How to Choose Quickdraws and Alpine Draws

They catch you when you fall, give you a hand when the rock’s not cooperating, and keep your favorite rope out of harm’s way. Nope, not your climbing partner—your quickdraws.

Quickdraws and alpine draws are similar pieces of gear: Each one consists of a strip of material—usually a stiff nylon “dogbone” or a Dyneema sling—and two carabiners. As you ascend a route, you’ll clip one carabiner to each bolt or piece of trad protection that you pass, and the other carabiner to your rope.  

Draws may be simple, but you’ll be handling them a lot—often while scared or exhausted and desperate to have your next piece clipped. And not all draws are made equal. Some designs prioritize weight over all else, while others are more ergonomic for quick clipping on hard routes. To help you choose the best quickdraws for your needs, we put together this guide. In it, you’ll learn the following: 

• The best quickdraws for sport climbing
• The best draws for trad climbing 
• How many draws do I need? 
• Material considerations 

The Best Quickdraws for Sport Climbing

Sport climbers usually prefer quickdraws—two carabiners joined by a rigid dogbone of fixed length—over alpine draws for ease of use when clipping. Here’s what to look for.   

Weight   

When you’re first shopping for quickdraws, it can be tempting to buy the lightest or cheapest set you see. But when you’re sport climbing, you won’t usually be carrying much gear on your harness aside from your quickdraws, so there’s less pressure to carry ultralight ones. Plus, many draw manufacturers shave weight by downsizing their carabiners—not the best choice if you’re trying to push rope through a carabiner quickly. On a sport route, you’re more likely to waste energy fumbling to clip than carrying a few extra ounces. Instead of trying to shave weight, consider prioritizing ease of use. 

Dogbone Thickness 

Skinny, 1-centimeter-wide Dyneema dogbones look fancy, but they’re not always practical for sport climbing. If you want to push your limits on a harder route, it can be nice to have a stiff, beefy dogbone—something closer to 2 or 2.5 centimeters—to stabilize the carabiner while you’re clipping. Thicker dogbones are also easier to grab if you get scared or stuck on a move. 

Draw Length 

The standard length for dogbones is 10 to 12 centimeters, which is adequate for most routes. However, many sport climbers carry a few quickdraws with 16- to 18-centimeter dogbones as well. These longer draws are useful for making hard-to-reach clips safer and/or preventing “rope drag,” or excess friction created by zig-zagging bolt lines.  

The Best Draws for Trad Climbing  

An alpine draw is a 60-centimeter sling tripled over and clipped to two carabiners. Because alpine draws can be extended to their full length on more complicated routes, they’re often the draw of choice for trad climbers.  

Weight 

While the weight of your gear isn’t usually a big deal on sport climbs, it does matter for many trad routes. This is especially true on alpine or multipitch routes that require you to haul your gear a long way.

Say you’re looking at a draw that weighs 3.5 ounces. If you’re on the conservative side, you might carry 12 with you. That adds up to 42 ounces total, or over two and a half pounds on your harness. Add that to a whole rack of trad protection, and you’re looking at a pretty heavy load.

You can reduce this weight by choosing higher-quality materials, skinnier slings, and/or smaller carabiners. Make sure to consider the trade-offs, though: Better materials are pricier, and smaller carabiners can be harder to clip.

Sling Material and Thickness 

You can make your own alpine draws by buying a bunch of carabiners and 60-centimeter slings and joining them together yourself. It’s less expensive to do this with 60-centimeter loops of nylon webbing, but nylon webbing is usually around 18 mm thick. Fold that over three times, and you’re looking at some serious bulk on your harness. Plus, thick slings are harder to clip and unclip, which could lead to more fumbling on-route.

Dyneema (also called Spectra or Dynex) slings are made of a super-strong material called ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). They tend to be much narrower—often 8 to 11 mm. They’re more expensive, but they’re easier to use and significantly less bulky.

Carabiners

While it’s common to see all solid-gate carabiners on sport draws, most alpine draws feature all wiregates. That’s because wiregate carabiners are lighter. Plus, the hooked noses on wiregate carabiners don’t snag on trad protection the same way they snag on metal bolts, so it’s easier to get away with wiregates in a trad setting. 

How Many Draws Do I Need? 

Sport Climbing  

Sport climbers generally carry 12 to 18 total quickdraws, including two to four with longer dogbones. Your needs will depend on where you climb most. If your local crag is only 50 feet high, you might only need eight to 10 quickdraws for most routes. If the lines you climb tend to be wandery or zig-zagging, you may need more long draws to avoid rope drag.

Decide where you’ll be climbing. Then consult a local climber or guidebook to determine how many draws most routes there require. 

Trad Climbing 

Most trad climbers carry eight to 10 alpine draws on average. But take that as a very general rule: Trad climbs can vary from vertical splitter cracks, which often require no draws, to wandering alpine routes where nearly every piece will need to be extended. And because you can place trad gear as often as you want (and as often as the rock features permit it), your personal preferences will have a big impact on how much gear you place and how many draws you’ll need. 

Before you shop, identify some routes you’d like to do. Ask local climbers what they usually carry on those routes. If you know you tend to be more cautious, consider adding two or three extra draws to your personal rack. 

Material Considerations  

When you’re shopping for draws, you’ll encounter a few different materials—each with major differences.  

Dyneema or Nylon?  

We already discussed the pros and cons of sling width, but Dyneema and Dynex (both UHMWPE) slings and nylon slings have other unique qualities as well. Nylon tends to absorb water when wet, which makes it both heavier and weaker until it dries. It’s also susceptible to UV damage over time. However, nylon stretches, which helps it absorb the force of a fall, and it’s better at holding knots in place. UHMWPE, on the other hand, is UV-resistant and waterproof, which can make it a great choice for wet or wintry weather. It’s also incredibly strong, which is why Dyneema slings can be so much narrower than nylon options. One of the biggest drawbacks to Dyneema—other than the price—is the fact that it doesn’t withstand heat from friction very well. If you want a sling to double as a friction-hitch, for example, it’s best to use nylon.  

Steel or Aluminum? 

Aluminum carabiners are more common because they’re strong, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive. However, you’ll spot some draws that are made of steel or that have small steel plates on high-wear zones. Unlike aluminum, steel takes a long time to wear down or develop grooves from the sawing action of a rope. While few climbers carry steel (it’s heavy), it can be smart to use a draw with a steel carabiner or steel inlay if you plan to leave it on a route over the course of a season (check local ethics first) or if you’ll use it to lower or toprope often.

All articles are for general informational purposes.  Each individual’s needs, preferences, goals and abilities may vary.  Be sure to obtain all appropriate training, expert supervision and/or medical advice before engaging in strenuous or potentially hazardous activity.