New BD Portaledge: The Perch

Heard rumors of BD updating their bigwall gear and found this while snooping around. Looks like some fairly significant changes but I'm not experienced enough with portaledges to really comment. How do y'all think this compares to the cabanna and other ledges like the old A5? Hopefully lighter and easier to set-up.

MSRP of $750, looks like it will be launched mid-March

There's also a new fly to go with it.

MSRP $550

It's just not going to beat a g7 pod on weight so... 

that guy named seb wrote:

It's just not going to beat a g7 pod on weight so... 

that’s a bit Apples to Oranges don’t ya think? I mean- if we compare any Portaledge to a Hammock just on weight the Hammock will always win- but that’s not the only concern when climbing a BigWall..

The other thing is- it’s great to talk about D4- but then try and buy one.. RunOut Customs is no longer making them- so your options are Durango sewing solutions and maybe Aideer in Europe. It’s my understanding that both are only making the Delta 2P design- by all accounts an excellent ledge- but also not exactly a direct comparison at least in terms of size.. it would seem that the D4 Alpine Double and the Full Size D4 (the best direct comparison to the BD ledge) are no longer being produced.. how many Durango Delta 2P’s are actually out in the world? I’m guessing you can count on 2 hands.. Aideer? Can count on 1 hand..

both manufacturers and G7/Pod have long wait times for Ledge delivery… what Metolius and Black Diamond offer is a product that you can actually order on Monday and have in your hands on Friday.. 

ultimately the downfall of the Cliff Cabana was the weight- so if the new version has managed to trim that down- these new BD Ledges could be a great addition to the market..

Could come down to:

Weight Vs Wait 

Additionally to Quinn’s excellent point, if I’m considering I’ll be a few days in the ledge waiting for a weather system to pass, I’d rather a BD than than a G7.

Different tools for different jobs. 

More photos here https://www.bergfreunde.eu/black-diamond-perch-double-portaledge-portaledge/

I used one a couple nights last summer though I didn’t actually get to sleep in it.  More important people slept in it but I set it up.  Definitely felt like an improvement compared to setting up the old ledge.  I don’t think our spreader bar looked like the one in the pics though.  I’m not even sure it even had one.  And we must of had the standard fly and not the expedition as that also looked a little different too.  I didn’t have a scale but weight seemed improved.  Don’t remember any real groundbreaking improvements but it was a solid ledge.

The Metolius Double Bomb Shelter is 22.5lb all in (by their measurements) 

If BD can clear that Bar the Perch is basically a win… if they can clear 20lb it’s a Slam Dunk 

Quinn Hatfield wrote:

The Metolius Double Bomb Shelter is 22.5lb all in (by their measurements) 

If BD can clear that Bar the Perch is basically a win… if they can clear 20lb it’s a Slam Dunk 

Last specs I saw was right at 20lbs. 

Double J wrote:

Last specs I saw was right at 20lbs. 

My Metolius Single weighs 20   

The tightening straps, improved spreader bar (pin system, if I recall correctly) joiners, rounded corners, all make this thing pretty slick to put together. I saw it put together in under 5 minutes first time on the wall. 

Double J wrote:

Last specs I saw was right at 20lbs. 

Both these numbers are wrong. Mine is 24.5 lbs with the ledge and fly together. I do also have 8' of 5mm coord and one of petzl's ball lock HMS biners in there too.. but that isn't enough to account for the 2 to 4.5 pound discrepancy.

The ledge itself is 17.05 lbs (with the carabiner and coord I didn't take off) and the fly is 7.55 lbs.. although that does leave me 0.1 lbs over. I guess the luggage scale I am using isn't the most accurate. I reckon it is at least not 2 to 4.5 lbs off at least though 

Edit: just to clarify, the ledge I own is the metolous bomb shelter double ledge

Elaine Gilstrom wrote:

Both these numbers are wrong. Mine is 24.5 lbs with the ledge and fly together. I do also have 8' of 5mm coord and one of petzl's ball lock HMS biners in there too.. but that isn't enough to account for the 2 to 4.5 pound discrepancy.

The ledge itself is 17.05 lbs (with the carabiner and coord I didn't take off) and the fly is 7.55 lbs.. although that does leave me 0.1 lbs over. I guess the luggage scale I am using isn't the most accurate. I reckon it is at least not 2 to 4.5 lbs off at least though 

Edit: just to clarify, the ledge I own is the metolous bomb shelter double ledge

I was only saying the new 2023 BD ledge weight, sans fly coming it at about 20lbs.  nothing more, nothing less.  no other brand, no other ledge. 

Elaine Gilstrom wrote:

Both these numbers are wrong

The quote about it being around 20lb was referring to the New BD Perch Ledge.. 

i included the claimed weight of the Metolius Double as a weight goal that BD would need to clear for the perch to be a valuable addition to the market.. 

I’m actually surprised your Double Bomb Shelter comes in above Metolius’s claimed weight- as my Metolius single is exactly the claimed weight.. 

Double J wrote:

I was only saying the new 2023 BD ledge weight, sans fly coming it at about 20lbs.  nothing more, nothing less.  no other brand, no other ledge. 

Sans Fly… so probably not going to wow us with it’s all in weight.. bummer 

Ah, thanks for the clarification Double J and Quinn. Got a bit confused by the wording :d

abandon moderation wrote:

The old double cliff cabana is already 19lb 13oz without the fly. Hard to imagine they wouldn't shed any weight, or would actually add weight in a redesign? That'd be pretty disappointing. 

I also hope they don't/didn't go the route of shrinking dimensions to lose weight, like some of the other small time ledge manufacturers did.

There are others here more knowledgeable about Ledge history than me- but wasn’t the iteration of the Cliff Cabana that preceded the current version actually lighter?

Who shrank their ledges? Are you referring to companies producing Alpine Double size ledges? 

Jimmy Strange wrote:

15 years between drinks and too late. We live in the world of D4 and G7 now.
I do like the fly though. 

I've never used a ledge but from what I've heard the G7 is great for physically sleeping in and beyond miserable for everything else - the eye test of all expedition type climbing movies that have come out in the last few years using literally any other ledge system seems to corroborate that. Is that indeed the case or have I heard wrong?

abandon moderation wrote:

I was thinking of the Fish Double Whammy - not that they really shrunk it, but the floor dimensions are significantly smaller than BD so it's not quite apples to apples when shopping based on weight.

the Double Whammy is an Alpine Double.. it’s a couple inches longer, but slightly narrower than the original A5 Alpine Double.. it’s also exactly the same dimensions as the only Single Ledge FISH currently makes.. (besides the Econo) 

Comparing Alpine Doubles to full size doubles is once again Apples to Oranges.. 

Has anyone heard anything about the new haulbags and ladders they're launching?

Bug Boy wrote:

Has anyone heard anything about the new haulbags and ladders they're launching?

Just this video

https://youtu.be/jIOj8nhL-aY

I don’t know anything about the ladders but I’ve used the haul bags a bit.  I thought they were way better than the old ones, which I thought were absolute garbage.  New ones have much more supple material, roll top closure, and I think an improved suspension, though I’m basing that off of just looking at it.  I didn’t haul enough with them to comment on durability.  Overall the new bags seemed like they could possibly compete with a metolius.