What are your favourite stick clips and why? I have a Trango Squid on a long painters pole, but often don’t bring it to the crag. I would love to change to something more compact that can live in/on my pack.
Not just for those high first bolts, but also for clipping up when previewing a hard route? I haven’t really tried this tactic before, but I think I might need to this season.
Thanks!
I have the kailas clip up. I really like it. It’s short enough to climb with (though definitely a little annoying). It’s light and fits inside my pack
The downsides: because it’s light it’s not super durable. It also doesn’t get crazy long like I’ve seen for some painters poles. I’m 5’11” and I can get about 15 feet of reach from the ground with it, which covers most routes, but there have been one or two where I lashed it to a stick to get 5 extra feet.
I just use the basic 2 prong superclip on a telescoping painter’s pole - it’s durable and it works! It is definitely clunkier and more of a hassle for bringing up a pitch to clip up, but I just leave it clipped to a bolt below where I’m working.
As a bonus, I swap out the clip for a brush attachment for brushing hard to reach holds on boulders
I also have the kailas clip up. I got it because it’s light and compact and with that perfect for occasional use.
If I were to expect to use a stick clip a lot or needed more reach, I’d get a skyhook (https://mountaindrifter.com/products/the-skyhook-stick-clip) with a superclip. Also nicely compact but more sturdy and longer and the superclip is removable/replaceable (I can see the clip on the kailas wearing out/getting damaged, and you’d then have to get an entire new stick clip).
Lots of people have the Trango stick clip but I think more because it’s more readily available than because it’s the best.
I replaced the beta stick head with a super clip. I always valued the compactness of the beta stick (for bringing up the wall when projecting - it’s light and small so it doesn’t get in the way, and I feel comfortable climbing with it dangling from my harness, unlike a huge clunky painters pole) but much preferred the super clip for clipping up both ways (draw in hanger already and no draw in hanger already) and for taking a draw out of a bolt.
There is also a company that now makes and sells basically the same thing. I believe it’s called the “sky hook”.
That said, it is more expensive than a painters pole + super clip, and the beta stick / sky hook telescoping parts are very fragile and prone to breaking. Still functional, but annoying. There are tricks to prolong their lifespan, but that will probably mean either training the people around you on these tricks or just not letting people use your stick clip. Painters poles are typically more durable. Additionally, the compact sticks can be too short to reach the first bolt in some areas where a painters pole could.
If you’re the type of person who gets scared on lead a lot and needs to clip up, OR if you find it really efficient and valuable to stick clip up a project, the compact stick is really helpful. Otherwise, just get a regular stick clip. Either way, I’d definitely go with the super clip top.