Rams Horn / pig tail anchor longevity

Now that these have been in circulation a few years, including at high impact areas like Rumney (since 2016), is there a consensus about how long they will last for? How did they perform compared to other anchors over the same time? 

Thanks

As far as I know, none have been replaced.  And as a bonus, they only wear on one side, so you can switch them on the anchors and double their life.  Much better than the alternatives IMO.  The only downside is that they are hard to clip from a bad finishing hold. 

Ward Smith wrote:

As far as I know, none have been replaced.  And as a bonus, they only wear on one side, so you can switch them on the anchors and double their life.  Much better than the alternatives IMO.  The only downside is that they are hard to clip from a bad finishing hold. 

They only wear on one side..? Please explain or a picture if you can

The rope only wears on the outer sides of the two pigtails, so if you swap them the previously inner sides are now the outer sides.  Sorry no.pics as I have used all mine up and need to buy more! 

Don’t know if it has been flat out replaced yet but in the winter season of 2018-2019 I did swap the anchors on Underdog at Rumney from the wear and tear that was happening to them. Haven’t noticed much wear on any other climbs though.

This may help...

Joseph Brody wrote:

This may help...

In this case, it would look like the glue-ins would need to be removed to swap the rams horns.  

Ah! I have only seen them placed with one directly on a bolt and the other bolt above and connected to it with a chain + QL

I think trying to swap them to the opposite side would be a pain..

Ward Smith wrote:

The rope only wears on the outer sides of the two pigtails, so if you swap them the previously inner sides are now the outer sides.  Sorry no.pics as I have used all mine up and need to buy more! 

With chains, you can just flip the last chain 180 degrees. 

There's no particular reason they should last a longer or shorter time than anything else made from two bits of 10mm stainless steel that I can think of. Easy enough to change out if they are worn.

Jim Titt wrote:

There's no particular reason they should last a longer or shorter time than anything else made from two bits of 10mm stainless steel that I can think of. Easy enough to change out if they are worn.

the titanium ones from titan (pictured) look incredibly easy to swap compared to a closed link but the stainless from climb tech have those same issues. 

it’s not a huge obstacle but something to think about with the added expense. 

Can rams horns be threaded and force-fit on through the narrow section in the middle?   

This is a little off topic, but I am confused why in the US developers use two horns, one on each bolt. In Europe I’ve always seen a single horn connected by chain to two offset bolts, which seems much more elegant, functional and economical. 

Frank Stein wrote:

This is a little off topic, but I am confused why in the US developers use two horns, one on each bolt. In Europe I’ve always seen a single horn connected by chain to two offset bolts, which seems much more elegant, functional and economical. 

Yeah, I was going to say.. I think it’s the traditional difference in anchor arrangement.. Europeans tend to set up offset bolts, we do bolts side to side. I would assume a bit of chain is cheaper than buying another rams horn, and clipping not one but two of those damn things must be a pain, but what can you do other than rearrange every anchor.

Preeti P wrote:

Can rams horns be threaded and force-fit on through the narrow section in the middle?   

Of course, that's how they are installed in the first place. A couple of taps with a hammer is all that's required.

petzl logic wrote:

the titanium ones from titan (pictured) look incredibly easy to swap compared to a closed link but the stainless from climb tech have those same issues. 

it’s not a huge obstacle but something to think about with the added expense. 

You lost me there!

Maybe these are the ones you are saying just need a tap of a hammer to remove? The ram's horns i was familiar with besides the titanium ones from Titan had a closed loop, so they would have to be installed with a quick link or similar.

As mentioned, I always liked this set up.  Only one rap ring that is redundant. Not too much chain.  I thought rap rings last longer  since they can rotate and distribute the rope wear.  

Preeti P wrote:

As mentioned, I always liked this set up.  Only one rap ring that is redundant. Not too much chain.  I thought rap rings last longer  since they can rotate and distribute the rope wear.  

That setup is great for rapping but single pitch cragging it is nice to have something that you can just clip and lower.

Especially busy routes it's nicer to have fixed draws and horns or shuts at the top, people can be very slow at cleaning. 

It's easy to just add a pigtail to the rap ring, although there should be a second ring for proper orientation relative to the wall.