You need remarkably little kit to practise deep water soloing. Mike Robertson reminds you of the essentials.
Essential equipment for deep water soloing
This will not be a long and involved article! Of all forms of climbing, DWS presents the least expensive and the most gadget-free kit list.
In short, for a particularly ferocious day at the crag, you'll need a good supply of:
- Rock boots
- Chalk bags
- Clothes
- Towels
For true devotees, the extras may consist of:
- A dry bag (to swim into route 'starts' with gear)
- Occasionally a short access rope
- And possibly a chalking stick (esp. small cave areas, like Cave Hole and the tightly-packed west cave at Lulworth).
- And of course, a camera to record those magic moments as your chums pit themselves against the rock so many feet above the water.