Just last week, a new climbing tool was launched on Kickstarter, and it’s causing quite a stir in the climber community. Dick’s Nut Tool is a nature-inspired nut tool designed in Portland, Ore., for crushers who want to send hard.
What’s a Nut Tool?
First used by British climbers in the 1950s, “nuts” are used to chock cracks for protection while climbing. Occasionally, nuts get stuck, and the hooked tip of a “nut tool” is used to hammer them out.
Made of stainless steel 304, Dick’s has a Rockwell hardness of 70 and is almost twice as strong as aluminum, making it capable of busting out nuts in a multitude of shapes and sizes.
The company was founded by Dick Cocksure in 2015, and recently, while ascending the rugged rocks of Lake Tahoe, Dick reflected on why he climbs and why he set out to revamp the nut tool:
There’s just something magical about climbing, the way it stimulates so many parts of my body and brain at once. It leaves me totally awed.
Less than one week into the crowdfunding campaign, Dick and his team have raised almost 20% of their goal, and they’re absolutely delighted to see folks relishing the fruits of our labor.
Campaign backer Andrew Traylor of Mountain Refugees writes:
As a diehard old-school traddy, I’m naturally disgruntled by any new innovation in climbing technology. It just chafes me the wrong way, like a pair of cotton undies after a week in the Winds. So when I saw Dick’s new sparkly thing, I was pissed. How dare he make improvements to a product that already exists? Does he not understand that the initial form of any device is the most true and pure form achievable?
The only thing that allowed me to even touch the damn thing was his encouragement of placing nuts. The more nuts, the better in my book. So I reluctantly took hold of this crack-probing implement and took it for a spin. To my surprise, it fulfilled my needs — my nuts have never moved so quickly! I’m happy to report its aid in removing hexes, wooden chocks, and stashed ham sandwiches from various fissures. I no longer cringe seeing Mr. Cocksure’s device swinging be- low my swami belt. I’ve decided that I’ll let it stay on my rack, for now.
Echoing Andrew’s enthusiasm, A. Osborn writes from Portland, Ore.,
I was following this off-width, really giving it all I had. It was way out of my league, but my leader was a babe, and I didn’t want to disappoint. So, was playing it real cool. Everyone knows that good protection is key to any tight spot. She was plugging a good mix, cams for days, but nuts too.
I started feeling good, you know, in the rhythm. And like the hand of god smiting any chance of pride, a #10 BD nut was good ’n stuck. Fixed. My feeble hands quickly resigned their fate. I meekly called for a take.
The good news was I had my nut tool. Dick’s Nut Tool, ergonomically designed just for such oc- casions. I grabbed my tool by the balls and set that nut free without so much as a second thought. Protection is key, but the tool is just as important.
Lol. Check out the tool here.
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