Climbing Gear: When It’s Time to Say Goodbye
“Climbing!” …. Er actually, maybe not. While one of the most important parts of climbing is double (sometimes triple) checking things with your partner, it is critical to routinely inspect your gear. Webbing and carabiners too well loved? Harness on the brink of failure? Not sure? Keep reading to check out what signs to look for as the climbing season quickly comes under way.
Helmet
Starting from the top, down, the helmet is the easiest to identify. If you have taken a serious fall and knocked your noggin, check for any substantial dents or cracks.
Similarly, if you’ve been in any sort of incident involving rock fall, and your helmet has suffered from damage, it needs to be replaced
asap. Also, if the straps are fraying or have excessive abrasion, or the buckles have damage, it’s time to say sayonara.
Similar to ski boots, the hard plastic will degrade over time, and at the very least, become compromised. If your helmet is over 10 years old, no matter how well you’ve stored it, it’s time to go.
Harness
Your harness will be able to withstand a little more wear and tear, but there are still some key areas to check out for if you’ve been rocking your harness for a longer period of time. Look out and consider retiring your harness if:
- If any of the buckles are chipped, broken, or missing
- Any bartacking is coming loose/ significant threads are coming out
- The belay or tie in loops are discolored, wearing, or have significant cuts
- The waist belt had any cuts or holes
- Your harness is more than seven years old
Shoes
The cool thing about your climbing shoes is that they can be resoled. This might take some time as resole shops are typically booked a few weeks out. If this is an option for you, we say do it! The shoe is already broken in, and chances are if you’ve worn it to this point, you like them.
Shoes do not necessarily become a safety concern, but more of a comfort issue. All you really need to know is that if your shoes look like this:
They’re past salvation and it’s time to say goodbye. Unless, of course, you’re building up your big toe calluses. Then by all means, keep on doing you.
Carabiners
Back on the topic of safety, carabiners will need to be forfeited to the everyday tasks of holding water bottles or keys if:
- There is excessive wear due to consistent rope rub
- The gate does not easily open or close
- The locker (if there is one) does not work properly
- There are any cracks, chips, or metal burrs
- Screws or other hardware that holds the biner together is loose.damaged.
- The carabiner has been dropped from a significant height
Ropes, Webbing, Cord and Slings
All ropes, webbing, cord, and slings generally fall under the same guidelines for retirement. We’ll discuss the differences at the end. If your ropes, webbing, cords, or slings have any of the following, there’s plenty of cool DIY projects to do with them:
- Tears or significant fuzz/pilling, rips, or holes
- Discoloration due to intense sun exposure
- Any burnt or singed pieces (that are not on free ends)
- Any fraying stands or bartacing
- Any piece of material exposed to damaging chemicals.
*Webbing, cords, and slings all have manufacturing dates on them. If the item is older than 10 years, it’s time to repurpose or recycle it. *
For ropes in particular, life spans vary on how often you use it. If your rope shows any of the damage listed above, it would be wise to replace it. Ropes also can suffer from core shot where there has been so much wear on one area, you can see the white core of the rope. More things to look out for on ropes specifically are:
- If, when any particular section of the rope is pinched, it touches the other side flat, easily.
- If there are flat spots throughout the length of the rope
- If there has be a very substantial fall taken on the rope with extreme load
If you come across a rope in your gear room or gifted second hand by a friend that has
never been used, 10 years is the max lifespan given by most, if not all, manufacturers. Here’s a great chart to break it down for you courtesy of
blog.weighmyrack.com :
Save this guide for your end of season rounds and send it to the climbing crew to keep them safe, too! Have fun, be safe, and we’ll see you out there.
Finola McDonald thinks bios are really hard but here is her best go: Finola is a runner, a writer, a climber, snack enthusiast, cat mom, and city lifer turned nature lover who loves getting people outside. She is a firm believer that time in Earth’s wild spaces is time best spent and we need it more than ever. She hopes by sharing her passion for our planet and outdoor recreation, she can convince others of the same. In her free time, you can find her touching cool rocks, running around SLC and the Wasatch, and trying her hardest to leave this earth better than when she entered it.
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