Dude I have been around climbing, gear, ropes and equipment for a long damn time. I have also known a guy that ignored safety and lived. He's learned to pull his weenie with his left hand now, and swears he can pick his nose with his elbows. Do not buy used climbing kit from an army surplus dealer or second hand store. New from Brafasco MEC and the like. Yes its expensive, so are medical bills, and God forbid funerals.

You gotta pay to play, a good rope should last you a long time and the hours of fun you'll get from it will make it well worth it. I've just got into bouldering and hoping to get into top roping, rappelling, sport climbing, and over water soloing when the weather gets warm again.

I haven't tried this out but here is some cool articles from over at ITS Tactical on climbing.

Like everyone else has said: This is not an area you want to cheap out on! How much is your life worth to you? Best thing you can do is go to a climbing gym to learn, or better yet find a reputable high angle rescue school because you'll learn some fun stuff.

...oh shit, I guess I trusted my swiss seat made of army used rope when I rappelled down a cliff at mid-night on an exercise lol. Lucky god didnt pick me yet. ;)

Yes, stay away from used harnesses/rope from surplus store. You dont want to gamble your life to save a couple bucks.

I can get you guys deals on old SCUBA gear and parachutes with only a few rips if you're into it. No rope right now, too bad.

I was under the impression that you should throw away ropes after 5 years because of UV "breaking down" then rope. Sure you may not be able to see damage to the rope but it's still there. IIRC the university's climbing club buys new ropes quite often.

For sale my buddies used once parachute, like new, never opened.

Faulty SCUBA gear never gets returned.....

Ropes get replaced every 2 to 5 years based on exposure/use OR a set number of climber falls (each rope has its own number of falls its rated for)
Any metal item gets retired immediately after hitting a hard object (ie. dropping it onto rocks)
Helmets get replaced after a single hit
Harnesses get replaced every 2 to 5 years, same as ropes.
Webbing gets replaced/retired every year or 2.

Use the equipment designed to do the job you want to do, combine it with the proper training and you have a much better chance of surviving.

If you don't know anything about rappelling, start with books/internet. Follow that up with an actual course. Being in BC, I can guarantee you that there will be an incredible amount of courses available for you. Then and ONLY then you can THINK about rappelling solo.

oh no, brings me back memories from basic doing the rappel tower. That thing almost made me lose a nut

Fishing rod and 300 lbs test, all the free gear you need.

And yeah, a Swiss Seat is about the last thing I want to wear. For extra fun tie one on while wearing jeans and got for a little bounce.