Equipment
Gear
Specialist club equipment members can borrow, plus general kit rented through the Caltech Y.
Renting and borrowing
Equipment is for Caltech and JPL affiliates only.
That covers both the Caltech Y's general kit and the club's own specialist gear. Club membership is open to anyone — non-affiliates are welcome in the club, on trips, and at events, but need to bring their own equipment.
General kit — rented from the Caltech Y
Tents, sleeping bags, stoves, snowshoes, and the rest are booked through the Caltech Y, which handles pickup and return during business hours. Most items cost about $1 per day.
Specialist gear — borrowed from the club
Rock, ice, and packrafting equipment belongs to the club rather than the Y, and members borrow it. Submit the reservation form and our Gear Officer, Forrest McCann ([email protected]) will confirm it.
Requests require at least 48 hours notice. Equipment is not kept on site for immediate collection, and popular items are often booked out before long weekends.
You provide your own consumables, including batteries, fuel, and ski wax, and are responsible for returning equipment in working order. inReach devices charge for features beyond basic SOS and preset messages, and any backcountry rescue is charged to whoever triggers it.
Booked through the Caltech Y
Most items are about $1 per day. Pickup and return are at the Caltech Y during business hours.
Camping and backpacking
- Tents, sleeping bags, and stoves
- Bear canisters
Snow
- Snowshoes
- Ice axes
- Crampons (strap-on)
- Avalanche beacons, shovels, and probes
- Snow pickets and a snow saw
- Touring skis and a splitboard, with skins, bindings, and poles
- Ski wax kits, including iron, edge tuner, scraper, and brush
Climbing
- Helmets
- Crash pads for bouldering
Communication
- Garmin inReach satellite messengers
- Rocky Talkie two-way radios
Other
- Trunk-mounted bike rack
Booked through the Gear Officer
Specialist equipment, held by the club rather than the Y. Booking goes through the reservation form, with 48 hours notice.
Trad climbing
- Two trad racks — Black Diamond C4 doubles, nuts, nut tool, prusik, and an ATC Guide
- Wide gear — Black Diamond C4 #5 and #6
- Small gear — Black Diamond C3 #00 to #1
Ice and alpine
- Automatic crampons
- Ice tools (Petzl Quark, hammer, and adze)
- Ice screws
- Crevasse rescue kits — Microtraxion, pulley, Tibloc, and locking carabiners
- Four-season tents
Packrafting
- Kokopelli packrafts with paddles, PFDs, a helmet, and a pump
The Caltech Y's own listing is the authoritative record of what is in stock today.