If you get a good hex placement, if you know how to place them that is, it will hold a truck. They’re not infallible though, and they can be placed badly. So can cams. Cams can walk and can be badly placed as well. Depends on how much money you have and how much gear you want to carry. I like hexes, but a lot of people think they’re old fashioned. I’ve also got three times as many cams as hexes and even more nuts. Whatever you buy, learn how to use it. It’s not just clip and climb like bolts. If you get natural gear wrong, and fall on it, you can get yourself into very serious trouble. Go climbing with people who can use it, ask questions, try it out. Keep your grades in perspective as you learn. Remember there’s a very good reason hard, all natural climbs command a great deal more respect than ring bolted routes of the same grade. Actually this is true at any grade. There’s a another element in the game when you climb with any natural gear at any grade and it’s not just about the difficulty of the climb, there’s the intellectual puzzle of working out how to protect it and when. Enjoy it.

Cheers,

Toc.

Thanx for the advice guys.

Hmmm, well being a beginner at placing protection maybe it would be an idea to just buy a few hexes and get some experience placing them. Sought of like using them as a foundation for better understanding and appreciation, and then later progress on to cams??

hello,

I think it depends on the rock a lot. I brought my trusty hexes with me from the UK (where I used them a lot on the Devon & Cornwall granite) and have faithfully carried them up every route I’ve led here. I have to be honest, I’ve barely found a placement for them. However, I find placing cams trickier and find the confidence given by a well placed hex cannot be beaten!

….ehm, using that rationale you should maybe get a bag full of chockstones instead….it takes more skill to protect a climb without hexes or cams or nuts…..OK, I’m just being silly but you get my drift. Good luck with experimenting and don’t be dissuaded by how long it takes you to set up a trad belay using trad gear; when I started this took me 20 minutes, now it takes about 2-5 min.

Toc – what!? They had cams when you learned to lead?….and I thought you had EXPERIENCE….sheesh. Anyway due to erosion over the last million years hexes are no longer useful near Perth. You just have not been climbing so have not noticed.

My first rack had 4 cams and 2 hexes. Now it has 8 cams 0 hexes.

However there are many useful things to do with hexes:

1. bashing in tent pegs

2. bashing nut tool to get out nuts

3. bad replacement for piton hammer

4. as runners for other gear

5. music instrument (different pegs sound different when hit with spoon)

6. sex toy (remove cord first so as not to get entangled)

7. throw/swing at attacking wildlife

7. climbing protection (v.infrequent)

Hi Ben:

I strongly recommend that you go on a lead climbing course to learn how to place gear, fall properly, etc.

A typical course encourages beginners to become comfortable with “passive” gear only (ie nuts, hexs etc) BEFORE using cams. I taught this model for 5 years and I can assure you it works very well.

Without meaning to be unkind to Ross, I think he is coming from the perspective of an experienced climber rather than a climbing instructor teaching beginners.

Ben, go on a cawa climbing trip.

There will be plenty of people with differing skills levels and you can get experience with the lead climbers.

Next one is September long weekend i think.