Clip Sticks are primarily designed for clipping a quickdraw into the first bolt of a sport route from the ground. To work a harder sport route the clipstick can help you get the rope up to the lower off quickly, so you can work the route on a top rope, before a redpoint attempt. They can also be used for by-passing tricky aid sections and (with the addition of a brush) brushing up highball boulder problems. A "Stiffie" is a stiff quickdraw equipped with an auto-shutting karabiner that can be used to clip those just out of reach bolts prior to a tricky move.