Newbie gear

Looks good, X...don't forget the lid. I've had my LIFE saved at least 8 times by my helmet, and I've cheated the ER out of many pricey suture bills, as well. Rock On!

I likee the chalk bag. Seems Singing Rock has alot of bargain harnesses out there to start with. Most fit nice and the price is often under 35 bucks so you can't go wrong there. Enjoy.

Yep still looking for a branded lid which I can afford. Should I trust unbranded gear guys?

WC got the harness for $50 and it's the cheapest one on the island! You americans get it easy, stuff is to cheap there. Here we have to sweat it out haha :)

I have that helmet shown on Dr. Goodwack's link above. It's pretty similar to a Half Dome, just lighter and a few more air holes. Fits, feels great. Easy adjustable. As for ClimbAxe gear, I got some bargain 'biners there last year. A bit heavy, but they are fine for overall gear work. You might still want a string of light wires for a sport QD rack.

cheers! what do you think about this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&i...

Looks good! Good starter kit! I learned a neat trick from a guide/friend of mine, for your climbing shoes, get a brush and from time to time, brush the bottoms of the climbing shoes for better friction on the rock. Also, get some rubbing alcohol and brush some on the bottoms, rubber part. This totally helps you get your friction on!

climb on!

Agree the wire brush helps clean out the junk on shoes, and I use pure acetone to get the rubber sticky again. Clear nail polish remover has some acetone in it, and might do the organic cleaning trick too. Wear gloves, as it's nasty stuff.

Hey, that's a good start. I remember when it was all I could do to scrape up enough money to buy the basics too. :)

great tips ;D keep them coming. Just wanted to ask, with moderate use, what is the normal life a a pair of rock shoes?
I don't know what you consider Mammuths but I hear they're a bit below scarpa, sportiva and boreal but still gr8

It really depends on how much you use them and how well they are constructed. I'm not that familiar with that brand. But I know a friend who bought a pair of mad rocks about a month ago and their already coming apart. He's been climbing indoors and climbs about 4 times a week. Hope that helps. Thats not to say your will fall apart in a month.
So next time you might want to save up some cash and invest in a good pair. There are lots of places on the web to get reviews on everything rock climbing. I look around quite a bit before I buy anything. It's a lot of money to buy the stuff we use out there and often time my life depends on it. So I will spend the money.

dak ic chalk bag! nice... with style!

anyone got one of these?! Should I get it?

http://cgi.ebay.com/PETZL-METEOR-III-HELMET-ADAPT-KIT-TIKKA-XP-LED-LAMP_...

I'm not an e-Bay kind of person. Tons of good deals at backcountry.com, gearexpress.com, mountaingear.com and other sites. Cruise through their gear to get ideas and compare prices. Also check dailyclimber.com for special item of the day on sale.

cheers WC but shipping to europe, if offered, makes the total price sky rocket!