Taking off in 1st gear...

I've always wondered if my technique for letting out the clutch from a standstill, in 1st gear, is as good as it could be. I rev the engine a bit and slowly let out the clutch untill it gets the truck moving, then let it out all the way. My concern is that I'm riding the clutch a bit and fear I'm wearing it out too fast.

Any thoughts?

lol.... driving tips on a forum.... hmmm how to engage on this one. (pun intended)
Don't worry about it would be my opinion
It'll all come with time.
Failing that:
Flat ground, take off without using any gas a few times so your left foot gets used to the feeling of stall/take off.
Then
2nd gear take offs without gas until as it starts to "bite" give it some gas and take off.
Then
Back to 1st gear and hopefully you'll be letting out the clutch before your gas comes on (from the 2nd gear take offs) and you'll never ride the clutch again as you'll have the inverse relationship between gas and clutch sorted forever!
With the initial value of RPM set to it's lowest (idle) value at the beginning of the equation.
Maths... it'll even teach you to drive. lol.

Ever see a baby cat nurse? They push with one paw while the other paw retracts at same speed and cadence. Do that with your feet. that's how I taught my daughters how to drive stick shifts.

Yeah, I thinks they call them "kittens" !!!

There we go, a David Attenborough version and an Archimedes version. (I debated for 2 minutes whether to use "an" or "a" there!.. must be the very soft "A", lol)

Thanks for the tips. I'm pretty new to manual shifting and still learning the technique.

Getting good at it will only come with time but you'll be comfortable in no time.

Be sure not to "drag" your clutch foot meaning pick your entire clutch foot off the floor when you shift.

Older clutches will be more forgiving - in my experience.

Welcome to the shifters club!! Dan

I'm sneaky; I bought a 1998 Frontier with manual transmission and 100K miles for my kids to drive, delayed them 2 months each as they learned to shift so they could pass their driver's test in it. Saved me four months of insurance as well (heh, heh !!!) but figured they'd never learn shifting if I didn't make them.

Right now we've got four manual shift vehicles:
1971 VW Convertible
1988 B2200 Cap Plus
1998 Frontier
2004 Frontier King Cab

The oddball is Mrs. Cusser's Yukon that she tows the horses with.

Don't be too worried about "riding" the clutch for a short time. It's when you keep your left foot down on it constantly that its a problem.

I learned to drive in England. One of the skills you had to master to pass the driving test was "hill starting". Everyone had to show proficiency in it to pass. It involved parking on a steep hill, then taking off smoothly without jerking or rolling backwards. The trick is to hold the hand (parking) brake while working the accelerator and clutch until they balance, then letting off the hand brake. The balanced accelerator and clutch then keep you momentarily stationary on the hill until you accelerate off and completely disengage the clutch. Never caused a problem with the many stick shifts in the UK.

I'm constantly amazed at how many people in the States have not mastered/ do not know this skill and still roll back several feet on a hill Since I ride motorcycles as well as cagers its something I have to be constantly conscious of!