The Best DIY Rock Climbing Stick Clip: Pros and Cons of Different Brands
You need a better stick clip for climbing. Unfortunately, the stick clips well-known brands make tend to be pathetic. So, people end up with weak, easily damaged stick clips that cost a lot or big bulky painting poles or PVC pipes that barely fit in a car. For most of my climbing life, I clipped the first bolt like a cowboy, but after experiencing the first bolts of the New River Gorge, it was time to get a rock climbing stick clip.
And I have to say, I’m really proud to have put together the best climbing stick clip I’ve held in my own two hands. While road tripping across the USA without a stick clip, I’ve tried them all – the classic Trango stick clip, tiny stick clips for projecting (which are amazing for that), and people’s mediocre but useful creations.
Using other people’s rock climbing stick clips helped me realize what I wanted in a stick clip. Now I have a sturdy, not-too-heavy rock climbing stick clip that extends from 3 to 12 feet!
Here’s how to make it, as well as its pros and cons, and the pros and cons of other stick clips!
For me, the perfect rock climbing stick clip has to be like this:
- It’s strong so that it doesn’t bend while I’m trying to clip a first bolt at max extension
- It needs to fit easily in my car, since I currently live and sleep in my car (my DIY stick clip fits in my cargo box)
- It shouldn’t be too heavy, since I’ll be hiking with it
- It needs to extend really far for those ridiculously high, sketchy first bolts.
The Perfect Rock Climbing Stick Clip
I found the extension pole that fit all my requirements to be a stick clip on Amazon.
The key word to find the right stick clip turned out to be “telescopic.” These are the types of extension poles that collapse in on themselves so that they’re small when protracted, but long when extended.
The Trango stick clip is the classic example, but that one feels like it’s going to break when you’re pulling on the rope.
The rock climbing stick clip I found on Amazon was very affordable and is the strongest stick clip I’ve used. It even works really well for pulling down the rope from the first or second bolt too because of how sturdy it is. It has two foam grips on the main part of the body that make it feel great in your hands – quality all around!
To officially make it a stick clip, I bought the Metolius Super Clip, which you screw onto the extension pole. The only problem with the Super Clip is that I’ve seen the rubber wears out and you have to wrap tape around it to keep it tight. So far, with 5 months of constant use, the rubber on my Super Clip is still good to go, so it’ll last if you take care of it. The Super Clip fits on any standard US poles… so good luck if you buy a non-standard one?
And voila! You have yourself the best rock climbing stick clip out there!
A 19-foot Rock Climbing Stick Clip
Why would you need a 19-foot stick clip?
Well, we bought our 12-foot stick clip with one specific route in mind. When we visited the New River Gorge, the very first climb we tried convinced us to buy a stick clip: Cross-Eyed and Blind 11a.
After a week or so, we went back to the area with our new rock climbing stick clip… and it still didn’t reach the first bolt.
Funny enough, another pair of climbers were there, and they had the same exact DIY stick clip, but the longer version that extends up to 19 feet. That one was able to stick clip all the first bolts at First Buttress in the Upper Meadow.
The 19-foot stick clip is crazy! It’s light for its length and still sturdy, but it’s so long that it does bend if you’re pulling on the rope at max length. It’s also more cumbersome, but it extends from an impressive 5 feet to 19 feet.
I don’t need it, but if you want to go all out, know that a 19-foot stick clip isn’t far-fetched at all.
Pros and Cons of Different Stick Clips
Trango
This is the rock climbing stick clip you see the most at the crag. However, I don’t think it’s worth the hype. Though it’s good, I don’t like how fragile it feels, especially with how expensive it is.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Light (430 grams/1 pound) – Extends from 21.5 inches to 8 feet – Works well for taking on a climb (for clipping bolts while projecting) | – Wobbly when fully extended – Clamps stop working quickly – Cost to fragility ratio doesn’t provide much value |
KAILAS Stick Clip
This stick clip is the best for projecting because it’s seriously small. But… it’s even more fragile than the Trango stick clip.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Light (260 grams/0.57 pound) – Extends from 20 inches to 8 feet – Best for taking up on a climb (for clipping bolts while projecting) – Less expensive | – Very fragile – it gets damaged quickly – Cost to fragility ratio doesn’t provide much value – Doesn’t work well with ALL carabiners |
Roll Up Stick Clip
This is the most compact stick clip there is. It’s essentially a piece of hard rubber (“composite tech” they say online) that rolls out. You put a Super Clip on it and it’s ready to go.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Light (1.5 pounds) – Extends from 4.5 inches rolled up to 9.6 feet – Super easy to travel with by car or plane | – Really flimsy- – Hard to retrieve draws with it – Total hassle to take it with you on a project (requires assembly) |
Metolius Basic Stick Clip
This stick clip looks a lot like my DIY stick clip and it’s nice and sturdy. It actually extends from 2.6 feet to 12 feet, which is amazing, but its more expensive.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Not too heavy (2 pounds) – Extends from 2.6 feet to 12 feet – Best sturdy and light stick clip – Well-known brand | – Has 5 different clamps – Cumbersome for a project – More expensive |
My DIY Stick Clip from Amazon
This is the stick clip I put together using a telescoping extension pole from Amazon and the Metolius Super Clip. It feels like a super high quality stick clip, but its heavier than all of the others.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Extends from 3 feet to 12 feet – Very affordable – Great for retrieving draws and pulling down the rope | – Heaviest (3.35 pounds) – Would be terrible for projecting |
Final Thoughts – The Best Rock Climbing Stick Clip
I’ve had my rock climbing stick clip for 5 months now and the clamps haven’t given in at all, the Super Clip rubber is fully intact, and it only has a few scratches.
In terms of durability, stability, length (both protracted and extended) and how good it feels to use it, my DIY stick clip is the best I’ve ever held. People compliment me when I share it (which I love doing now, since I mooched off of strangers’ stick clips for years) and I feel like a proud dad.
The ONLY thing it doesn’t work for AT ALL is projecting, but I don’t mind that. A good combination would be my DIY stick clip and a KAILAS stick clip, which I would keep at home and only take to the crag for projecting days. But since I’m traveling across the USA full-time getting to know crags all over the place, I’m not doing much projecting.
So, in conclusion, stick clips rock, mine is better, and get yourself one you’re proud of!
- Buy the extension pole here!
- Buy the Super Clip here!
- Now you have an amazing rock climbing stick clip!
I’d really appreciate if you bought a stick clip from any of the links above! I’ll earn a tiny bit of affiliate income from any of your stick clip purchases with no extra cost to you.
If you have any questions at all, comment below and I’ll be sure to answer!
