UKC

I've recently come back to climbing after a 15 year break. I've been climbing indoors for about 8 months, and am now looking at getting some outdoor trad experience. To that end, I'm putting a rack together.

My old rack had 8 quickdraws with DMM solid-gate krabs. I dumped the old slings, but because the krabs are in good condition I bought some new 11mm dyneema open slings and Petzl "string" retainers. Now I'm wondering if open slings were the right choice. The strings cover most of the sling as it passes over the karabiner, and I can now appreciate just how easy it might be to end-up with the retainer holding all the weight in the event of a fall (like this: http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=46912).

So, am I better-off returning the open slings and getting sewn slings instead? Seems like I have 4 options:

1. Use the open slings and strings and be extra careful.

2. Use washers/bands instead of the strings, which give better visibility of the sling position but don't completely solve the problem.

3. Buy some sewn slings, which does seem to make the problem go away.

4. Forget the krabs I have and buy a couple of sets of wiregate quickdraws (expensive).

(I don't fancy using open slings without retainers, although I know some do.)

Maybe I'm over-thinking this, but I'd appreciate some advice as I keep bouncing between options.

Thanks!

In reply to andyjohnson0:

I'm gradually replacing mine with closed slings now, but I'm still using my open ones until they wear out, they just need a little closer inspection when racking / in use.

In reply to andyjohnson0:

I doubt if you will be able to return the open slings, usually a "no returns" policy with this type of gear.

In reply to andyjohnson0:

The cost of 8 dogbones is worth the peace of mind IMO.

In reply to andyjohnson0:

Hi Andy
Keep the open slings. Get some finger tape and tear into 6mm by 150mm strips. Wrap the strips around the ends of the quickdraw with the karabiner in place.
Bingo!
Hope that helps,
Steve

In reply to andyjohnson0:

Personally I'd keep them, and buy another 8 quickdraws (around £10 each with wire gates).

In reply to andyjohnson0:

Thanks everyone for all the good advice.

I've bought eight sewn slings with integrated retainers. Needle Sports are happy to accept a return on the open slings as they are unused and still have their tubular labels on.

Cheers, Andy

In reply to andyjohnson0:

My one pet hate with sewn slings is you cant often get a krab in the eyelet when having to extend gear.
Meaning that you have to use the "metal" krab onto your soft attachments/slings/cams, which is not ideal.

In reply to andyjohnson0:

I use petzl strings and IMO this would always be pretty obvious, I've never had this scenario occur in use on my or my partners gear. I've been using open loop extenders for well over a decade. Just be slightly more careful when using open loop extenders.

In reply to andyjohnson0:

I use open slings without retainers mostly. That's a pretty good way to avoid thinking you are protected when you are not and means that every draw can be extended or used to sling a spike or thread.

If you are really opposed to open slings, I'd say, just get used to checking your gear each time you rack up as you are putting it on the harness. Or, if you are really worried, get some dogbones which have no inserted rubber bits.

In reply to andyjohnson0:

Personally I would (and do) just use open slings without retainers of any kind. I think that counts as a 5th option.

I'd also buy some new lightweight draws, 8 isn't enough for me but then I put a lot of gear in.

jk

In reply to jkarran:

I often carry around 12-18 quickdraws depending on the route length and how many cams I'm likely place (I use DMM cams with adjustable slings which saves some draws).