UKC

I have an old sling, made by troll I think, that is made of ludicrously over specified nylon webbing and claims to be good for 30kn.

It's getting a bit long in the tooth so I'm vaguely considering retiring it, and was wondering if anyone still makes something similar. Because every rack needs at least 1 piece of kit that falls into the category of "absurd overkill"

Any suggestions?

In reply to davidbeynon: Buy a camalot #5. That falls into absurd overkill for most routes in the uk.

In reply to davidbeynon: This is the proverbial nuke in a bug hunt :0)

http://www.safetyliftingear.com/home/item_overview.asp?id=595&groupid=2...

In reply to muppetfilter:

Wow!

I was thinking more along the lines of replacing like with like though

In reply to muppetfilter:

7:1 safety factor, so theoretically good for 70 tonnes. I'll take 3.

In reply to davidbeynon: And you could tow Agricultural equipment with it and not worry about damage ... ;0)

In reply to davidbeynon:
Lyon Equipment still do 30kN nylon slings: http://www.lyon.co.uk/workandrescue/slings.html

In reply to davidbeynon:
7:1 safety factor, so theoretically good for 70 tonnes. I'll take 3.

Although at over 4kg each you may not get off the ground!

In reply to mike kann:
Surprisingly useful on a certain type of grit route though. :O)
(Not even particularly hard ones necessarily - eg: Kremlin Crack at Rivelin.)

Now that the Wideboyz have made offwidth shenanigans almost fashionable again, you'd probably have to get a Big Bro for true 'wide crack' absurd overkill..

In reply to deepsoup:

BTW the main thing I like about it isn't the strength, but the fact that it is a lot wider than the rest of my slings so I can spread the load over a greater area than with a normal nylon sling and loads more than a skinny dyneema one.

Mostly it's not a concern but sometimes it can be very handy. For peace of mind anyway.

In reply to deepsoup:

Talking of silly crack shenanigans I got a kong gipsy placed for the first time on saturday. It was completely gratuitous and there was no need for it which is fortunate really - it fell out

In reply to deepsoup: Already got one I was mainly thinking size 5 on a mountain route which I know mr Benyon is partial to. I did once take a size 4.5 camalot on a winter ascent of tower ridge, and managed to use it as the only piece of pro on a pitch. When you need them, nothing else will do. Other than a chockstone dropped from the top...

In reply to mike kann:

My belayers tend to have a thing or two to say about chockstones dropped from the top...

In reply to Reach>Talent:
It'll not fit into a normal carabiner, so you'd also be needing to replace a few screwgates with these: http://dmmprofessional.com/products/steel-small-side-opening-scaffold-hook-...

In reply to davidbeynon:

Ha ha. I have a couple of Big Bros and that's exactly my experience of those. The one time I almost thought I was about to test one, it randomly made a a really scary "ba-doing!" noise as the spring inside shifted or sommat and I suddenly discovered I could wedge myself a bit deeper into the crack after all. ;O)

In reply to deepsoup: Gah big bro's are ok - they just take a bit of getting used to... admittedly not as convenient as a large cam, but they do ok... plus they make for a great enema kit when your mate is getting on your nerves.

In reply to mike kann:

Remind me never to touch any of your gear.

In reply to mike kann:

Heh. I'm sure they're grand if you can find the right placement for them - I'm not giving up on them, but definitely do need more practice before I start trusting my placements.

They do seem to need a very parallel sided crack to be properly bomber though.

In reply to davidbeynon:

My stupidly long overkill sling (abseil anchor) is just made from knotted tape.

In reply to deepsoup: not necessarily. If it's not that parallel sided what you want is a domed section of rock, and stick the dome in the middle of the tube. Might be a bit wobbly but it wont come out in a hurry...

In reply to mike kann:
Ok. Well, like I said - more practice required. :O)
Ta for the tip, I'll bear it in mind next time I'm playing around with 'em.

In reply to davidbeynon:

You want one of these then:

http://www.wildcountry.co.uk/products/clog-uk-only/25mm-polyester-slings/

Our local scout camp climbing tower uses them and they are great for the psychological reassurance side of things! Especially with nervous kids.