Have you whipped big on tiny gear?

I want to know everyone's thoughts on taking real falls on tiny gear.

I would consider tiny gear to be 0.2 BD cam or smaller or micronuts.
Have you taken any big falls on a 0.2, 0.1, or the new 0 z4 cam? Do you trust them? Have you had any pieces like this rip out?
I took a 15 foot pendulum fall on a .1/.2 offset and it held like a champ, but I almost shit myself and I'm always scared climbing above these pieces... I tend to trust a micronut over a 0.1, what do you think?

Pretty good at wrecking 0.2 X4s and I fully trust the 1 peenut. 

I took a 15 foot whipper on a black / blue alien which is pretty much like a BD .1 / .2 and it held brilliantly.  Also hung and pulled alot on a Z4 0 this past sunday, the thing bit so hard that my partner had a hard time cleaning it. I would have imagined it would hold a 10+ foot fall at least.

I know all of this is relative to a few mm and how well you place it, but I had a purple metolius UL (I think those are 0 or 00) rip on me when i weighted it - so regardless of if I placed it well or not - it lost my trust.

Being a fat fuck, I have fallen from maybe 3 feet above a 00 Ultralight and completely exploded the rock (cam placed nearly an inch in), and another time I took a 15 footer on lead solo and it didn't budge (pocketed). Depends on the rock..
I consider sub-finger sizes "micro". 

fallen 15+ feet on 000 and 00 c3's.

They work.

Fell 15' on a BD #3 nut placed blind in an undercling. Popped a chickenhead while traversing and off I went. Good thing I didn't have time to see it coming or underwear and pants would have required a bonfire for proper cleaning. The nut wasn't even hard to clean after the fall.

I've taken a 30 foot fall on a 000 C3. Definitely thought it would rip but it was as close to a perfect placement -- perfect retraction and nutted in a constriction -- in bullet hard granite.

I wouldn't recommend it though. I've taken some smaller, but still sizable falls, on all the c3s, some brass, and a black alien. It's just a gambling game at that point. There's just a smaller tolerance for what allowalable range you can put that cam or nut in.

Wes Martin wrote: I want to know everyone's thoughts on taking real falls on tiny gear.

I would consider tiny gear to be 0.2 BD cam or smaller or micronuts.
Have you taken any big falls on a 0.2, 0.1, or the new 0 z4 cam? Do you trust them? Have you had any pieces like this rip out?
I took a 15 foot pendulum fall on a .1/.2 offset and it held like a champ, but I almost shit myself and I'm always scared climbing above these pieces... I tend to trust a micronut over a 0.1, what do you think?

It's the placement not the piece that really matters.

I fell on a black totem (which is 0.2 equiv. I think, but too lazy to check) from maybe 5 foot above on a finger crack. It was fine.

But it's a black totem, so I might as well just have ran out the whole pitch, taken a full rope length fall factor 2  on it  and it would still have been fine, since it's a black totem.

I'll play ball.  But yeah, I'll definitely reiterate what Tradiban said.  The smaller the piece, the smaller the margin for error.  The rock had better be good, and the placement had better be solid.  

I've fallen on my 0.2 twice, and that's the smallest piece I've fallen on so far.  Once it ripped, once it held - both sizable falls.  The time it ripped, it was a poor placement.  The time it held, it was a bomber placement.  

I've whipped on my #5 (purple) BD stopper and my 0.3 C4 multiple times each and they've held every time.

They work...if you place them well...most of the time...YMMV.

Tradiban wrote:

It's the placement not the piece that really matters.

yep, placement and rock quality.  The piece itself isn't going to break unless it gets very weirdly bent or twisted...then I suppose it could have a failure point.

For me it has been unusual to have to depend on a single small/tiny placement. I always try to back up/double up placements if I am looking at small gear before any kind of run out.

I have fallen, though never father than about 10-15ft on #4 stopper and onto Metolius purple TCU. Never had any well placed piece fail. And I agree it's the placement quality that matters.

120 days ago today I took a ~12fter onto a poorly placed 00 C3. Yes, I knew its was bad. And I knew I was in trouble. Resulted in a 45' ground fall. A week in ICU, a half dozen pints of blood transfused, 22 broken bones, 2 surgeries, a long plate and 16 screws later Im back at it, albeit not exactly climbing the grades I was climbing last year....

Unexpected 15-20', #2 brass offset.  Red Rock sandstone.  What Tradi said.

Took an aid fall on a .2/.3 x4 in a flare. Ripped out 4 placements above it. Whip was somewhere in the 40ft range. When I batmanned up to the piece it was probably a milimeter or two away from the outer lobe coming out of the crack. Definitely spooky but it kept me from a likely deck on my partner.

Also took a 8ish footer on a terribly placed black totem. Definitely 3 lobes were doing all the work. It held fine.

Granite both times.

Ross Goldberg wrote: Took an aid fall on a .2/.3 x4 in a flare. Ripped out 4 placements above it. Whip was somewhere in the 40ft range. When I batmanned up to the piece it was probably a milimeter or two away from the outer lobe coming out of the crack. Definitely spooky but it kept me from a likely deck on my partner.

Also took a 8ish footer on a terribly placed black totem. Definitely 3 lobes were doing all the work. It held fine.

Granite both times.

No disrespect Ross and this is really out of curiosity, but how does a fall rip out 4 placements?  Was the rock quality really that bad?  I've of course seen videos of a few zippers and always wondered how it happens...

Honest question, when quoting fall distances are we talking (1) distance above the piece, (2) free fall before the rope starts to catch, or (3) peak to trough?  

bridge wrote: Honest question, when quoting fall distances are we talking (1) distance above the piece, (2) free fall before the rope starts to catch, or (3) peak to trough?  

I reference the distance of the fall. So if i fell 20 feet i was prolly something like ~10 feet above the last piece

My Cal At Last wrote:

No disrespect Ross and this is really out of curiosity, but how does a fall rip out 4 placements?  Was the rock quality really that bad?  I've of course seen videos of a few zippers and always wondered how it happens...

Two words: Aid Climbing

My Cal At Last wrote:

No disrespect Ross and this is really out of curiosity, but how does a fall rip out 4 placements?  Was the rock quality really that bad?  I've of course seen videos of a few zippers and always wondered how it happens...

C3 aid pitch, so multiple bodyweight only placements. So I was above a tiny fixed copperhead, a two-lobe totem, a shitty .1/.2 (probably my fault there), and a nut that I guess was barely in there, (could have been my fault also). I also think I had done a camhook placement somewhere in there but can't remember. The rock was bullet hard granite.

EDIT: If I had brought up the right gear (sawn-off angles for pockets that were not holding cams right). This likely would not have happened. So if I had those and maybe some more patience with my placements the fall would have been not as bad.

Took a ~5 foot fall onto a bad totem placement if that counts. It held but the cam rotated and one lobe umbrella-ed. Sad day, except I pulled the rope and redid the route and got the send on the same day.