As any acquisition of technical equipment of climbing or any other sport, it is necessary to know the use that you will give the equipment. Nowadays there are various type of tapes focused for lovers of sport climbing, multilayers and alpine climbing, among others.
Each discipline has its particular requirements and conditions that characterize it, which directly impacts the choice of the best equipment for each need. In this case, let's stay with the variable weight and safety.
The higher the weight, the cheaper and, in general, the safer. Heavier express tapes are recommended for those who will not carry them during long walks in the backpack or in long stretches of wall. If you are starting to climb, buy those that look give you security for the robustness of your tape and insurance construction.
As you progress, variables such as the speed of the plating or the weight of the equipment will be necessary to consider and to a certain extent. Before it is much more important to be able to face different routes (crossings, collapsed, ceiling exits, etc.) make you a set of between 10 to 25 express tapes with different lengths.
Personally I recommend trying different brands and models, in order to test various variables and designs until we reach a personal balance where we can estimate our priorities in relation to the team and what we expect from it. According to my experience I suggest using polyester webbing tapes from Ledtexwebbing.
However, the different brands put at your disposal sets of express ribbons, but you can also buy the pieces separately. In general it is cheaper to buy the armed tape unless you want to mix models of carabiners and tapes to your liking.
The carabiners used in express tapes are made of anodized aluminum with the purpose of protecting it from abrasion and corrosion. In spite of this, the protective layer is quickly lost in the contact places with the sheet or rope, making the best protection method is to periodically clean the carabiners especially if you climb in saline environments (near the sea).
In tests performed to measure the resistance of different carabiners it was concluded that those considered light failed after 3 to 5 falls (with fall factor 1.7 and static belayer) and, with robust carabiners, it was the rope that failed between 5 a 8 falls. It is advisable to inspect, always, the light equipment after supporting a big flight or fall.
If your thing is to give a route to chain, regardless of the number of flights that require, the most recommended is to acquire a set of robust express ribbons, regardless of their weight, since you will be climbing most of the time with the tapes in the rock. Maybe make a set of light tapes thinking of "on sight" attempts, but not to try the tracks again and again or climbed in "Top Rope".
Keep your equipment simple and specific for a good performance in rock outings. Your pocket will also appreciate it. A good climber is not measured by the paraphernalic of his team, or whether or not he has the latest model of equipment available in the market. What is really important is what he is able to do with the team he has and for that, knowing him and taking care of him is paramount.
