degradation of 'kevlar' type trigger wires
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I'm wondering how resistant these trigger wires are to sun, abrasion, and chemicals. For anyone that has had them fail, did they do so all at once, or slowly deteriorate (did you see it coming?) |
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I don't know about the durability of "Kevlar" trigger wires, but Metolius will replace the trigger wires relatively cheap. If you are concerned, just ship 'em to Metolius for rewiring. |
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If the chemicals hurt the trigger wires, you can just replace them. I wouldn't get the WD40 treated cams near your rope, slings, or quick draws though, unless the chemicals have been completely cleaned off. |
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I bootied a cam off of alpine climb in co. it had been out long enough that the anodization not covered by the sling on the carabiner was visibly faded. after I removed it, I got it working smoothly with days of soaking in CLR WD40 and other nasty solvents. |
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Are trigger wires really safety critical, though? Assuming you could somehow retract the cam lobes, wouldn't a cam with ZERO trigger wires still hold a fall? I think that's how the mechanics of a cam work. Or am I crazy? |
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Trigger wires are not safety critical. A broken one would mean a cam that's a PITA to get out, or worst case not possible to properly place, (and then you just don't place it). I'd climb on it with no hesitation. |
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Its a 00 Mastercam - its not supposed to hold much force anyways. |
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I dont know much about the Master Cam trigger wires other than none of mine have ever broke. However, with regard to Kevlar, the material has poor resistance to UV, and it degrades from sunlight exposure alone. Typically any Kevlar product that is exposed to the sun is enclosed in some form of casing to protect it from the sun. Exposed Kevlar can turn from yellow to brownish with less than 100 hours of direct sunlight exposure. Kevlar also has relatively poor flex-fatigue properties because the material is supposedly abrasive (as I have read, never confirmed myself). Supposedly the material starts to break down after repeated bending as a result of the fibers wearing at each other. That said, I am sure Metolius thought of all this and I would not have a problem climbing on a bootied cam. I have a number of them, some from bigwalls, that I use in my rack. |
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Thanks everyone! |
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Thanks for the correction, someDuder. According to Sterling Ropes, "nylon's strength is not greatly affected" by gasoline and motor oil: |
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someDuder wrote:Thanks everyone! Ya, I realize the fail mode of trigger wires won't hurt. But I wouldn't want to lose a perfectly good cam when I could easily replace the trigger wires beforehand. I'm also not really into replacing the trigger wires if there is no reason to though. Woe is me eh? I see no discoloration and everything I've read tells me it should be fine, so I think I'll just try it. Also: Steve Jones: WD40 is a mix of oil and solvent. The solvent evaporates soon after application and just leaves the oil, which shouldn't affect nylon or other gear accept for making it more dirty. Otherwise I guess Metolius wouldn't recommend it as an alternative to their own lube. Matt N: The 00 is still rated at a whopping 5kN! It's not my favorite thing to do, but I've definitely taken some solid falls on my smaller gear. 20kN: Awesome graph, thanks! Any idea on the source of it?Wikipedia: Sailcloth |