Petzl Trigrest Failure, again....

last season

2 days ago

So, what's the score? How many have you busted? How many have gotten replaced by Petzl?

Petzl:
[...]This is actually the first time I've seen a trigrest break. Any thoughts as to the cause of it breaking? Is it getting bashed into something while in use? [...]

First time
Seriously? nope

Cause of breaking
The plastic material below the cap screw head and the nut is very thin, when the tip of the trigrest hits the ice, that section is levered and in tension. short of changing the molds, the only options is changing the material by adding more reinforcing fibre and/or getting a tougher compound at low temperature.

Is it getting bashed into something
Hum, ice?

Ok, so after my courteous reply he agreed to ship me a replacement Trigrest but... This is the last time.
Oh well, next time I'll bolt on a Grivel Trigger...

I've got the grivel trigger. Sometimes I bent it a bit. I can always fix it. Going on 9 years and it's basically perfect. Why wait? They aren't cost prohibitive.

I broke mine after one week of use when I first got the tools(2011 or 12?)
I just took the other one off and used all weather electrical tape on the shaft.
They sort of got in the way anyway.I don't miss them.
Really weak design IMO.

try the cassin/camp x-dream x-trigger way stronger

ok, received a free replacement from Petzl.
Spare part fail, the cutout for the nut is too small for the nut...
I'm afraid to force it into the cutout, it will force and weaken the material around where it usually snaps, might just file the nut.

Trigrest fail
ok, great...

Hey, Petzl actually changed the mould to add material below the nut/screw head! too bad they screwed with the nut recess.

That won't be an issue. If the bolt is long enough, it'll pull the nut right into place as you tighten it down.

The problem with pulling the nut tight (in this case would have been a force fit) is that it will stress the nylon exactly where the part has a tendency of snapping.
It was safer to file down the nut (and sanding sharp edges) so that it could slide into the recess mitigating future problems. It took me 5 minutes to fix.

Looks like the designer was asking a lot from a small piece of plastic

If you don't repeatedly beat the rest against the ice it won't break.

Mine broke on my first trip out, hitting a low angle bulge. I haven't felt the need to replace them yet. I doubt they are necessary in most alpine circumstances, but they can be useful on stepper sustained pitches WI4 and above. Thanks for the tip on Grivel Trigger, I'll probably buy a pair. That sounds like a stronger, yet less adjustable-on-the-go fix.