Pick a neutral or moderate first shoe you can wear through a whole session. Check three things: toes slightly bent and touching the end without pain, no heel lift, no hollow spots when you press the upper. Unlined leather stretches up to about a full size; synthetics barely stretch, so they must fit on the day. One beginner gear guide says half a size to one size down, another writer says not to use a formula, and studies measured bigger gaps, but those describe how tight people actually wear shoes, not advice: go by fit. Even makers disagree: Black Diamond says size down, Evolv says don't. Resole when the rubber under the big toe is thin, before you wear through the rand; one Taiwanese workshop quotes NT$1,500 a pair for a half sole (checked 2026-10-19).
If you top-rope or lead, you need a waist chalk bag; boulderers can use a bucket, which takes both hands at once. For a first bag, check three things: your hand fits (big hands go up a size, e.g. BD Mojo M/L or Organic XL), a stiff rim holds the opening open, and the closure cinches tight. On belt vs harness, BD argues for the belt (sits higher, swings less) while REI says clipping it to your harness is fine; if you clip it, use a climbing-rated carabiner. Some gyms abroad allow only chalk balls or liquid chalk; the rules at Taiwan's T-UP Wanhua and Passion Climbing don't mention chalk, so ask at the desk. Entry bags include the BD Mojo (US$23.95) and Mammut Crag (US$19.95 list); the go-to bucket is the Petzl SAKAB (US$54.95, magnetic roll-top).
Wear the waistbelt above your hip bones, tight enough that you can't slip out upside down; for most people that's around belly-button height. Hang in it in the shop if you can. Choose gear loops by use: 2 for indoor top-roping, about 4 for outdoor sport, 6 for trad and multi-pitch (Petzl Taiwan). If you don't yet know where your climbing is heading, make your first harness one that adjusts at waist and legs, such as the BD Momentum or Petzl Corax. If you're sure it's gym and sport, look at fixed-leg harnesses like the BD Solution or Petzl Sama/Selena; those leg loops can't be adjusted later, so always try them on. Starting trad or multi-pitch, look at the Petzl Adjama/Luna, with adjustable legs and 5 loops.
Belay devices are manual (tubes) or assisted braking; assisted braking splits into assisted tubes (ATC Pilot, Smart 2.0, Jul²) and cam devices (GRIGRI, NEOX, Pinch). For the gym and single-pitch sport, the DAV and WeighMyRack both recommend an assisted-braking device first, and assisted tubes cost about half as much as cam devices. If you're heading for multi-pitch, you'll also need a two-strand tube with guide mode, such as the ATC-Guide or Reverso; the Giga Jul does both. Assisted doesn't mean automatic: Edelrid shows that an assisted tube held at the wrong angle lets the rope run through with almost no braking, so the brake hand never leaves the rope. Check the manual for compatible diameters before you buy: the GRIGRI takes 8.5–11 mm, optimal 8.9–10.5 mm, while the Pilot and Smart top out at 10.5 mm.
The carabiner that clips your belay device to your belay loop should be a locking Type H (HMS), marked with an H on the body. If you're buying one and using a tube-style device, the Petzl Attache (58 g, US$25.95) is the best overall pick on both review lists we used, and the part where the rope runs is round stock, so it runs more smoothly. With a GRIGRI, pear-shaped carabiners tend to rotate into cross-loading, so choose one with a horn like the DMM Rhino, or add Petzl's BAR accessory to an Attache. Anti-cross-loading is a bonus, not a must: the standard requires at least 7 kN on the minor axis, and Mike Vert says sport climbing usually doesn't generate much force, so a rotated carabiner is mostly just awkward. Anti-cross-loading models have compatibility issues: clipped the normal way round, a BD GridLock can still let a GRIGRI cross-load, and Treeline Review says the Mammut Smart HMS works well with tube devices but not with a GRIGRI.
Helmets come in three constructions (Petzl Taiwan): hard shells are the heaviest, toughest and cheapest; foam shells are lighter with middling durability; hybrids are lightest but the most fragile and most expensive. A first helmet is usually a hard shell or a foam shell: the Petzl Boreo and BD Capitan E are durable hard shells, the Petzl Meteor and Mammut Crag Sender lighter foam shells; save a hybrid like the Sirocco for when you know you'll be on long routes. Always try it on: for the same head circumference, brands differ in shape, and Japanese shop staff and bloggers warn that Western brands may not suit Asian heads. Fitted properly, it shouldn't move when you shake your head, and the chin strap has no slack.
