If you’re planning on going out top roping, you want to make sure you’ve got the right gear. Not only is safety top priority, but the right gear will make your climbs smoother and easier too.
So, what exactly should you bring for top roping? The guide below will cover it all for you, so grab a pen and paper and get ready to take some notes. Ready? Let’s get started:
General Climbing Gear
You’re going to need all of the standard climbing gear that you would use on any other climb, whether top roping or not. To give you a quick overview, You’ll Need: A rope, harness, climbing helmet, climbing shoes, chalk and chalk bag, belay device, and locking carabiners.
Climbing Rope
Obviously you’ll need a good climbing rope, but you do have some options when it comes to rope. Most climbers will use the standard, dynamic climbing rope you’d expect – but there are a couple other choices available to you.
Semi-static rope is far less expensive, and can be safely used for many different climbing situations. Keep in mind that this rope is only semi-static, meaning that it has some give – but not nearly as much as dynamic rope does.
Many climbers also use static rope for top roping, but static rope has no give, so it’s not necessarily recommended for top roping. While many climbers use static rope for top roping and rappelling, it may not do well in the case of a fall.
So if you do use either semi-static or static rope, you wouldn’t want to take any high falls. If you want to make sure that you’re climbing as safely as possible – only use dynamic rope that is meant for climbing.
Climbing Harness
You only ever want to use a high quality harness that’s meant for climbing. A harness isn’t the thing to save money on by buying a cheap one. Look for name brands that specialize in climbing harnesses like: Black Diamond, Petzl, Mammut, Edelweiss and Mad Rock.
Look for harnesses with durable, high quality gear loops, tough well made webbing and easy adjusting. Any good climbing harness should at least have four gear loops (more is fine if that’s what you prefer). You may also want a harness with a rear loop, as they can be great for hauling another rope or extra gear.
Climbing Helmet
There are two main types of climbing helmets on the market today: Hard shell helmets and shelled foam helmets. They each have their own unique advantages and disadvantages.
Hard shell helmets are made from highly durable hard plastic. They tend to be not only less expensive then shelled foam helmets, they usually last longer than them too.
Shelled foam helmets are much lighter, and according to some climbers – much more comfortable. They also have better ventilation than their hard plastic counterparts, but they cost more. While they are a bit more expensive, you do get what you pay for.
Either type of helmet is fine, as long as they’re well made, quality helmets made by trusted manufacturers of climbing gear.
Climbing Shoes
Different styles of climbing require their own unique gear, the same is true when it comes to climbing shoes. Climbers who are mainly into bouldering and sport climbing tend to wear shoes that fit tightly, which are easy to take of quickly. On the other hand, traditional climbers want climbing shoes that will be comfortable to wear all day long.
If you’re into many different styles of climbing and you don’t want to commit to one type of climbing shoe, you should look for climbing shoes that will do both of the above. They should fit you somewhat snug, and also be comfortable enough that you can wear them all day long.
Chalk & Chalk Bag
When choosing a chalk bag, the size of the opening of the bag will depend on how often you tend to use chalk while climbing. If you sweat quite a bit or like to use chalk quite often, go with a chalk bag with a wider opening. If you don’t seem to use chalk all that often, you may want to use a chalk bag with a smaller opening.
Belay Device
There are two main styles of belay devices widely used in climbing today, the ATC style and the assisted brake style. ATC stands for “Air Traffic Controller” which is the name of a specific belay made by Black Diamond. Now, all belays that are the same type of design as the ATC belay are referred to ATC belays (regardless of the actual model name of the belay). The term ATC is widely used to talk all belay devices of this style.
The other main type of belays are assisted brake belays, the most popular one being the Grigri, which is manufactured by Petzl. There are advantages and disadvantages to each style, but generally speaking either style belay would be suitable for most types of climbing as well as top roping.
Locking Carabiner
For all types of climbing you’ll need at least one locking carabiner. These are mainly used to connect the climber’s harness to the rope and also for the belayer to connect to their belay device. A great choice would be a large, pear shaped carabiner like the Rocklock, by Black Diamond.
Static Rope for Building Anchors
Whether you decide to climb with dynamic, semi-static, or static rope, you’ll also want some additional static rope for building anchors. Climbers generally use static rope for this, as it’s solid enough for building anchors, yet cheap enough to buy plenty of it.
Ideally, you’ll want to have between two to four carabiners, a handful of slings and from 100 to 120 feet of static rope. Many climbers use 9mm or larger static rope for this. You should also bring along some 7mm cord as well.
