But a beginner doesn't need hybrid Aliens. They do come in handy much later though....

-Fear

absolutely!
thats why you should use your friends Cams !
OR better yet pick up the ones left laying around at the bottom of the crag and just start sticking those in.

thanks for all the feedback! i'm breaking in with 5.3,4's and 5's. have only lead 3 climbs so far: beginner's delight, black fly and rhododendron. do i need to double up on any sizes of cams or stoppers. do i need #1 stoppers or other small sized stuff? thanks all!

For that grade at Gunks, aliens from green to purple, camalots from 1 inch (old red) to 4 inches, maybe double up on the two inch, will work nicely. Purple alien matches 1 inch camalot but is narrower and sometimes fits where camalot doesn't. (The old 4 inch cam will not fit the off-width at the top of Boston.)

There are times where a pink or red tricam is perfect. But you can climb a lot of climbs without even looking at them. Passively they can sometimes fit nicely and better than stoppers. Actively requires considerable care. They really must not wiggle after you set them, although I have seen one fixed tricam that wiggles quite dramatically .

Flame risk Avoid TCUs at the Gunks. Some very good climbers use them, though.

Buy at Rock and Snow (tell them what grades you are looking at). They are experts, know the crag, and will match any legitimate offer you might find in a catalog or on the net.

Enjoy whatever you choose.

My suggestion is to get aliens: blue, green, yellow, gray. And BD camalots: purple, green, red, gold. Get BD nuts from 4-13.

That I would consider the basics at the gunks and then you can fill in later as you see what you place the most of. I double up in the purple and green camalots but these days I'd buy the same size aliens instead, for variety. You'll want a bigger cam or two eventually but I don't think they're necessary in the lower grades at the Gunks. I would also suggest some Metolius curve nuts or other differently shaped nut--not a full set but some middle sizes.

I'll bite,

As for Metolius TCU's or 4 cam units, they are just as good as any other (personally I hate them though). Many VERY good climbers use them though. Climbed with Mark Richey when he was down here for AAC Directors meeting (since I know another person on the board and everyone went out climbing). Looking at his rack he has a lot of Metolius cams (though given the way he was protecting the climbs I don't even see why he bothered to carry anything ). I figure, learn what you like and work with it, and just climb A LOT.

As for doubling up (using BD cams as a guide) in the gunks it wouldn't hurt to carry a double of a purple cam jr (BD 0.5) to a yellow cam (2.0) but in the meantime borrow from what your partner has. Definately a double set of nuts. They are light weight and at times become indespensible.

wow, you really don't need all that many cams for the grades stated.

get yourself a green, red, and yellow camalot doubles on the 3 smallest tricams and you are all set with cams. throw on double sets of nuts , (smileys are BD clones and half as expensive) and you have a rack.

you don't need doubles of cams to start out with no matter what anyone says

depends,

if your routes end at a tree or at a bolted station (blasphemy since they are for rapping, eh) not a big deal, but if you end up on a ledge, and the pieces you need for a safe belay station (and being a new leader you should even be a bit more conservative with your belay stations) is placed somewhere on the route, it sort of sucks.

Doubles - May not seem necessary to some. But most new leaders will often appreciated doubles for some of the common sizes found on their climbs.

That said, you can reduce the cost by not purchasing them while you are still climbing with an experienced leader, who of course will share his/hers with you, and may likely even make a recommendation on what to double if you ask before a given route.

When you decide you are experienced enough to lead with a non-leader, you will then know what doubles you have relied on having.