Craigslist Score, need help, Chouinard Hex's, Climb High sling, Camp by Lowe Tri-cams

Any suggestions for reslinging the hex's, I put new dyneema in the smaller onces that were big enough to accept it, but the bigger ones have 4mm holes but I cannot find 4mm dyneema for climbing anywhere. Should I bore it out 1mm and smooth it out or find the cordage?

the lot

Chouinard hex's

Lowe Camp Tri-cams

Lost Arrow pitons

Climb High sling

What's that beer you're drinking? I don't recognize it...

John Marsella wrote:I acquired some hexes with smaller holes like that. I got the bluewater titan dyneema line (5mm): Cut it a few inches longer than you want. Push back the sheath, exposing the kern, then cut an inch or two of kern out. Pull the sheath back over, then burn the end. Shove that thin bit (sheath-only part) through the hole and pull the thicker (complete) portion of the cord through. It helps to make the burnt end pointy. You can also thread a short length of smaller stuff and pass it through two aligned holes, then drag the sheath portion (and the complete cord behind it) through the holes (tying the smaller stuff to the sheath with a larkshead or somesuch hitch) After you get the cord through all the holes, cut the sheath-only portion off and burn the end.

sounds like a plan, that 5mm cord seemed like a shot to rig but i'll make it work and report back on here. great suggestions, thanks!

John Marsella wrote:looks like yueng ling?

correct!

Any suggestions about re-shrink wrapping the stoppers? the current wrap is just old, and has had a lot of gear tape on it over the years. one is slightly split but the metal on the stoppers are perfectly fine.

Danyl Britts wrote:Any suggestions about re-shrink wrapping the stoppers? the current wrap is just old, and has had a lot of gear tape on it over the years. one is slightly split but the metal on the stoppers are perfectly fine.

Try the electrical section of your hardware store. They carry Shrink Wrap. Will have to squeeze the loop tight to get down to the swage.

1Eric Rhicard wrote: Try the electrical section of your hardware store. They carry Shrink Wrap. Will have to squeeze the loop tight to get down to the swage.

alright, sounds good. im so stoked to clean up this gear. it seems fully functional. Any idea when some of this stuff was created? The sling was made in 1974, but a rough estimate on some of the other things would be nice to know. Calling all vintage gear guru's!

BUMP

I'd put the hexes with the smaller holes in the mid to late 80's.

I recall that a kevlar cord had come out at the time that was way smaller in diameter than the fat nylon cord that was common at the time.

However, it took a crazy cutter to get through it and was also rather expensive and stiff. That craze didn't last and I don't remember seeing them around for very long. That was around '87-88 when I bought mine.

The ones you have that are already slung, if the core is yellow and the strands are very fine instead of the usual white nylon, then that's what I'm talking about.

Danyl Britts wrote:Any suggestions for reslinging the hex's, I put new dyneema in the smaller onces that were big enough to accept it, but the bigger ones have 4mm holes but I cannot find 4mm dyneema for climbing anywhere. Should I bore it out 1mm and smooth it out or find the cordage?

If they are truly only 4mm holes, could they have been slung with wire before? Did they have slings when you bought them?

Either way, I would have no problem drilling them out a bit to accept 5mm tech cord. Just be sure to do a good job deburring and chamfering the holes - no sharp edges. I've done this in the past. Sometimes, I like putting the knot INSIDE the larger hexes.

Yes, those holes in your hexes look like old kevlar cord sizing. Previous versions had larger holes for slinging with "perlon" -- up to 9mm, I think. And late 80s sounds about right. I wonder if CAMP could tell you something based on the sewn label, but I'm pretty sure my oldest tri-cams (mid-80s) had a different label.

It's a pretty good bet that your TriCams are prime candidates for new slingage: they don't have a 'made-on' date on the label, which became standard practice some time in the 1990s (I think). You could contact Camp to see if they will re-sling them for you. I re-threaded mine with some supertape-like stuff I bought by the foot at a local climbing shop.

Nice score on all that experienced old gear!

Use smaller diameter perlon rope. That's what we used in the old
days, it still works great, holds knots.

go buy some clear soft tubing from the hardware store. (what you would use for a water level..or blow tube for cleaning out bolt holes.) I cut a length on mine that was long enough to fit through the hex in a horseshoe shape. Run the thinner cord through it...tie it off...and done. Works very well.

wivanoff wrote: If they are truly only 4mm holes, could they have been slung with wire before? Did they have slings when you bought them? Either way, I would have no problem drilling them out a bit to accept 5mm tech cord. Just be sure to do a good job deburring and chamfering the holes - no sharp edges. I've done this in the past. Sometimes, I like putting the knot INSIDE the larger hexes.

They didnt come with any cordage when I purchased them, as the seller wouldnt an amature buying them and just going out for some trad climbing, take a fall and the cord break. The smallest dyneema/spectra cord ive found was 5mm unfortunately. I could only get two slung so far. I could bore them out but I would only do it as a last resort.

JWong wrote:I'd put the hexes with the smaller holes in the mid to late 80's. I recall that a kevlar cord had come out at the time that was way smaller in diameter than the fat nylon cord that was common at the time. However, it took a crazy cutter to get through it and was also rather expensive and stiff. That craze didn't last and I don't remember seeing them around for very long. That was around '87-88 when I bought mine. The ones you have that are already slung, if the core is yellow and the strands are very fine instead of the usual white nylon, then that's what I'm talking about.

Unfortunately I didnt get to see them slung prior to me buying them. The origional cordage on the gear sling, when cut, had a yellow core.

PTR wrote:Yes, those holes in your hexes look like old kevlar cord sizing. Previous versions had larger holes for slinging with "perlon" -- up to 9mm, I think. And late 80s sounds about right. I wonder if CAMP could tell you something based on the sewn label, but I'm pretty sure my oldest tri-cams (mid-80s) had a different label.

Good idea, I should contact CAMP.

Steve Williams wrote:Use smaller diameter perlon rope. That's what we used in the old days, it still works great, holds knots.

4mm Perlon has a tensile strength of 1000lbs, thats not much considering Dyneema at 1mm larger is 3000+lbs. I'd like to make them as safe as possible, and im sure there is a way to get 5mm Dyneema cord through them, Ive just go to find the proper way.

Danyl Britts wrote:Any suggestions for reslinging the hex's, I put new dyneema in the smaller onces that were big enough to accept it, but the bigger ones have 4mm holes but I cannot find 4mm dyneema for climbing anywhere. Should I bore it out 1mm and smooth it out or find the cordage?

I would drill out the hole to 5mm and put in 5mm New england tech cord (5 K lbs strength)

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