| What it does | Frees stuck protection |
| Used by | The following climber |
| Also for | Cleaning cracks |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
A nut tool is a thin, flat metal pick used to remove stuck protection — nuts, hexes, and sometimes cams — that have wedged tight after being weighted. The following climber uses it to free the gear by poking and prying it loose, and it doubles for cleaning dirt and moss from cracks.
How to use it
Push against the stuck nut opposite to its loading direction and tap or pry it free; it also helps unstick over-cammed cams.
Who needs one
Essential for trad and any passive gear; not needed for bolt-clipping sport climbing.
Frequently asked questions
What is a nut tool for?
It frees protection that has become stuck after being weighted — most often nuts that have wedged deep into a constriction, but also jammed hexes and over-cammed cams. Without one, well-set gear can be very hard to retrieve.
How do you use a nut tool?
Push the pick against the stuck nut from the opposite direction to the way it was loaded, tapping or prying to unseat it, then pull it free by its wire. For a stuck cam, you can use the tool to retract a jammed trigger or push the lobes.
Do you need a nut tool for sport climbing?
Not usually — sport climbing clips fixed bolts, so there's no removable gear to clean. Nut tools are for trad and any climbing where you place and retrieve your own protection. Most trad climbers keep one clipped to their harness.
Sources
- Cleaning trad gear — American Alpine Club