If you’re new to building anchors, you should have an experienced climber show you exactly how to set them up correctly. You should then practice building anchors several times, before you actually use your first anchor. Be sure to test all of those practice anchors for holding weight.
Quickdraws and / or Caribiners
You’ll also need quickdraws and carabiners for top roping. Many climbers use the pear shaped style carabiners (also called HMS carabiners) for building top rope anchors. These are also useful for both rappelling and belaying as well.
You should only ever use locking carabiners for building top rope anchors, this adds another level of safety to the anchors. Use small to medium sized locking carabiners and bring at least three of them specifically for building your anchors.
Black Diamond Rocklocks with locking screwgates are perfect for this, and are easy to use while wearing gloves. Their design also helps to prevent snags, and they’re ideal for both rappelling and belaying.
You’ll also want ten or more regular carabiners for racking your climbing gear and a couple of slings or runners. A good set up is to use a double length sling and either a triple length one or a cordelette (7mm is a good diameter).
Climbing Protection for Building Top Rope Anchors
If the crag that you’re planning to climb doesn’t have permanent bolted anchor points at the top, you’ll need some climbing protection for setting up your own top rope anchors.
There’s a lot of variety when it comes to cams, nuts and hexes – they come in all different shapes, sizes and styles. It’s important to have an experienced climber show you how to properly use trad gear when building top rope anchors.
If you want to eventually get into trad climbing, you should lean towards buying nuts and cams, as you’ll rarely be using hexes. Once you’ve got a good set of nuts, be sure to bring the entire set with you on the climb, as you may find that you’ll be using the larger nuts for making top rope anchors.
You can also divide the set by size, and put all of the larger nuts on one carabiner, with all of the small nuts on another.
If you’re new to building top rope anchors, John Long’s book, Climbing Anchors is a great place to start. There are new, updated versions that give tons of great info on anchors. This is many climbers’ go to guide on the subject.
Another great choice is Mountaineers Books Rock Climbing Anchors. It’s a comprehensive guide to anchors that covers everything you’ll need to know on the topic.
You could also hire a guide to climb with you for a day, tell them that you’re specifically interested in building anchors for top roping. You’ll get a lot of hands on learning from an experienced climber for a reasonable fee.
Just search online for local climbing guides in your area, or ask around at any indoor climbing gyms near you. You’ll probably find a few of them, and you can review their experience and their rates for a day’s worth of climbing.
The Number One Safety Rule in Top Roping
The most important safety rule in top roping is to always have a backup system in place when you climb. This is easy to do on most sport climbing crags, you always use both bolts. While a single bolt could hold your weight, the second is there as a backup.
If you’re trad climbing or having to build your own anchors, you use a minimum of two supports, three is recommended. It doesn’t matter how strong a support may seem at first glance: ropes can break, trees can uproot, anything could happen.
You need to always have a redundant system in place, every time, no exceptions. This should become second nature to you, to the point that you always do it without even thinking about it.
Also, clear communication between the climber and the belayer is essential at all times. I simply cannot stress this enough. Exactly what’s going to happen on the climb should be agreed on before the first climber begins the climb.
While books on climbing are great and will give you a lot of information on how to climb, climbing is an inherently dangerous sport. You don’t want to put either you or your climbing partners’ life at risk because you didn’t have an experienced climber check your ropes.
Books are great for teaching you the knots, systems and setups for climbing, but there’s simply nothing better than having an experienced climber checking over your setup before you climb. Whether it’s your first time climbing, top roping or lead climbing – always have a knowledgeable climber with you.
As mentioned above, if you don’t know any experienced climbers you could always hire a guide for the day. Most climbing guides charge reasonable fees to climb with you, or at least to double check your ropes before you climb.
If you’re completely new to climbing, take some climbing classes where you can learn from a certified instructor. They can show you how to get set up, what to look for when it comes to safety and answer any questions that you may have. After a few classes you should know more about climbing safety and be more ready for an outdoor climb.
Check to see if there are any indoor climbing gyms in your area and find out how much their monthly memberships are. The more often you practice climbing at the gym, the better you’ll get when it comes to sport or trad climbing outdoors.
So there you have it, I hope that this guide has helped you to know not only what gear you need for top roping, but also how you can get started in top rope climbing. Remember, it’s safety first when it comes to climbing, no exceptions. Always keep both your safety and the safety of your climbing partner priority number one.
Top roping can be a lot of fun, but it’s important that you’re doing it right from day one. Get the right gear, read the books and practice your knots. Now get climbing and have some fun!