HWUMC

For those of you involved enough to know about such things, can I get your opinions on what we might possibly want to get?

Off the top of my head:

Static rigging rope
Rope protectors
3 larger sized hexes (for club rack)
Nut key * 5
snap link biners * 5


Any more for any more?

(thought id do this via the forum rather than waiting for committee meeting to get the ball rolling - soon as you see this have a think, coz I've had an offer of higher discount from one or two places...)

(if anyone wants personal gear through this, let me know as that won't be a problem)

Bouldering mat?
new slings for the clubs ebay quickdraws
crampon bags would be nice if probably excessive
one or two new guidebooks and maps

[I might need some gear depending on the time frame and discount]

Static rigging rope
Rope protectors
3 larger sized hexes (for club rack)
Nut key * 5
snap link biners * 10
2 * 60 cm slings (extendable draws)
quickdraw slings * 5 different sizes (is this what you mean dave - to replace the ancient existing ones?)
2 quickdraws

mmm... we had chatted about possibility of bouldering mat. I would support it if Aaron and Kyle are happy to (in terms of signing in and out of kit, how easily loseable such items may be over the next couple of years... thats my main concern)

wrt crampon bags, I bought a load that i'll probably sell to the club, need to chat to florian about a price...

Aaron or kyle - do either of you have an oversight of what guide books the club has, and what might be useful? I'm not that keen on getting guidebooks for same reason as above with bouldering mat - its quite easy for books to be borrowed and forgotten about...

I'd say maps, but I think you said in the bus last weekend you were getting map software anyway. I'm not really much of a climber, so I can't really comment on amounts of kit needed even if I knew what we had at the moment.

I'm all for the bouldering mat. I don't think we'll have a problem with it disappearing since it will be a highly coveted piece of kit and everyone will be keeping an eye on it. it'll be more of a problem deciding who gets to use it on those rare sunny days.

I can only think of one thing we NEED: a soldering iron (for properly cutting ropes and webbing).

However I would enjoy using the following:
1. 25 meter slackline
2. Bouldering mat
3. cassette adapter for minibus
4. avalanche probes
5. a box of various tools ( files, screw drivers, spanners, etc ...)
6. two-way radios
7. cheap map cases

that's all i can think of now, but I'll probably come up with more.

Map cases and tool tin sound good ideas. And the cassette adapter - the minibus gets mighty quiet when everyone's half asleep.

bouldering mats don't get stolen as such just can end up being contiously borrowed. Books tend to get trashed (usually on club trips rather than when individual borrow them, in my expwerience) instead of stolen/lost, that however doesn't mean that the club shouldn't buy them, as it is unreasonable (i feel) to rely on members having guide books for everywhere we go and be willing to share with a large group.

Might be worth looking through the shoes we have and seeing if there are any extrem gaps in sizes missing as some could be bought very cheaply on offer like these (<- not an advert, well technaically it is but you know what i mean)

1 RED HOT POKER (for people that don't return stuff)

anyone know exactly how much i can buy in the state without getting worried at the airport about customs?

Just a couple of points -

Map cases - I think with the new map software, printed maps can then be laminated free of charge in the union (correct me if I'm wrong?)

Re: stuff going missing - it does! Past experience has proven this. Maps, books, etc. are especially easy to 'forget' about...However, having said that, I don't think this is necessarily a reason not to get them. It just means we need to be aware, and really keep at the whole 'signing out, signing in' thing and generally keep an eye on what gets borrowed.

Of course, we also need to rely on people's good will, and make sure everyone's aware that this stuff is worth a bit of cash and won't just be replaced if it goes missing.

Cassette adapter - I thought Reuben had donated one? There's def been one about on the trips I've been on...

IMHO my suggestions would be

Static ropes, protectors and a few steel krabs (durability) for rigging top/bottom ropes. Possibly a couple of long slings would be helpful here too.

Definitely a boulder pad, the bigger the better, have you seen the new Moon climbing Saturn and Metolius Behemoth pads? HUGE! (IT does bring up the debate of having a dry place to store it though, as with the ropes, the gear shed doesn't allow things to dry out properly - separate issue)

I haven't seen the club rack so can't comment there.

As for the soldering iron, does the sports center have a rope cutter before we go and buy one? Also I'd be happy to take stuff to Ratho if it needed cutting (I'm sure Christian would do the same for Alien if required). I'd be reluctant to spend money on something we'd use so rarely if we could work around it and spend the cash on other stuff.

My opinion on map cases is that this is an ESSENTIAL piece of equipment for anyone walking in Scotland and people should really have their own, they're not expensive and should last a long time. Do we encourage people to not worry about having a map, know how to use it or look at it before the walk if we provide them for them? (Just a point to consider)

Similarly for Avalanche probes, you need to know how to use one properly to make it worthwhile having. In that scenario an education in avalanche awareness would be better as there are very few places in Scotland where you can't avoid the risks if you plan appropriately. Does carrying a probe lull people into a false sense of security if they don't know the risks?

I like the idea of radio's but that is another one that is a matter of opinion and debate.
(I don't mean to pick on your post Kyle, it just had lots of good points!)

I agree about the guide books, they are very expensive but would make things a lot easier (and safer?) if the club had some more. That said they do tend to be 'borrowed' for long periods so keeping on top of the sign out sheet would be crucial.

Can we get some replacement poles for the tents that need them ready for the lovely summer weather we're going to get? (if we all believe enough maybe it'll come true)

Two pence worth added!

Saz_m wrote:... Map cases - I think with the new map software, printed maps can then be laminated free of charge in the union (correct me if I'm wrong?) ...

In the days when we had membership cards, we used to laminate them at the Sports Fayre by borrowing the laminator from the Sports Union (Olwen?)

You could argue that if we've bought map software for producing customised maps (a good idea IMO), then we would be best advised by buying our own laminator - this causes a few more questions to arise, like: is the gear shed the best place to store it in; and should be buy an A4 or an A3 machine? Over to you ....

In the days when we had membership cards? Is the thing I have in my wallet not a membership card? g

Agree with Stephen about map cases and avalanche probes...

Saz_m wrote:.... Is the thing I have in my wallet not a membership card? g ...

I never got one this year; but being an awkward s*d, I did have to join by crossing Christian's palm with silver (£15 and a filled in membership form) at the pub one Wednesday evening.

Is yours laminated too? (BTW what's my membership number?)

Ah ha, you missed out.

Not laminated, but I'm not planning on taking it out on an all-weather expedition into the hills so I'm not too concerned

Don't know your number, not sure if you need it? Andy prob has it on a list somewhere.