RRC Archives

I have a really nice eddy current tester in my office. I test aluminum engine blocks for cracks regularly.

If you expose a conductive material to a concentrated magnetic field and monitor it's conductivity relative to the area exposed, you can easily detect even microscopic defects such as porosity or cracks.

I'll have to try it on some gear and see how it goes. I'd have to know what size fracture is the largest admissable and then calibrate my tester to a traceable master.

If you even think your gear is bad, send it to me so I can test it and dispose of it properly.

has anyone dropped a cam a long ways and put it back on their rack and then fell on it later and had it fail?? fail as in brake and pull out, explode, get fixed or any other crazy shit like that.

half my rack has taken big falls (600+ feet) and i still use it and fall on it and i have had no problems. some of the lobes are even bent and many have big dents in them... i just see them exploding and causing a bigger fall, the worst that will happen is get fixed i think, but let me know if you have heard of any problems after cam has taken a big fall.

I've fallen numerous times on a .5 Camalot I found at the base of Moonlight Butress. It looked pretty dinged up, but I've since replaced the sling, and its held like a champ.

I dropped a walkie talkie from the second pitch of Skyline Traverse at Seneca. We only found a couple of the pieces.

Disclaimer: IANAE

Before I used dropped gear that's coming out of those tests "clean", I'd check with someone like the quality assurance folks at BD that the testing you're doing matches up with what they've found. Not being an engineer, I don't quite grasp everything I've read about testing aluminum climbing gear, but there seems to be a consistent theme dealing with seemingly very minor cracks that can translate to serious reductions in what it takes to cause the piece to fail (and aluminum tends to fail catastrophically...) If BD is willing to share their info, they'd be the source for allowable tolerances.

Then again, this could be your life you're talking about, so the old phrase comes into play: "When in doubt, throw it out."

Usually people say "yeah dude, get rid of that sketchy gear, just send it my way", but I get the feeling your serious.

"one person's sketchy, is another person's bomber"
-unknown

tomdarch wrote:Disclaimer: IANAE

Before I used dropped gear that's coming out of those tests "clean", I'd check with someone like the quality assurance folks at BD that the testing you're doing matches up with what they've found. Not being an engineer, I don't quite grasp everything I've read about testing aluminum climbing gear, but there seems to be a consistent theme dealing with seemingly very minor cracks that can translate to serious reductions in what it takes to cause the piece to fail (and aluminum tends to fail catastrophically...) If BD is willing to share their info, they'd be the source for allowable tolerances.

Then again, this could be your life you're talking about, so the old phrase comes into play: "When in doubt, throw it out."

Of course it's impossible to ever say something is 100% safe, but it's widely reported and known that the supposed micro fractures from a big drop are basically a myth. Anything's possible, but it's pretty unlikely to be a problem. It's a personal decision, but I'd climb on it if it looks ok.

Is there any data either way on the damage long drops or certain impact forces inflict on gear?

For the most part, you can gauge the amount of damage inflicted by how dramatically the owner winces as she sees her gear hit the boulders on the ground... repeatedly... as other members of the party continue trying to throw it to each other so JR can TR a 30-foot 12a.