Clamping kit for climbing: Friends for life

There are brands that provide assistance for mountain sports. And there are brands that transform mountain sports. Wild Country undoubtedly belongs to the second category. For almost five decades, the British company has stood for sophisticated climbing equipment developed from practice. From the first revolutionary clamping kit to modern harnesses and ropes, a common thread runs through the history of the brand: creating solutions that bring climbers more safety, more confidence and more freedom on the rock face.

Friends give rise to Friends

The roots of Wild Country go back to the early 1970s. At that time, slings, nuts and pitons were all there was to secure challenging climbing routes. Particularly among British climbers, however, hammered pitons were frowned upon, as they damaged and disfigured the rock. Internationally, too, the focus was increasingly on free climbing and a ‘clean’ climbing style. Two young men from this community met in 1972 while climbing in Yosemite National Park: Mark Vallance from the Peak District in England and Ray Jardine, an ex-aerospace engineer from California.

The two got along right away, but what Mark didn’t know was that Ray already had with him at their first meeting a prototype that would go on to change not only the lives of the two friends. It was not until three years later, during a first ascent of the Washington Column in Yosemite, that he had his first experience with the new equipment. And only after Ray had sworn him to secrecy. At that point, only a few people knew about his invention. One such was Kris Walker, a climbing buddy of theirs, who a short time later involuntarily coined the name ‘Friend’. When Kris was out climbing with Ray and a few others, he didn't want to blab about the new clamping kit in front of the uninitiated. Off the cuff, he asked: ‘Ray, do you have your... er... friends with you?’ The improvised label stuck – and became the name of one of the most famous tools in climbing history.

What made the Friend so special was its simple and ingenious construction. Inside, four moving elements ensure that the safety device automatically gets jammed in the rock when load is applied. The decisive factor was Ray Jardine’s technical solution: the segments follow the shape of a logarithmic spiral. As a result, the contact angle to the rock remains almost constant regardless of the crack width – the Friend holds reliably in both narrow and wider rock crevices.

For climbers, this represented a quantum leap. While nuts and hexentrics could only be securely placed in a few, precisely fitting cracks, the Friend could be fixed in place with a single movement and just as easily removed again. It covered a much larger range of crack widths, attached securely and left no lasting marks on the rock.

However, it took two years of intensive development before the first hand-made prototypes were turned into a product ready for series production. Together, Ray and Mark optimised mechanics, operation and production until Wild Country, a company founded specifically for this purpose, officially launched the Friend in 1977. The success was overwhelming: in its first year, the innovative clamping kit sold several thousand units, permanently changing rock climbing and rock climbing protection around the world.

Focus on function and usability

With the success of the Friend, Wild Country quickly became an established name in the international climbing scene. The brand stayed true to its roots and worked closely with experienced alpinists right from the start. New products were developed not in the lab, but where they would later be used: on rough sandstone rocks in Great Britain, on the limestone cliffs of southern Europe, on Alpine granite walls. To this day, intensive practical tests and communication with athletes are an integral part of product development.

Even though mobile safety devices still form the heart of the brand today, the range has expanded significantly over the decades. It now includes climbing harnesses, ropes, carabiners, express sets, helmets, clothing and other accessories for sport climbing, multi-pitching and alpine activities.

The pragmatic approach to development typifies the brand. Instead of eye-catching effects, the focus is on function and usability. Every detail has to offer a practical benefit – from the ergonomically shaped carabiner to the sensibly positioned material loop on the belt. ‘The British have always had their own particular approach to climbing. This has not only given rise to a legendary style, but also tools such as the Friend, which Wild Country has used to make real alpine history,’ says Lukas Müller, Mountain Sports Buyer at Transa. ‘To this day, you can see at first glance just how much experience and technical expertise go into the products. That wins over its customer community of experts more than any marketing promise.’

Here to stay

Wild Country now belongs to the Oberalp Group based in South Tyrol. This allows access to extensive development and manufacturing resources without diluting the identity of the brand: Wild Country sees climbing as an interplay of experience, responsibility and adventure. The aim is not to focus on the equipment, but to enable what is ultimately important: moving freely on the rock face, making your own decisions and mastering challenges by your own strength.

Perhaps this is the secret of the brand’s success: although the first Friend radically changed the sport of climbing, Wild Country never made a big noise about it. Instead, tried-and-tested products have been continuously developed. This attitude explains why the brand still holds a firm place in the climbing world almost five decades after it was founded.