Harness to buy?

[anyung]

Thought i'd see if anyone had an extra expandable harness they wanted to get rid of. of course, i'm looking for one that's in pretty good shape.

thanks,
anyung (joyce)

[Shagymb]

Joyce

I bought an expandable harness in Songtan Near Osan Air Base that was 50$.

Mike

[skinsk]

Might as well buy one-- about the same price as you'd pay at home, even though many are imported. Trango (US) is made locally. Camp (Italy), a slightly "cheaper" brand . . .Ricky in Mokpo had a nice Czech brand I think she said was about $50?

I can't imagine any good reason anyone would want to sell an old harness (or buy one?).

In addition, since it hasn't been mentioned in awhile and so many people here are new to climbing!, there really isn't and shouldn't be, a market for used climbing gear. Imagine a place like Korea, where people come and go in a year or less, they get into climbing, buy some gear, use it then pass it along. . . you'd have no way to assess it's use. . . it's care and maintainence, any falls it took, beach vacations, etc. Buy your own, use it, retire it when you really need to (carabiners have multiple uses, the most practical of which is "bailers" or "leavers" when weather or lack of strength and or nerves forces you to bail, or leave a route; hexes make nice doorknockers). A pretty nice rope I brought with me when I first came to Korea was retired in 2 years. It still comes cheaper than anything else you could do and get so much out of!
Injury is not worth it!!!! YOU DON'T WANT TO BE IN A KOREAN HOSPITAL!!! Even if you have to leave expensive gear; play it safe. That is why you buy "protection" in the first place. (Insurance isn't a bad idea, either; rocks break, gravity pulls, rocks fall, bones break).
Another good reason not to trade in used gear is to discourage theft. This is not likely to matter as much in Korea, where climbing is very community-based and everyone knows and uses everyone elses gear. . . and it always finds it's way back. Climbing is often done in places where gear is left in obvious site and reach of trails; e-bay is making it easy for non-climbers to sell gear. I doubt they'd be above lying, possibly unaware of any safety issues, and certainly ignorant of the gear's history. It's a reason often cited and worth noting because if people start buying stuff from e-bay or wherever, we'll all have to watch our gear a little closer, not leaving it at the base of a cliff, etc.
Finally, almost all climbing related businesses, here and abroad, were started by and are run by climbers. Few make huge profits and most give a lot back to the community. Support those who have found a way to earn a living connecting with their passion for climbing!

OK, that's my lecture for the day. Have to squeeze them in where I can. Doubt if anyone would visit a Sonia's lecture thread (certainly not my students).

[anyung]

right on. i agree. thanks for the advice. it makes sense!

[climbergrrl]

Hi Anyung!

Regarding the harness, definitely check out the Camp4 shop in Anyang. Mr. Song is one of the two nicest men in the world and he will give you amazing deals! Everytime I try to buy something from another place, he shows me a product from his store and gives me a wicked discount! (Even if he didn't do this, he would still be the kindest person ever, but it's just a nice perk! :))

For anyone else who's reading this and wants to check out a great store the next time they're in Anyang, this is the address to the gym. Gyeonggi-do, Anyang-city, Dongan-gu, Hogye-dong, 1002-30.

The store is about one minute from the gym. Pop in at the gym and people can direct you, or maybe you will just find it. It's called Camp4, the gym is Cruxzone, check out the place on the KOTR website under gyms. The closest subway station is Beomgye (범계역), and the gym is near the Sin(new)-Hogye intersection (호계사거리). You can take buses or taxis, it's a short ride (5 minutes or less). Tell them you heard about the shop from this site, Mr. Song is pretty happy about this site, as he now has lots of foreign climbers at his gym. (The more, the merrier!)

And no, I am not advertising for the gym or shop! :) I really just love it this much! There are two gyms closer to me, but I weekly make a 1.5-2 hour trek to this one. Some things are just worth it. ;)

Dee

[anyung]

They're an AWESOME group of people. It has a real cool family feel. So, I went ahead and bought my harness and daisy chain from them. They do have competitive prices and even if there's another places that's a few 1,000 won cheaper, I'd buy from them just to support their company and gym!

You guys should definately check it out if you're looking for a gym! Joyce