Climbtech 1/2" RB with 12mm drill bit

Has anybody tried this? Does it work? I was thinking of buying one. I know the Petzl Coeur Pulse is available for 12mm, but it requires drilling full size holes. While I currently live in the US, I don't want to spend the money on a a product that only works with bits and bolts with imperial measurements.

It'll go in (the hole will have to be deeper than with 1/2" if you want the sleeves to be touching the rock for their entire length)...whether it will work well is a different matter, they are clearly designed for 1/2" holes. If you're going to use glue-ins in Europe, why not just keep & use a 1/2" bit with the RB, then later drill the deeper part of the hole with a 12mm bit, I doubt 0.8mm oversized for the upper section of a hole is going to make any difference with glue-in strength.

Here's a side-view of about how deep in the hole they go, 12mm vs 1/2" (the 12mm hole has to be deeper since you have to retract the trigger much further). The RB barely fits in the 12mm hole.

Thanks a lot Greg! That's exactly the answer I hoped for. I thought about using a 1/2" bit, but the application I had in mind was bolting on lead with expansion bolts. Swapping drill bits kind of limits the advantage of the RB, quickly drilling shallow holes for repositioning. I've written Climbtech as well, they also think it is not going to be practical with a 12mm drill. Unfortunately they don't plan to produce a metric version. 

Yeah if you're using 12mm mechanical bolts, you don't want to use 1/2" for the start of the hole.

Also my sample rock was pretty hard rock, I bet they'd go into limestone easier since it's generally softer. Based on my very limited experience placing small cams in limestone, I would clean the shallow hole really well for RB use (limestone seemed "slick" and the cams could pop out easily). That's assuming you're developing limestone of course!

Yes, it would be pretty much exclusively for limestone use. While cams in general aren't great in limestone, I'm pretty optimistic about the RB, at least with the correct size drill bit. I'll ponder about it a bit more, not sure if I'm excited enough to spend the $70 for something that's probably not useful just to find out.

Personally I would get a couple short Triplex, they are 12mm, easy to remove, and reusable. Full depth hole is only 53mm or so (depends on the thickness of the 12mm hole hanger). And they are not going to get kinked or stuck.

For lead bolting, aid moves and positioning I have a 10mm RB but never use it,' they aren't exactly durable  I have 6mm and 10mm studs (6mm are good for long aid sections but keeping changing bits is a pain). For most stuff I use a DMM Terrier ground to go in a 10mm hole ( like a beak I guess),

Thanks for the input, I think I'm going to pass on the RB. When I really need them, I'm just going to get a couple of Triplex or suck it up and buy two of the Petzl ones, they can be had on sale for about 40$.

Jim, your option with the DMM terrier also sounds good and would also be more affordable. Did you have to grind much off the top?

You just shorten it a bit to suit the hole diiameter, it only goes in 10/15mm.