Climbing Equipment

Question
i am doing an assignment for a college course in north wales and my assignment involves researching climbing gear only i dont have a clue i have to describe these items in terms of design and usage and explain how to care for them
Ropes  dynamic and non-dynamic
Harness
Lead Rack
Slings
Karabiners
belaying devices
chocks
friends
ruck sack
chalk bag
if u can help me with any of this i would be very gratefull thanks a lot much apprieciated

Answer
Ok well i would first begin by saying, basically look after your equipment the way ur equipment looks after you.
Everyone there will always remember that valuable tip, believe me. Then i would probably go on about how to look after ur equipment.

Ropes: Dynamic-non dynamic usually should be kept in a bag. Make sure that u never walk on the rope, as when belaying if a bit of dirt comes up the rope and cuts ur hand then ur immediate reaction would be to let go of the rope, and we all know wot happens when we do that.

Harness: Most people dont put their harness' in the bags that they came in. This is ok if they hang them up and keep them in a dry place!! Most people keep their belay systems and quick draws on their harness. Not a bad idea until someone decides to nick it.

Slings: Can be used for many things so the best way to keep these guys clean and tidy is by tieing them to ur harness or to a quick draw or karabiner.

Karabiners:definition: basically 2 karabiners with a sling in the middle make up wot we call a quick draw or extender. These dudes secure one end into cliping points on a wall and then the other end is attatched to the rope, which is attatched to who else but you!!
The way to look after these would be to use them to clip all ur other gear together.
 
belaying devices: I would deffinatly recommend these to be either hung up or put in a bag. Seen as this is the thing thats gonna hold u up the wall, i would say that it needs to be treated with respect.

chocks: I think that this is just a cool name for what i call 'gear'. Basically instead of placing karabinas (quickdraws) into a bolt on the wall, u place ur own bolt in the wall, just a funny shaped one.

friends: ok as popular as the comedy is on E4, believe it or not u wouldnt find rachel or joey hanging off your harness. What friends are is like a 'chock' or 'gear' or 'nuts' (wot eva u want to call them) only friends are more modern and used in a more modern way of climbing. They are sometimes called cams and they can be put into the cracks in the wall as easily as they can be taken out.
The way i look after mine, is hang them from my rope bag. They are a farely important piece of kit but suprisingly u find them all over the wall, where people have wedged one in too far. So i would recommend to buy a little bag for them.

OK well ruck sacks i would store in a nice dry and warm place. I would make sure that u get all the wet kit out of ur ruck sack after coming off the hill.

Your chalk bag, i would just clip onto ur harness or ruck sack and leave it there. Mind u, make sure that u do it up as u may end up looking like uve seen a ghost when u come to chuck ur bag down. Believe me it happens to the best of us.
Also make sure no water gets mixed with ur chalk other wise u will end up trying to climb with 'goo' on ur hands.

I would also talk about special climbing shoes and how they can help to cause friction when climbing.

I hope that i have helped. I would visit a few web sites if u have any problems. I would deffinatly advise a look on www.upandunder.com just to get a good outlook on all kinds of climbing equipment.
Ok well good luck and i hope to hear how it goes!!
Speak soon!!
Any problems i will be more than happy to answer ur subsequent questions!!
XEMX