Best Bolt/Hanger packages for hand drilling granite

Curious to know what good (in terms of deal and quality) bolt and hanger packages are out there for hand drilling in granite.

What length and diameter bolts do you recommend? What kind of hangers? An economical selection would be nice, but not necessary. Where's a good place to order them from?

I'm dealing with tropical, high altitude conditions (the Peruvian Andes); bullet hard granite; and hand drilling.

Thanks for the help.

Fixe has a ss 5/16" that I have used quite a bit. Plenty strong in good granite. My Pika hand drill is a little battered but still fine and uses SDS bits (get the Bosch bits).
If you wanna use 3/8" (tougher drilling but still feasable) I use standard Powers 3/8" x 2 1/4" quick bolts.

john

The "Best" to be would be Petzl Long life, but at $10 each they may be a bit pricey. Petzl Couer(sp?) bolt and hanger combos are also a nice bet. I like the Petzl hangers as they are much lighter than the Metolius or Fixe, especially if you are carrying a bunch of them. If you are going with these make sure you get the proper drill bits.. 10mm and 3/8" are not the same thing and a 3/8" bit will undersize the hole in hard granite and possibly prevent the bolt from seating. Petzl Long Life are 12mm so they may be a bit overkill, but you will not find a more bomber bolt, plus you do not need a wrench, just your hammer.

I agree with John regarding the 5/16" bolts, just make sure you are using the buttonhead ones. These bolts are very strong in hard rock and would be a good bet for drilling on lead by hand. You also might consider bringing some 1/4" bolts and bits for those really hard to place bolts(no hooks standing on a single smear types). I have taken multiple whippers on 1/4" bolts doing FA's and they do work. Just bring a tuning fork so you can replace them with a 3/8" bolt on rappell or follow.

Have fun!

Edit- skip the Bosch drill bits and go straight for the double fluted Hilti bits, they take about 25% less time to sink a bolt and last much longer. They are also sized for hand drilling ( short shank) which really helps.

TP in SLC wrote:They also make 10mm Long Lifes.

Do NOT use the Fixe 5/16" buttonhead copies, they are total garbage. Fixe was supposed to pull those from the market years ago. They are super weak metal, not 5/16" (slightly larger), and nearly useless - a 1/4" buttonhead is good metal and a lot stronger.

Anyone who has those bolts should TOSS them. If you don't believe me, go place one in a chunk of garbage rock, then funk the bolt (or drive a thin pin under the hanger), and watch what happens. Compare them to a 1/4" buttonhead you place next to them. John - they are not stainless steel, even though the metal seems even softer than stainless.

If you find someone with the original 5/16" Rawl buttonheads, those are bomber and probably the best bolt possible for max strength in a small hole for hand drilling good granite. Even if you had them though, they will rust fast in the tropics.

For remote stuff that won't get repeated much, the best for 3/8" is a short 3/8" stainless wedge/stud bolt, eg 2.25" overall length (the hole depth is shallower). For stuff that will get repeated and needs bolt replacement in the future, you can use 5-piece bolts ("Power-Bolts") in the same length (which need a 1/4"-3/4" deeper hole, since wedge/stud bolts have the top of the bolt sticking out). Make sure to get stainless, especially for the tropics.

For maximum strength with minimum hole depth, and only available in carbon steel (not stainless), you can now get 5-piece bolts in 1 7/8". Not a good idea for the tropics since they will rust very fast.

Oh yeah - for the combo of 3/8" x 2.25" stainless and stainless hanger, FixeUSA sometimes has deals on their website - fixeusa.com - for that combo (a Powers bolt and a Fixe hanger). Don't see one right now, but it's been up there on and off for the last few years.

Thanks for the beta guys. Can't wait to start putting up some multi-pitch routes here in Peru for all of you to enjoy. I really appreciate the advice.

Sorry guys- I don't like the 5 piece bolts for lead drilling. The stud bolts are MUCH better and easier to use. If i could find original 5/16" rawl buttons, I would buy them ALL.

I have pull tested and drop tested the fixe 5/16" without problems.They ARE harder to place than the old rawls though. Maybe it's just me.

I have some RBs and I love them. All tho I have always angled the hole towards the pull so as not to kink the cable so bad.

don't use rawl expansion bolts...i don't trust them unless the hole is perfect, check out fixe hardware, they have some good stuff and there is stuff on sale usually. Petzl has some great stuff if you can spring for it. For sure get 3/8ths...in granite the length of the bolt is less of an issue but a minimum of 2.5 is a good rule in my opinion.