CWA Blog Archive-What Tools Do Routesetters Need

What Tools Do Routesetters Need

Pdf Summary

Written by a former gym owner who set routes whenever time allowed, this article shares five key tools routesetters rely on that non-setters may not know. The author is upfront that they aren't a routesetter, calling their own skills rudimentary, but they've invested heavily in understanding the process through close friends who are highly skilled Level 3-5 setters and through working with Petzl via End 2 End Outdoors, gaining direct exposure to the technical products that make setting more efficient, easier, and less risky. The article deliberately omits obvious basics, shoes, ropes, ladders, impact drills, to focus on five tools that deserve consideration in a setter's kit. The first and most safety-critical is ascending and descending devices. The author states the consensus plainly: routesetting for roped climbs using an assisted braking belay device, even with a second device securing yourself, is high risk. The precautions accompanying belay devices indicate that setting in this manner isn't an approved method, and misusing a belay device for setting, even with years of experience, can be deadly. To minimize risk and use gear as intended, setters will likely want dedicated ascending and descending devices rather than improvising with belay equipment. This safety point anchors the piece's larger argument that proper, purpose-built tools aren't luxuries but risk-management essentials. The throughline is that routesetting is technical, physically demanding, and genuinely dangerous work, and using the right specialized tools makes it safer and more efficient. For owners and managers who control budgets, the article implicitly argues that equipping setters properly, starting with proper ascending and descending devices instead of misused belay gear, is an investment in both safety and quality. The author's outsider-who-did-the-homework perspective makes the case accessible to non-setters who nonetheless decide what equipment their setting teams get.

Asset Caption

A former gym owner shares five routesetting tools non-setters may not know, skipping obvious basics. The most safety-critical: dedicated ascending and descending devices, since setting on a belay device, even with backup, isn't manufacturer-approved and can be deadly. The piece frames proper tools as risk-management essentials, not luxuries.