The simplest first set of sport draws is the BD Hotforge Hybrid (12 cm US$25.95, keylock solid gate on top, wiregate below). With more budget and a taste for big, easy-to-clip carabiners, look at the Petzl Spirit Express or Djinn Axess. Add 2–3 draws with a steel insert on the rope end, such as the Edelrid Bulletproof, for the first bolt and the spot where you keep falling. Never use the bolt-end carabiner for the rope. Taiwan's BSMI announced a recall of Decathlon SIMOND quickdraws on 2026-10-19 (models 8589547, 8589548, 8608405, 8935765, 8935909); stop using them if you have them.
For a first rope, look for a dynamic single rope with 1 on the rope end. Choose between 9.5 and 10 mm: for gym-only use, EpicTV suggests 10 mm and up; for working routes with lots of falls, UKClimbing prefers 9.7 mm and up; Hard Is Easy says not to go below 9.5 for a first rope, and UK instructor JB Mountain Skills thinks 9.5 is enough. For length, ask how tall your gym's walls are; outdoors, go by route length, and BD calls 70 m today's crag standard. "Dry" doesn't mean the rope passed the UIAA water-repellent standard (no more than 5% uptake). Start your shortlist with the Mammut 9.8 Crag Classic, 9.5 Crag Classic, Sterling VR9 and Beal Booster III (stocked by Mabu Valley in Taiwan); the BD 9.9 is left out: it lists for no less than the ropes in the table, has the lowest sheath proportion, and ranks 16th of 16 at OutdoorGearLab.
The simplest first prusik is 1.5 m of 6 mm nylon accessory cord tied into a loop with a double fisherman's, used on a 9.5–10 mm rope (Petzl's method). If your rope is down at 8.5–9 mm, or you climb a lot of multi-pitch, buy a sewn loop whose maker states it works on thin ropes: Beal Jammy comes with a length-and-wraps table for 7.3–10 mm, Sterling HollowBlock2 says ropes of 7 mm and up, and BlueWater VT 7 mm covers 8–9.5 mm. We couldn't find a manufacturer source for "2–3 mm thinner than the rope", so treat it only as a starting point. Beal explicitly forbids friction hitches on bare Dyneema cord. Aramid resists heat but is stiff, and DAV's 2020 tests found stiff aramid-core cords reacted worse; if you buy one, test on the ground that it grips.
Make your first set curved nuts: if you'll lean on cams and money is tight, BD Stopper #5–11 (the set Adventure Taiwan's trad course uses); if you want a British-style set to climb on, DMM Wallnut 1–11. TOCC's 2024 guide says Long Dong's cracks are covered in crystals, Stoppers tend to get tugged out of place there, and the grooves on DMM Wallnuts and Alloy Offsets hold better. Offsets come second, replacing the mid sizes in one set. Small sizes vary a lot in strength, so read the manufacturer's table first; among #7–11 offsets, Trango rates its own at only 7 kN. Buying second-hand Wild Country Superlight Rocks? Check the batch against the 2023 recall first.
Most people start with one each of BD Camalot C4 .3 or .4 to #3, then combine with a partner's set to make a double rack; Taiwan's route info uses BD numbers. TOCC's Longdong rack is Z4 #0–.75 plus C4 .3–#3, 14 cams; on a budget, start with Z4 .2 plus C4 .3–#2, 7 cams. DMM Dragons share BD's colours but not its numbers (Dragon 1 = C4 .5, Dragon 3 = #1); Totem and Metolius use their own schemes. By BD's listed weights, swapping .4 to #4 to Ultralights saves only about 139 g, so skip them for a first rack. Longdong air is salty: wipe your cams after every trip, since BD axles and trigger wires rust easily there.
A manufacturer's 10 years is a maximum lifetime: the most a product can last stored well and never damaged. How long you can actually use it is its service life, which depends on wear and is usually shorter. BD says a harness in normal use lasts about three years; the manufacturer table DAV reprints says a rope used weekly lasts at most a year, while Edelrid says a frequently fallen-on rope should be downgraded to top-rope use after a year. Retire immediately after acid contact, a visible core, a major fall, or when you don't know the history. For dropped carabiners, DAV says a drop doesn't create hairline cracks, while BD and Petzl say retire when in doubt; both views are presented side by side. Judge by inspection, not by age.