{"id":25889,"date":"2024-11-26T15:13:07","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T23:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/?p=25889"},"modified":"2024-11-27T10:02:09","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T18:02:09","slug":"the-shortie-stick-for-out-of-reach-clips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/2024\/11\/the-shortie-stick-for-out-of-reach-clips","title":{"rendered":"Shortie Stick, a Climber&#8217;s Solution to Out of Reach Clips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shortie Stick - a Climber&#039;s Solution to Out-of-reach Clips\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZUUm9zgmrhc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tada! I present to you\u2026 the Shortie Stick!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you\u2019re a proud shortie or a secret shortie-in-denial (<em>we see you<\/em>), this stick is here to rescue all climbers from those maddening, out-of-reach clips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The concept is simple: <strong>make any draw stiff enough<\/strong> to clip its gate through a bolt hanger without needing fingers to hold it open. How? By creating tension! The top hook pushes the draw upward, while your hand holding the stick and lower draw pulls downward. Voil\u00e0\u2014your trusty alpine draw just leveled up into a stiff draw. You\u2019re welcome!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>But wait, there\u2019s more!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pair this marvel with a <a href=\"https:\/\/madrock.com\/products\/trigger-wire\">Mad Rock Trigger Wire<\/a> (MRTW for short), and life gets even better. The MRTW keeps the biner gate open until it clears the bolt hanger\u2014cue a satisfying&nbsp;<em>click<\/em> when it locks in place. It&#8217;s smooth as a hot knife through butter. Plus, the combo makes spinning hangers a breeze. Just apply a little tension, and you can align the biner perfectly before clipping. Easy peasy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Now, let\u2019s get real:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the time, most people won\u2019t&nbsp;<em>need<\/em>&nbsp;this stick. But in certain situations\u2014like free climbing above a ledge where the bolt is inconveniently high but for a good reason, or aid climbing a bolt ladder\u2014it\u2019s a game-changer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, there are commercial solutions like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kong.it\/en\/product\/panic\/\">Kong Panic Draw<\/a> but let\u2019s be honest: they can be clunky and require extra steps that are, frankly, annoying. Don\u2019t believe me? Check out this MountainProject discussion thread:&nbsp;<em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountainproject.com\/forum\/topic\/127339643\/how-exactly-is-a-kong-panic-draw-used-in-big-wall-climbing\">How exactly is a Kong Panic draw used in big wall climbing?<\/a> <\/em>&nbsp;Spoiler alert: there\u2019s room for improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, I&#8217;ve been pondering. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountainproject.com\/forum\/topic\/127344724\/know-of-a-quickdraw-that-can-stand-up-on-its-own\">Know of a quickdraw that can stand up on its own?<\/a> <\/em>I stumbled upon a DIY idea in this&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/alpinesavvy.com\/\">Alpinesavvy&nbsp;article<\/a>, but it has risks, like &#8220;fixing&#8221; the bolt-side biner\u2014a big no-no for some climbers. And even if that does not worry you, without a MRTW biner, most dogbones are too floppy to open the gate effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Enter the Shortie Stick.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My brainchild solves all these problems. It can work with any draw or biner (though MRTW is preferred). No risky mods, lightweight, easy to carry, and no faffery to use. Pros galore! Of course, no invention is perfect, so here are a few\u00a0<em>cons<\/em>\u00a0for balance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Another gadget to carry:<\/strong>&nbsp;Ugh, I know.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Risk of dropping your gear:<\/strong>&nbsp;If you\u2019re clumsy, don\u2019t say I didn\u2019t warn you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Internet ridicule:<\/strong>&nbsp;If someone snaps a photo of you using it, brace yourself for teasing. To soften the blow, I\u2019ve preemptively named it the&nbsp;<em>Shortie Stick<\/em>. Laugh with them, not at yourself.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>And yes, it\u2019s an easy DIY project!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watch my video (it\u2019s less than a minute, promise). If that\u2019s still too much effort, don\u2019t worry\u2014one picture is worth a thousand words, and I\u2019ve got you covered. My go-to setup? A clothes hanger stick works perfectly with a MRTW biner, but if you need more tension, a trusty cat toy stick is your hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_7349-3_600.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"587\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_7349-3_600.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25899\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_7349-3_600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_7349-3_600-300x294.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Not into DIY?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No judgment\u2014reach out to me! I&#8217;m doing my part to bridge the <strong>Reach Gap<\/strong> in this world. Speaking of which&#8230; this weekend at the gym, I asked Chris to install a hanger high up for my demo. Being the supportive partner he is, he stretched to his full reach, wrenching away. After what felt like a million turns, we realized that even with the stick, I couldn\u2019t reach it. Cue the uninstall, move the bolt down a few inches, and another million turns x 2. Oops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But hey, all for the cause, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, and how unprofessional of me to leave this important info out:&nbsp;<strong>0.7 oz (20 grams)<\/strong>&nbsp;for the 15&#8243; stick (hook, string, and all).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tada! I present to you\u2026 the Shortie Stick! Whether you\u2019re a proud shortie or a secret shortie-in-denial (we see you), this stick is here to rescue all climbers from those maddening, out-of-reach clips. The concept is simple: make any draw stiff enough to clip its gate through a bolt hanger without needing fingers to hold [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climbing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25889"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25918,"href":"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25889\/revisions\/25918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mxi2000.net\/mudworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}