A hex is an item of

rock-climbing equipment Rock-climbing equipment varies with the specific type of climbing that is undertaken. Bouldering needs the least equipment outside of climbing shoes, climbing chalk and optional crash pads. Sport climbing adds ropes, harnesses, belay devi ...

used to protect climbers from falls. They are intended to be wedged into a crack or other opening in the rock, and do not require a hammer to place. They were developed as an alternative to

piton A piton (; also called ''pin'' or ''peg'') in big wall climbing and in aid climbing is a metal spike (usually steel) that is driven into a crack or seam in the climbing surface using a Rock climbing hammer, climbing hammer, and which acts as an ...

s, which are hammered into cracks, damaging the rock. Most commonly, a

carabiner A carabiner or karabiner (), often shortened to biner or to crab, colloquially known as a (climbing) clip, is a specialized type of shackle, a metal loop with a spring-loaded gate used to quickly and reversibly connect components, most notabl ...

will be used to join the hex to the climbing rope by means of a loop of webbing, cord or a cable which is part of the hex. Hexes are a type of

nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed * Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to: A ...

, a hollow eccentric hexagonal prism with tapered ends, usually threaded with

webbing file:Webbing.jpg, red, blue and black nylon webbing as used in auto racing harnesses Webbing is a strong Textile, fabric weaving, woven as a flat strip or tube of varying width and fibres, often used in place of rope. It is a versatile componen ...

, a swaged cable, or a cord. They are manufactured by several firms, with a range of sizes varying from about wide. Climbers select a range of sizes to use on a specific climb based on the characteristics of the cracks in the rock encountered on that particular climb. Sides may be straight or curved although the functioning principles remain the same no matter which shape is selected; the lack of sharp corners on curved models may make them easier to remove from the rock. Hexes may be placed either as passive or active protection. When placed passively they work like chock stones in flared cracks, like other climbing nuts, just larger and with a different shape. Active protection is achieved by orienting the webbing so that a pull causes a camming action against the rock similar to

Tricam A tricam is a type of climbing protection equipment. A versatile nut/cam hybrid, the Tricam was invented by Greg Lowe in 1973, and came to market in 1981. They are currently manufactured by C.A.M.P. of Premana Italy. Design The Tricam is a pass ...

s, allowing for placement in parallel cracks. They are often preferred by alpine mountaineers over

spring-loaded camming device A spring-loaded camming device (also SLCD, cam or friend) is a piece of rock climbing or mountaineering protection equipment. It consists of two, three, or four cams mounted on a common axle or two adjacent axles, so that pulling on the axle fo ...

s because of their lack of moving parts and overall lower weight for the same size crack. The original hexes were invented by

Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (born November 9, 1938) is an American rock climber, environmentalist, and businessman. His company, Patagonia, sells outdoor products, outerwear, and food. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by '' ...

and

Tom Frost Thomas "Tom" M. Frost (June 30, 1936 – August 24, 2018) was an American rock climbing, rock climber known for big wall climbing first ascents in Yosemite Valley. He was also a photographer and Rock-climbing equipment, climbing equipment manufa ...

, and called ''Hexentrics''. The "polycentric" hexentric was designed by Swedish–Norwegian climber Tomas Carlstrom and given to Chouinard Equipment in 1973. They applied for a U.S. patent in 1974 and it was granted on April 6, 1976. Hexes were produced by Chouinard Equipment, Ltd until 1989, when it was sold as a design to

Black Diamond Equipment Black Diamond Equipment is a manufacturer of equipment for climbing, skiing, and mountain sports, based in Utah, United States. The company also has a global office in Innsbruck, Austria. The company is owned by Clarus Corporation, which also o ...

. They are produced and sold in much the same design today.

References

{{Climbing navbox Climbing equipment Mountaineering equipment