10 year old harness still good?
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I have a 10 year old Slinging Rock harness that was probably used 25 or fewer times and took no significant falls. It has spent the last 7 years or so stored away in a cool and dry basement. Visually it looks like an almost new harness, no fraying, tears, etc. |
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I personally wouldn't worry about it. If you you get psyched about climbing again after going with your friend, then pick up a new one. You will probably have to pay more than $50 for a nice new one. |
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Oh god stay back! I give it a 99% chance of spontaneously combusting as soon as you touch it. |
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If you get it from your friend's dad it's ok. |
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I toss all nylon and sutch stuff ... when it gets about 5 years old. |
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Guy Keesee wrote:I toss all nylon and sutch stuff ... when it gets about 5 years old. Falling and decking is the same outside or inside...Does this include re-slinging cams? |
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I really trust the BD QC lab guys they have put out some good solid testing and research over the years. |
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Guy Keesee wrote: Falling and decking is the same outside or inside...I agree that you either trust it or you don't, and if you don't you shouldn't be climbing on it at all. But to say that decking is the same outdoors or indoors is just silly. If you had to deck today from 20 feet up, but you got to choose whether it was outside landing on dirt and rocks, or inside landing on a foam gym floor, it seems to me there is an obvious choice. |
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Guy Keesee wrote:I toss all nylon and sutch stuff ... when it gets about 5 years old. Falling and decking is the same outside or inside...5 years is really short if it's stored cool and dry. If it's used every weekend that's another story. |
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Locker wrote:Summation: ALL gear is good, so long as you get it from a friends dad.Does it count if I give it to my son and he gives it back??? The BD testing was interesting that even with the belay loop cut 90% through it held over 700 lbs. |
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One would think the available research would have settled this question a while ago: nylon things do not weaken significantly with age. What weakens them is wear (broken fibers), UV light and exposure to acids, solvents and suchlike. A harness (or rope or runner) that has been sitting around in a dry dark place, not exposed to nasty chemicals, is about as good as it was when it started sitting there. |
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I would pay $50 for piece of mind over asking jerks on MP for advice. |
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Locker wrote:Summation: ALL gear is good, so long as you get it from a friends dad.What if I give good gear to my dad's friend? Or if my dad's good friend gives me gear? Plz help. |
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Tronald Dump wrote: By the way, longer falls=more rope=more stretch=softer fall.It amazes me that this is still an open book. That relation does not include a ratio of rope out to length of the fall which is still the ONLY important aspect of a fall. You can fall five feet or 400 feet, and if it's a factor two (5 fall/2.5 out, or 400 fall/200 out) it's the same. A longer fall has nothing to do with fall factor unless it also happens to be the case that there is much more rope out. As for your harness, many companies reccomend replacing soft goods after 5-10 years, EVEN IF properly stored. Is it fine for now? Probably. Is it worth finding out? Well that's up to you. |
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The UIAA found that even the absolute oldest ropes they could possibly get their hands on still passed at least 1 UIAA fall in accordance with UIAA testing requriements. |
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Ever notice you never have to replace the seat belt in your car? |
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Well the 1st few times out will just be top roping so I'm not going to worry about it for now. If I start getting out frequently I'll replace it. |
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Just throwing this out there for discussion, but Signing rock harnesses are stated as good for 10 years from date of production (copied below from their harness instruction packet). Some companies only list 5 years and many people use them well past that mark.... |
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Of course, climbing gear manufacturers recommend replacing soft goods when they are old. That is prudent and makes sense for them as companies. |
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Please, just read what 20kn posted. That is independent information. Manufacturers want you to buy new crap because of liability concerns, but also because they want to sell you new crap. |
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Why all this defense for old stuff? |