It is common to think that rappelling and climbing are the same sport and, therefore, the same technical material is used. Well no! It is undeniable that they share many characteristics and that they become complementary activities, but we are going to speak properly, even more so if you want to get started in the world of rappelling and become an expert with all the letters.
Even so, if you want to focus more on rappelling, you will most often climb regularly, so the materials you will need for your new hobby will almost certainly be familiar to you. Regardless of the type of climbing you practice, for rappelling you will need at least the following equipment:
- Harness.
- Descender.
- Cord for pruski or machard (or a petzl shunt, if you have one).
- Rope.
- A ribbon ring.
- Anchor rope.
- 4 insurance carabiners.
But never forget that the most important thing when practicing rappelling is safety, so you should not skimp on materials. Therefore, the most advisable thing to start rappelling is to start with sports professionals, letting yourself be guided and advised by sports technicians with specific knowledge for it. Here for example, you can find all the climbing schools where you can learn and practice rappel.
They will explain to you the correct use of the material for rappelling, how you can sometimes use practically the same equipment as in climbing (many times it is the easiest way to descend from the top of a route in climbing areas of several pitches) and above all, use it correctly in the safest way. Having little knowledge of an activity similar to rappelling not only puts you in danger, but also the rest of the group that accompanies you during the descents.
Having expert knowledge in your journey with rappelling will not only teach you techniques and methods to rappel the best rock walls, but also to learn different types of rappelling that you can practice or as a complement to another activity such as caving, via ferrata, canyoning...
Our advice, before buying "crazy" material without even knowing how to use it or if you are going to like this practice enough to do it with your own equipment, is to rappel several times. times with professionals so they can explain to you all the benefits you can get out of this extreme and exciting sport.
