been bouldering for a while and wanting to get into Harnessed climbing but want to save money so going for second hand stuff. I know people will say “you need to but new stuff because you can’t trust old stuff and it’s saving your life so spend as much as you can” but I don’t have a lot so am going as cheap as I can.
I’m going to buy new rope but for carabiners and harnesses, has anyone got any going for about £50? cheers

Second hand hardware is fine but personally I’d avoid 2nd hand software unless you know the seller.

go outdoors are fairly cheap for new kit.

Second that especially the harness.
Just do what I do and purchase the bare minimum of gear then ponce a rack off your mates….they will have tonnes of it anyway. Bikes take all my cash so climbing just has to come second (except shoes and harness)

You can get a brand new DMM harness for about £35.00.

And, er, as above.

Some shoes, a belay device and a harness and borrow everything else.

You can usually see how heavily used the 2nd hand hardware is, just use common sense. Replace any slings, rope loops etc or other material bits. The krabs/snap links etc generally should be ok. Ebay might be as good a place as any, buy a complete bundle that all looks in good condition, rather than individual bits and pieces.

A generous starter hardware kit would be something like, wired nuts size1 to 10, 4 long slings, 2 shorter slings, 3 large locking krabs, 2-4 snap link krabs, 4 shorter quickdraws (krabs with tape), 3 hex size 6 to 9, nut key.
cam Devices are expensive and not necessary for starting out.

If you didn’t know, there is a new climbing/bouldering centre in Bingley.

Try UKC

I also wouldnt sacrifice comfort of the harness for cost saving. I bought my first harness cos it was cheep. But by god it was crap! Look around as there will be some cracking deals about. Just had a look at snow and rock, they have some good stuff on offer.

I have some barely used gear (used 3 or 4 hours / times on an indoor wall). Shoes, harnesses and carabineers for me and the wife. I’d have to ask the wife if she knows which box it’s hiding in though.

Hardware generally OK but unless you know the history I’d not risk a rope and possibly not a harness 2nd hand.

I’ve got loads of wires, hexs, friends and quickdraws all in excellent condition – email in profile if you are interested in any gear for trad leading.

I’m not good outdoors, very cautious and safe so none of it fallen on. Need to sell up, make space and get some new forks!

Ok so my kit is all about.. 13 years old.. would you climb on it? Didn’t have much use then and has been in storage for a long time.

2nd hand climbing kit is surprisingly expensive, I’ve sold a lot of stuff for more than I bought it new for.

You may as well buy new tbh, just look around.

not the best of shops service wise but the last gooutdoors mailshot had harness and belay device special offer at what looked like a good price

i wouldn’t buy a 2nd hand harness – main concern would be even if looked good i’d worry about contamination – bleach/oil/ all weaken big time read a few failure reports and this usually figures – also may not know age unless get a receipt and irrespective of use do degrade with time

same applies quickdraws

krabs main concern would be “bolt abuse” for want of a better term – krabs clipped in bolt end get damaged by repeat falls – usually seen as rough indents – putting these krabs on the other end of a quick draw isn’t good news

I’d avoid 2nd hand software unless you know the seller.

…and he’s still alive.

Ellis Brigham have got some cheap stuff at the moment, this Wild Country harness is a bargain.

I’ve bought and sold a reasonable amount of kit – really, it’s a matter of checking stuff over thoroughly. Any fraying or broken stitching, don’t touch it of course. Same goes for frayed steel wires on nuts and the like.

UV can affect webbing and ropes, but it’s pretty rare.

A lot of “new” climbing stuff on eBay is either stolen or counterfeit.

I’d guess quite a bit of the secondhand stuff is too.

Exactly the point I was about to make…. anything worth having will almost certainly be stolen, and there’s a lot of theft of climbing gear. Anything that isn’t stolen probably isn’t worth having as it probably belonged to a retiring climber. Except what climber sells old gear anyway? I’ve got two ropes, four ice axes, numerous crampons, gaiters, krabs, slings and clothes all festering away in boxes in the attic, I certainly wouldn’t try to sell them as they’re too old, heavy and worn out.

I’ve got tons of old climbing kit (about 15-20 years old) sat in crates in the attic – never taken a lead fall in my life – mainly winter mountaineering where falling is not a very sensible option. I do keep thinking I ought to sell it all, but then delude myself into thinking I’ll one day get back to climbing, plus I doubt there’s a market for 20 year old ‘Outside’ own brand pre-wire gate crabs!

I have two conflicting views on this:

1. Every time someone hires or borrows equipment (whether from an indoor wall, on a course, or just because you forgot a piece of kit and had to borrow a friend’s) you’re taking much the same risk as buying kit 2nd hand – i.e. what sort of condition is it in? You would expect that a climbing centre/instructor would check their kit regularly, but you’re still taking the risk of something latent. Also, who is to say that the brand new harness you bought yourself isn’t going to snap after a few climbs? IMO, harness are pretty simple and robust, a careful inspection should reveal any problems. You won’t be able to identify any latent issues, but you couldn’t do that with a new harness either. So I don’t think the problem with 2nd hand harnesses is as significant as many think.

BUT. And this is a pretty big but (he he),

2. Initial climbing equipment needs are low (harness, belay plate, biner) and the cost of these items new are also low (as suggested above, lots of shops will do you a starter package with all of these items for under £50)…so you can mitigate the risk of ending up with “dodgy” gear by buying new for not much more money than 2nd hand.

I’m generally less worried about the integrity of my harness when I’m pumped than I am about how the last couple of bits of gear are sitting 🙂 I’ve got a heck of a lot more confidence in that bit of webbing around my waist being able to take a fall than my gear placement! 🙂

Initial climbing equipment needs are low (harness, belay plate, biner) and the cost of these items new are also low (as suggested above, lots of shops will do you a starter package with all of these items for under £50)…

This. You (and your partner) need shoes, harness, belay device & screwgate, chalk bag. If you’re climbing indoors I wouldn’t worry about a rope and quickdraws at first. Many walls are now top-toped so you don’t need your own leading gear.

One thing I’d add; there’s often good deals to be had on nearly-new shoes, as people have bought them twelve sizes too small and then realised a fortnight later that their pain tolerance isn’t what they thought it was in the shop. Check for ads on the noticeboards on your local climbing walls / gear shops.

You’ve had some sort of tuition / experienced climbing partner, yes?

There’s more risk losing your foot due to gangrene from a borrowed pair of shoes than a 2nd hand Karabiner failing on you. I’d go as far as saying the same applies to a used Harness.
I’d 2nd the notion of buying from UKC as you can generally rely on the fact that it’s not just some chump selling something they don’t know about.
That said, if you’re new to roped climbing, i’d buy soft goods new to quell any concerns you might have.

Most of my metal work is second hand and I even piked up a shunt, a HMS crab and a descender from a car boot yesterday for the princely sum of £10! The Krab is worth that on it’s own!

Every time someone hires or borrows equipment (whether from an indoor wall, on a course, or just because you forgot a piece of kit and had to borrow a friend’s) you’re taking much the same risk as buying kit 2nd hand – i.e. what sort of condition is it in? You would expect that a climbing centre/instructor would check their kit regularly, but you’re still taking the risk of something latent.

Little risk of that from any wall or outdoor provider I know. PPE checks are pretty stringent and regular.

UV can affect webbing and ropes, but it’s pretty rare

In fact it’s a bit of a myth that UV damages webbing: http://theuiaa.org/upload_area/files/1/About_Ageing_of_Climbing_Ropes.pdf