Have you checked your camming devices recently?

thebmc.co.uk/have-you-check…



In case it is not clear – damage from repeated bending may occur where the flexible stem enters the rigid stem (See figures 2&3) and if any strands of the flexible stem are found to be broken then it is very definitely time to retire the camming device

from the BMC

;)

That cam looks fine. I mean, only 1/3 of the cables are broken...

hey can i buy that off you?

Thanks for the heads up.

I just checked and I don't have any cams that look like that. :-)

Wait, those pieces are supposed to connect?

Figure 3: Onset of failure where the flexible stem enters the rigid stem

;)

Mark Roberts wrote:Wait, those pieces are supposed to connect?

I can weld that back together, or maybe some Gorilla glue would work...or the always solution...--- duct tape.

How often does this happen?

Tyler Newcomb wrote:How often does this happen?

42% of the time.

Tyler Newcomb wrote:How often does this happen?

for those MPers too lazy to read the BMC notice ...

In 2012, two camming devices were returned to the manufacturer after they failed the owner’s routine inspection. The manufacturers kindly forwarded the remains of the devices to the BMC Technical Committee for a further independent analysis and the dissemination of this information to BMC members.

During the devices use and subsequent further inspection the owner noticed a crunching sound whilst operating the triggers – worrying! Closer visual inspection revealed that individual strands of the flexible stem were snapping with each trigger operation – more worrying! The owner then proceeded to flex the head of the device back and forth until eventually the rigid stem detached from the flexible stem – alarming! (See figure 2).The owner of the inspected devices states that they were not strained more than others owned and whilst they have seen much use in both Summer and Winter they have not held many falls.

from the original report where two friends reached the failure point ...

BMC

from previous BMC technical notices ....


Whilst climbing the owner of this fleible friend tried to place the gear and felt a scratch from the wire
of the friend. After completing the route he checked the friend and found several broken strands of
wire on the stem. He then repeatedly bent the stem backwards and forwards for about a minute
during which more wirestrands broke and then the whole stem snapped.
The cam has never suffered a leader fall.
The owner also says that he had noticed some sticking of the trigger over the preceding year and put
this down to a need for lubrication.

BMC

Whilst climbing at Bosigran in Cornwall, the user fell from about 2m above his last piece of
protection. This protection was a Rock Empire cam, size 1, placed in a parallel-sided crack. The
stem of the device was orientated in line with the expected load. The device failed, leading to a fall of
approximately 16m. Very fortunately, no major injuries were sustained as a result of the fall. The
head of the unit was retrieved, still in place in the crack. The sling and stem part were found, still
attached to the climbing rope, on the ground.

BMC

so 4 cases that the BMC has investigated in the past 8 years or so

its likely happened even more considering that these are just UK cases that reached the BMC for investigation ...

its actually VERY surprising that this type of cam failure is not discussed more on the intrawebs or MP ... i would say that its something to look out for ... in the some of the cases the owners werent sure what to look for

these arent aliens with a brazing issue ... or link cams where people should know you have to place em in the direction of the pull ... or cams without cam stops where you cant make an umbrella placement

some of these are cams that have never been fallen on breaking off ... and can break with normal use and "perfect" placements

so lets be honest how many MPers know to look for this ... but hey your cam doesnt look like that does it now, no need to worry

;)

How does one check for this kind of damage on a cam like Camlots or Rock Empire? Well with out cutting the plastic tube

JulianG wrote:How does one check for this kind of damage on a cam like Camlots or Rock Empire? Well with out cutting the plastic tube

Same thoughts here!