Dropped Cam

Today my partner was following and cleaning a route and accidentally dropped my BD #3 from about 80 feet off the deck.The route was fairly steep so it fell strait down to hit the ground. It looks fine but I want to make sure, any Ideas or experience on if cams are alright after being dropped?

Aluminum no problem, steel it's trash. But what's your life worth? Had a friend dropped a Figure eight (aluminum rappel device) from the top of the Weeping Wall at Suicide, over 200 feet. There was a feldspar crystal embedded in the device. He was going to toss the Fig 8, but a colleague (a metallurgy professor at Cal Poly) kept it and used it for twenty years. No problems.
Why don't you call BD (800) 775-5552 and ask?

It is probably fine. There was a post i saw somewhere they were testing biners that had been dropped and showing that they are fine even after being dropped.

If it passes a visual and touch inspection then it's good. I dropped my cell phone 200' off a cliff (it fell out of my pocket while I was rapping off) and it turned out fine. I'd certainly like to think that climbing gear is more sturdy and robust than cellphones.

If you really aren't comfortable with it, though, give it away because the trusting your gear is essential. I personally would trust it but everyone is different, and you have to learn to make your own judgement calls. Where that is line stands is different for different people but don't trust something just because somebody else does.

What did it land on when it hit the ground at approx. 50mph? Would you trust it if you spiked it as hard as you could on that surface?

Do not give it away... either use it or retire it.

I'll take it if you don't want it, I'm making a decoration for my new place out of old gear.

chris21 wrote:What did it land on when it hit the ground at approx. 50mph? Would you trust it if you spiked it as hard as you could on that surface? Do not give it away... either use it or retire it.

it's speed or what it landed on isn't what matters; what matters is whether or not it is damaged. and any damage can easily be seen and/or felt with a good inspection of the unit. and if he doesn't find any damage but doesn't feel comfortable using it i'd certainly take it off his hands

It would be a waste to throw away a good cam just because it got dropped. at the very least, if he doesn't feel comfortable using it he should pass it on to the guy above to use as decoration.

Would just throw away an old rope or would you give it to somebody to use for a non-load-bearing use such as for pulling down old dead tree limbs or weaving a rug?

My life is worth infinite money, unfortunately I can't quite swing that much.

Cams have a lot of parts and you can't visually inspect/feel all of them. They also contain a mix of steel and aluminum parts so how it landed what it landed on and how fast it was moving at impact does matter. I wouldn't trust cam axles that hit a rock at 50 mph regardless of how the cam action feels and looks upon visual inspection.

This is mountain project. People are crazy. Your cam is fine. Climb on!

Its absolutely unsafe and yr gonna die !!!

Ill dispose of it properly for you

;)

Please send it to me for testing. It may take me 5 or 6 years, but you'll get it back eventually. Maybe.

If the lobes have microfractures you won't be able to see them.

It's probably fine. Just for the psychological effect though I would replace or have someone xray it. Confidence is good to have

snowhazed wrote:If the lobes have microfractures you won't be able to see them.

Microfractures have been proven to have an extremely insignificant effect on strength. Regular wear and tear of rope running through a biner or hitting your nut with a nut tool or falling on a cam decrease the strength of your gear significantly more than microfractures. even this effect, though, is negligible.

Fun Fact: BD's "microfracture" biners tested stronger than some biners (same model) that were brand new.

Xray it? Is this a thing? What's the deductible on my renter's?

Benjamin Chapman wrote:Aluminum no problem, steel it's trash.

What...?

Anyway, regardless of material, if the cam is not physically damaged, it's fine, dont worry about it. Just perform a good inspection. Compare it to another cam if you need to.

We dropped an alien 300' once and it bounced down some slabs before punting right next to our packs. It didn't blow up, I still take rides on it. If an alien didn't blow up, you should be fine ;)

links to the microfracture testing eli poss?

thanks for the update

I don't believe in microfractures.

snowhazed wrote:links to the microfracture testing eli poss?

A path to the dark side this is.

snowhazed wrote:links to the microfracture testing eli poss? thanks for the update

couldn't find a link. If you really want to see the data, RC.com says Rock and Ice issue #81 page 117 has quotes from BD and REI