Loading…
27
Appreciation post: My 15-year-old climbing rope finally gave out on a big oak removal last Tuesday.
It was a clean break about 8 feet from the end, and I had to switch to my backup line to finish the job. Anyone else have a piece of gear you trusted for years that finally quit on you?
4 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In4 Comments
henderson.hayden5mo ago
Glad you're safe, but that rope was way past its service life for climbing gear. Most manufacturers recommend retiring a climbing line after 10 years max, even with light use. That's a serious reminder for everyone to check their gear dates.
5
ivanp785mo ago
Guess my retirement plan kicked in before the rope's did.
2
joseph_green135mo ago
Way past its service life" feels like fear mongering. My dad's old gear from the 90s still works fine if you take care of it. This just makes people scared of perfectly good stuff.
0
nathan_kim3mo ago
Tbh that's a solid point about gear lasting longer than people think. My buddy still climbs on a 20 year old dynamic rope that passes all his drop tests and doesn't have any soft spots. The safety culture around gear retirement feels more about selling new stuff than actual risk a lot of the time.
2