt ‘biner”, you are clipping into a solid item which does not move – so there is less emphasis on internal space and more emphasis on easy removal. The reverse is true when clipping a rope into the bottom ‘biner which in flapping at the end of an express sling.

2. The sharp edge of many hangers can cause metal burrs to develop on the inside of ‘biners subjected to regular falls. If, at another time, these ‘biners are clipped to the rope – the burs can damage the rope. It is therefore important to have two, distinctly different ‘biners on each end of the ‘draw, so that one’s clipping practice can be consistent.

Weight: This is an emotive topic that is probably over rated by some and ignored by others. The day of the genuinely heavy draw died in the early 90’s and now most draws are acceptably light. Some people appreciate a well thought out draw and will favour features over feather weight differences.

Clipping ‘biner: You want a draw that is super-easy to clip, personally I prefer wire-gates[1] as they are less likely to catch your finger when clipping compared to a solid gate. The wire consumes much less of the internal space in the ‘biner – thereby ensuring that the gate opens much wider. Solid bent gates were popular due to their price (no longer an issue) and the psychological confidence of a thick bar holding the ‘biner together, but it seems climbers have now accepted the wire-gate on mass. I suggest a draw with a big bucket”[2] as the sacrifice of weight for this luxury is often understated, but this is a feature adds cost to the draw

Dog Bones: Wide dogs[3] are great: when working a difficult move you may want something big and chunky to hold onto- yes you save minor weights on the thinner dynex or dyneema dogs versus nylon, but sacrifice this little luxury. Personal tastes on this clearly vary

The bolt side The Karabiner should ideally be a “hookless” type: this makes cleaning the route (mainly over hanging or diagonal routes) much easier. There are many different ways designers have created the hookless ‘biner, mostly using a “key Lock” type configuration. I suggest having the gate in opposing directions for the convenience of cleaning, but this is your call[4]

Trad. Draws

Trad and on-site kit amounts to the same thing: its all about weight. Dynex or dyneema dogs, ultra light- weight ‘biners (wire naturally) all adds up. Often manufacturers create small ‘biners too, but this amounts to the same thing, ultimately reducing the ease of clipping. Weight is of particular concern when climbing trad. as the ‘draws are just one part of a much bigger rack. A saving of 200g in draws combined with the weight saved on a light rope, harness and pro makes big changes to your ability.

Examples of Great draws: The Black Diamond Live Wire is a fantastic sports draw. It has a hot forged rope clipping with a beautiful large bucket and easy clipping gate, a 25mm wide dogbone and superior hookless solid gate. It’s only problem the price (around R290)

- http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-glbl/shop/climb/carabiners/livewire-quickdraw

Black Diamond offers ‘draws that work up to this ideal. The step down is the Hot wire which is the same rough configuration (wire gate, thin dog, hookless solid gate) – and makes a great combo trad or sport ‘draw.

For the tradites and on-sighters look at the BD Oz Draw with two ultra light ‘biners strung together with a dynex dogbone. At a mere 62g for the ‘draw, they are about the lightest draws on the market at the moment.

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-glbl/shop/climb/carabiners/oz-quickdraw

Just rememeber that when one sacrifices convenience for weight, clipping difficulties and longevity issues arise.

Other concerns :

Orientation:

There is some debate as the best way to orient the ‘biners: gates on the same direction or opposing. Some argue that having gates in the same direction is safer as the draw is less likely to unclip itself from the bolt, however this more an issue of how you choose to position the ‘draw relative to the direction of travel once you climb above it. Others argue that opposing gates allows easier clipping but mainly easier cleaning of the draw of the route. Essentially it’s a matter of personal preference. However what ever you choose to do – just do it consistently; the dangers lie in mixing it up.

Keeper ring :

Most good quick draws are equipped with a rubber “keeper” of some kind on the bottom end of the express sling. The intention is that this unit holds the rope clipping ‘biner firmly – preventing the ‘biner from swivelling around as one tries to clip it. Black Diamond stitches their rubber unit INSIDE the nylon loop which is the most compact and durable method – they really grip the ‘biner & they just don’t wear out. Beal makes a very beefy unit called the “pinch” which has amazing stretch and can be retrofitted to any ‘draw.

Length of express sling :

Most sport ‘draws are equipped with express slings around 10cm long. While this length is suitable in most sport climbing scenarios – there are occasions which call for longer ‘draws:

1. Clipping the chains : it is often useful to have some longer ‘draws to clip your harness to the top anchors while threading your rope through the top anchors. Longer draws just make the process more comfortable.

2. Bottom roping on sport routes : it is not good for your rope or for the top anchors to thread the rope for climbing purposes. The better practice is to clip quick draws into the top hangers which hold the chain, and to climb with the rope running through the two ‘draws which should be oriented opposite to one another. However 10cm ‘draws usually do not provide enough length to create a comfortable V – more often than not, ones rope ends up running in a square formation Π which invariably twists the rope. I find that 18cm or 20cm ‘draws are useful for this purpose.

3. Trad. routes : when climbing trad. one often does not have the luxury of placing your gear in a nice straight line. Once has to use the cracks available and this often causes the rope to take many corners. In addition, placements may be found under bulges or around corners. These complications all add to friction – which can get so bad as to prevent further progress. Longer ‘draws allow one to “cut off the corners” – thereby ensuring smoother rope travel.

How many draws do you need? 10 to 30 depending on what you are doing. Most routes in the country are 8-12 draws long, but longer routes need more draws. The God No! Wall at ‘ Boven has routes 18 draws long, and Oudtshoorn gets even longer.

Some climbers project routes from a weekend to few months, then they would want a rack for the project plus some draws to warm up with.

As a all round climber doing equal amounts of trad. and sport I have the following breakdown :

4 x 10cm

4 x 15cm

4 x 18cm

2 x 30cm (I use 30cm Black Diamond dynex slings with Beal pinches on the clipping ‘biner end)