Effects of salt on gear

I recently spent a month climbing on Thailand's beaches and travelled some more once I left Krabi. I just got home and I know I need to wash all my gear after it was exposed to all the salt and sand.

What's the best way to clean biners and other metal hardware after they've been exposed? And how do I know if something has been too badly compromised? Some of the gates to my biners look... different. It could be corrosion but I don't have enough experience climbing around salty areas to tell. They are sticky and the gate almost feels like it has some kind of film left on it. I don't see any rusting on any of the hardware except on the leg loops of my harness.

Thoughts?

After 1 month it's unlikely that you have any significant corrosion. If it looks weird it's probably just salt deposits, as you suspect.

When I've been on sea cliffs I normally run a sink full of warm water and leave all my gear in that for half an hour or so. Then leave to dry on a towel for a while. That's really all it takes for most things.

If anything has seized up badly (Metolius TCUs always do, a few 'biner gates too) I'll get the WD40 out, spray a bit of that on, work the part a few times (black grime often drips out of the cams at this point!) then wipe as much of it off as possible with a tissue. A final spray of bike chain lube should keep them working smoothly. Wipe off any excess to stop too much from getting on soft goods (slings, etc) and cam lobes (which rely on friction!)

D.Buffum wrote:Aluminum is used on seafaring ships for lots of key structural components because it is not susceptible to damage from salt water. This includes masts, booms, and other components that take significant stress. So I would say that as long as you're dealing with aluminum gear, you have nothing to wory about. Just rinse off the salt in fresh water. If you have gear with steel components, then you have a different problem.

I've seen a saline environment eat aluminum. It doesn't rust, it starts flaking and peeling to the point that you can carve off pieces with your fingernail. It's more likely for people that live in these areas and the effects of fixed draws in these situations.

The grade of aluminum also matters. I've seen it on a Trango Cinch, Trango Harness buckles, and on BD hotwire biners FWIW.

Gear in thailand for a month is fine. Hose it off and let it dry. That's enough.

why would you comment so confidently when you are, indeed, quite wrong?

I just spent 5 months in SE Asia with gear, I had to throw away a handfull of un-anodized biners because they were starting to "scale" quite significantly. I presume it is only a surface condition but the gates were getting sticky anyway. I dunno.

I did have a rock exotica wall hauler and a set of ascenders freeze up too badly to use, salt water will absolutely speed up galvanic corrosion (corrosion caused by dissimilar metals like aluminum and steel in contact with one another)which I assume was the cause at the pulley axles and pivot points in those cases.

D.Buffum wrote:Aluminum is used on seafaring ships for lots of key structural components because it is not susceptible to damage from salt water. This includes masts, booms, and other components that take significant stress. So I would say that as long as you're dealing with aluminum gear, you have nothing to wory about. Just rinse off the salt in fresh water. If you have gear with steel components, then you have a different problem.

Seawater and corroding aluminum gear is no myth and no joke -- I've seen the lobes of cams stuck in seaside crags flake away into nubs after a month or two. I've also had to retire a handful of draws and biners that were not subject to proper post-cragging hygiene. The flaking and peeling tended to be worst around points of movement and contact (gates, noses, springs, and bolt-side biners).

After needing to toss a few draws, I tended to play it on the safer side of things and washed gear after a weekend of seaside climbing. I'd usually throw it all into a bucket and hose it down or simply jump into the shower with the rack. If you see any signs of flaking or peeling on your biners, you may want to retire them. Do a side-by-side comparison next to hardware that has never been in a corrosive environment to be sure. If in doubt (and of adequate income), throw 'em out.

your reasoning is completely incorrect, probably because you don't know what you are talking about. there are a handful of precautions/mitigating techniques that are used on aluminum craft to help protect them from saltwater. these techniques aren't readily applicable to climbing gear.

Jesus Christ, the guy was wrong, he owned it, let it go.

Thailand eats gear, no matter what it is made of. As long as your biners weren't hanging on a sea-side project for a season they are probably fine. Just wash them in fresh water. If you want to get the action of your biners back, use bicycle lube (not grease).

Really you shoulda rinsed the stuff in Thailand - that's why it's sticky now. But there's no reason to worry about strength.

PS, don't listen to the guy who says aluminium isn't affected by salt. He's obviously never been to Thailand.

nicelegs wrote: I've seen a saline environment eat aluminum. It doesn't rust, it starts flaking and peeling to the point that you can carve off pieces with your fingernail. It's more likely for people that live in these areas and the effects of fixed draws in these situations. The grade of aluminum also matters. I've seen it on a Trango Cinch, Trango Harness buckles, and on BD hotwire biners FWIW. Gear in thailand for a month is fine. Hose it off and let it dry. That's enough.

Yep, that is called exfoliation corrosion and it is the most common form of corrosion found in 7000 and 6000 series aluminum climbing parts when they are used in a marine environment. It is some very serious stuff. Below is a carabiner I found by one of our crags. The biner was rated for something like 26 kN. When I pull tested it, the biner failed way under its rating, although I dont remember exactly how low.

Nick Russell wrote:After 1 month it's unlikely that you have any significant corrosion.

Actually marine environments can cause metal elements to start corroding in as little as 12 hours. I have a few stainless steel quicklinks that started rusting only 72 hours after I installed them outside in Hawaii.

As far as the OP's question goes, rinse the gear off and it will be fine. The nice thing about corrosion is it is pretty much always visible. In other words, if the gear looks fine (from thorough inspection) then it is fine.