Backcountry Beacon

Aluminum does not have a lifespan, so aluminum gear can, in theory, last forever. The reality is that gear takes a beating and will need to be replaced from time to time. How often it needs to be replaced depends on how you use your gear. A fixed quickdraw may find the rope-end carabiner worn to the point of being dangerous within a single summer, but the carabiner that you use to rack your stoppers will probably last forever.

In case you missed it, check out Part I:

When To Retire Climbing Gear Part 1: Ropes, Harnesses, Slings, Helmets

Carabiners:

• Carabiners probably wear out faster than any other piece of aluminum gear. Cams sit in cracks, stoppers sit in cracks, but carabiners get ropes running through them, they get dropped, and they get dented from repeated falls on bolts. Gate springs wear out, and corrosion attacks them if they get wet. Keep a close eye on your ‘biners. A quick side note on leaver ‘biners. If you don’t trust a carabiner to use on your rack, then why would you use it as your only piece of gear when you lower from a route?

• Gate Operation: The first test you should give your ‘biners is a simple gate test. Open the gate and let it snap closed. That’s it. If it sticks, you can try and lube the hinge with chain lube, but if that doesn’t do the job, then toss it. Screw and auto-locking sleeves also need to be checked. You’re looking for a nice smooth operation with absolutely zero sticking. If you have a carabiner with a plastic lock sleeve, check for any chips. If you find one, then your carabiner is finished.

• Wear: For all aluminum products, the tolerance for wear is 1mm. That may not seem like much, but it’s enough to compromise a piece of gear’s strength. A millimeter of wear can come from a bolt-hanger indentation, from a big scratch received in a fall, and most commonly from rope wear inside the basket. Not only does rope wear compromise strength, but it can also create sharp edges that can cut your rope in a fall.

• Corrosion: If carabiners are exposed to the elements, they can corrode just like any other metal. Corrosion compromises strength, of course, but it can also create abrasion hazards if it occurs along a rope-bearing surface. Take a close look where the steel pin holds the gate to the body of the carabiner. This is a common place to find corrosion.

Cams:

• Cams are difficult to inspect because they have so many parts. You have to deal with the lobes, the axle, the stem, the sling, and even the wires. Some have an impact on strength, some have an impact on function, and some have an impact on both.

• Operation: Like carabiners, just run the cam through its normal operation. The trigger should be nice and smooth, and the cam should snap back open when you release it. If it’s sluggish, then take some lube and get things running right. Slow operation can keep your cam from engaging in a fall.

• Wear: With all aluminum, you can get away with 1mm of wear on a cam lobes. It’s pretty rare that cams ever get to this point, but it happens. As a general rule, the teeth are about 1mm tall, so if the teeth are worn to create a smooth section in any section of the cam, then that’s it. You should also take a close look at stem(s) for fraying. A little bit of a bend is OK as long as none of the wires are frayed. If your cam has seen a really nasty fall, then there is a chance that it may have a bent lobe or a bent axle. If you see either, then throw it out.

• Corrosion: “Dude, there’s a fixed cam up here.” I can’t even count how many times I’ve heard that phrase and seen someone pull a rusty cam from a crack and clip it to their rack. Rust seriously compromises a cam’s strength. The most common place for rust is where the steel axle meets the aluminum lobes.

• Slings: Check the bar stitches for any signs of a missing loop. You should also give the sling itself a look for any one area that’s more worn than the rest (an indication of trauma to a single location). If you do find issues, don’t panic and toss your cam away, or do anything even dumber. I’ve seen slings backed up with 4mm cord (which holds very little force) and even wrapped with duct tape. Seriously, I know we’re broke and all, but damn! Most cam manufacturers will replace slings for a very minimal cost. Don’t take chances.

Stoppers:

• Nuts are pretty basic, so they’re easy to inspect. Plus, they’re really cheap to replace, so you have no excuse to use sketchy stoppers.

• Cable Wear: Cables are pretty much the only part of nuts that wear out. They make a sharp bend at the rock end and at the carabiner end, so these are the two places they’re the most likely to wear out. Check for frayed cables. If you see one, toss the thing.

• Corrosion: If you don’t know by now, rust is bad.

Belay Devices:

• Your belay device is a non-redundant piece of equipment, so a failure will hurt or kill you or your partner. These things do last a pretty long time, but everything needs to go eventually.

• Wear: Unless something pretty dramatic happens to crack your belay device, then rope wear is pretty much the only thing that’s going to end its career. Like all aluminum products, 1mm of wear is the acceptable limit. In addition to that, you must keep your eye out for sharp edges. The angle of rope wear can eventually create a knife at the edge of your device, and you can imagine how bad that would be to press against your rope.

• Operation: For auto-locking devices like the GriGri, you need to check cam and handle movement as well. Most sluggishness can be cured with cleaning and lubing, but some of these parts do occasionally break, so keep your eyes open and don’t run a piece of gear past its prime.

Dropped Gear:

Climbers talk about micro fractures and how you need to retire a piece of gear if it gets dropped two feet, five feet, from the top of pitch 1, or whatever they heard from a friend who heard from someone else. Petzl has done extensive testing on dropped gear and their findings resulted in a pretty basic rule. If a piece of gear fails a visual and function inspection, then it should be retired (which it should be even if it hasn’t been dropped). If a piece of gear has been dropped, no matter the height, and it still passes a visual and function inspection, then it’s good to go. In hundreds of samples, Petzl failed to find a single piece of dropped gear that passed inspection but failed at less than its rated strength. If you have any doubts, send your gear to me, and I’ll be happy to text it extensively.

Retiring Gear:

Retiring gear is a bummer. You have to toss out something that you paid good money for. On the upside, you get to replace it with new gear, and what climber doesn’t like picking up some new toys? The real upside (and a necessity) is that you get to (must) destroy any gear you retire. For harnesses and slings, this is as simple as cutting them up with a knife. For carabiners, put them in a vice and use a breaker bar to snap them in two. Helmets are the most fun. Have you ever crushed a helmet with a hammer or beaten it with an ice tool? Or, if you have the appropriate amount of redneck in you, then I recommend a shotgun.

More:

For a very detailed guide, including photos and videos of the inspection process and rejected items, take a look at Petzl’s PPE Inspection Site. Also check out Part I in our series: When To Retire Climbing Gear Part 1: Ropes, Harnesses, Slings, Helmets.

Related Posts:

• When To Retire Climbing Gear Part 1: Ropes, Harnesses, Slings, Helmets
• Is Fixed Gear Safe?
• Daisy Chains: Anchor Link or the Weakest Link?

Tags: climbing, climbing gear, gear maintenance, rock climbing, safety, sport climbing, trad climbing