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Like Ho said, my tricams and hexes never leave the ground unless I'm really bored. I'd replace them with the blue and green aliens.

I never bother with carrying hexes anymore, but I agree that tricams are useful. Maybe not on harder trad routes (as if I would know), but definitely on easy and moderate routes.

most helpful and thanks. but a cpl questions. we have a friend who works at a local sporting goods store and has offered to get us about 1/2 off list on metolius,or bd.that said
bd stoppers 4-13
bd cams .4 - 3 is 3 needed. 51-86mm at this time
bd hexs 7-9
getting these for sure

then we get into the fullprice stuff
aliens 1/2-1 is there a comparable metol/bd product ie tcu/met?
tri cams errr tri cams i mean tri cams if u were going to get a few would u stay in the 1.5 range
cleaning tool?

seems the most popular sizing is around the 20-35mm range.

again thanks for all the help
what's a door stop

go with the metolius tcu's. I prefer them over Aliens, though when I used Aliens I preferred those. Either will serve your son well, and if you can get half price tcu's it's a no brainer.

As to tri_cams, I'd get at least the first 3, doubles of the first 2 (pink and red), and preferably the 4th (can't remember the colours this morning - need more coffee).

If you go with tri_cams, stay with the smaller sizes. I believe the first four color in increasing order are pink-red-brown-blue. I love these things, especially the pink one.

here's what i would get:

metolius tcu's 0-2 (purple to yellow)
BD camalots .5 - 3
set of nuts
3 shoulder length slings
quickdraws

this rack would get you up most routes you want around here.

with extra money from this i would get doubles on cams from the 1 metolius up to #3 camalot. you might want a #4 camalot first depending on what you want to get on.

skibum, i am pleading with you not to buy the cowbells or hexs as some call them. seriously, if you stick with trad climbing, they are just going to collect dust after you get a couple more cams. plus 7-9 aren't sizes that are not covered by the camalots you are already planning on getting. pleasssseeeeee don't buy those things man...i don't know why i want to help you so bad...maybe because it's such a nice day...anyway, don't buy the useless hunks of hexagonal metal.

If the rack is mainly for climbing at the Red, I agree that you should skip the hexes. They work better for me in granite - I can't think of the last time I found a good placement in sandstone (like the Red or Southern Illinois). But do go with the smaller tri-cams! At least the pink one - it has worked in places where nothing else would and brought a lot of peace of mind. (Expect to replace it though, there are 'fixed' pink tri-cams all over the world!)

I'd really recomend tri-cams (doorstops).they are really cheep, hold well, and so convienent since you can use them as active pro, or slot them in as nuts.

Yeah you can find those little pink ones stuck alot...but im damn happy when i place one of those(plus there is almost always somewhere to em)

sold !!! i'm all over the pink ,every where i look it seems that little pink thing is mentioned as a must along with the other small sizes.

sorry though i already sent the order for the 3 bd hexs but only spent 22 bucks

you all are great

thanks