What Trad Climbing Equipment Do I Need?

There’s no denying that trad climbing is an equipment-heavy sport. On top of all the sport climbing basics such as rock shoes, harness, and belay device, you’re also going to need different types of protection to place in the various cracks in the rock to catch your falls.

If you’re a beginner, you don’t need a full trad rack to get started as you should only go out with experienced trad climbers who will use their trad gear to lead the routes, allowing you to second them. Once you feel confident enough to lead some routes yourself, it’s time to start building a trad rack of your own. To help you remember everything you will need for a safe trad outing, we’ve put together this guide that explains what you should bring with you and why.

This list is by no means exhaustive, it includes all the essential safety gear for trad climbing and provides an excellent baseline for anyone building their first trad rack. You will sometimes have to do a little bit of hiking to find the best crags, so make sure to check out our Hiking Kit List as well. But first, here’s everything you need for trad climbing.