UKC

I see some organisations, such as the Scouts, advise keeping records of the purchase, use and maintenance of climbing equipment.

What proportion of climbers do this for their own personal climbing equipment?

I have tended to replace gear on visual inspection, particularly dynamic protection (cams) where the swage wires have worn thin.
Ropes get changed every few years depending on how I feel about their exposure; no whippers have been taken.
I have had some items of static protection (wires & hexes) for ages; they still seem to be ok.

Should I be more scientific about cataloguing my gear?

In reply to Pay Attention:

Wait, we're meant to replace gear?

In reply to Removed User:

Yeh, when something newer and prettier comes out.

In reply to Pay Attention:
I don't record use/maintenance, but I do have a table of everything I own, when it was purchased and how much I've flogged it for when it's time (this is a subjective assessment and most commonly linked to a new version coming out) to sell and get something new.

In reply to Pay Attention:

I dont think its so relevant for personal gear. As you say its easy enough to keep track of in an adhoc sort of fashion.

I think its much more relevant in a professional setting, where you may have tens of thousands of meters of rope, max lifetimes etc. At that point keeping a written record of usage becomes much more important as otherwise things will slip through the net.

In reply to Pay Attention:

It doesn't really matter unless there's the potential someone's going to sue you.

In reply to Pay Attention:


Only if you're leasing/renting/borrowing out the gear. In which case you would also require the leaser/borrower to record the use.

Or if for the purposes mentioned above, you're afraid of getting sued.



At least I tend to maintain my gear thoroughly a few times a year (cams, nuts, slings, crabs). But I also look at the stuff briefly every once a while when climbing. Eg. a frayed cable on a big nut might not compromise the strength all that much, but will annoy the hell out of me, if I snag it every time. So I dosh it out from the rock rack (ie. it gets dedicated to winter/aid rack).

In reply to Pay Attention:

I've a set of cams celebrating their 35th birthday which are still going strong....

In reply to Pay Attention:

Recording details like this is exactly the sort of thing I have to do at work. I also have to hold the hand rail on every set of stairs. It's one of the reasons that I like climbing - my partner and I decide whether to follow the rules or not.

In reply to stubbed:


Ah, the trailing hand technique ! who on earth dreamt that up, Im forever getting reminded about it

In reply to Bernard Shakey:

Well that sent me into a whole new world of H&S pain Do Not google "trailing hand technique" and most certainly Do Not start reading the H&S forums around how to walk down stairs.

Here was me thinking that it was a new way of reaching that awkward hold!

In reply to Pay Attention:

Gear I hire out: yes, religiously.

Personal gear: mostly no, except for ropes (which I keep a usage record for, mostly to keep track of which have been used most) and especially all the slings (because I'm a little paranoid about replacing all these on a rolling basis).

In reply to Pay Attention:

I have a log with purchase dates on them. I use it to keep track of the age of my gear. I replace soft gear 3 to 7 years, depending on type of materials, type item and use.

Other then that I inspect my gear regularly and if something isn't good, I replace it.

Everything is checked before a trip and after a trip. I service them after a trip, when needed.

Sounds at bit the safe side, but I used to work for a fire department and still work with all kinds of emergency services on a daily basis. So I'm used to keep my gear in tip top shape. Got to have discipline in my industry.

In reply to Pay Attention:


I would estimate about 0.1%

In reply to Pay Attention:

I don't record any info on my gear but I have an approximate knowledge of each piece's age and whether it's ever held a fall(s). I don't buy gear very often and don't fall off very often so this is quite easy for me.

I think inspection tells you what you need to know.

In reply to Robert Durran:

I'd suggest that that might be an over estimate by at least 10^3

In reply to joem:

It might also be on the low side...


After all, I'm sure a bunch of climbers are also avid ultralight backpackers and they don't to keep these absurd excel tables with every shaved gram... So I wouldn't be surprised at all, if some of the propeller hats were also keeping strict statistics on their gear (bought, last serviced/checked, weight and whotnot).

In reply to Pay Attention:

Keeping no records either, but maintain and inspect regularly - and will discard any soft goods in case of a sever fall (> ff 1).

In reply to Sir Stefan:

You regularly take falls > FF 1?

Wow.

In reply to Sir Stefan:

Can you send me the stuff you discard so I can use it till it needs retiring rather than you junking it because of vague suspicions about fall factors?

In reply to Pay Attention:

I've got a written list of everything I've bought and when from my early days - more recently, I have a box of the tags with the receipts stapled to them.

It's mainly for insurance - if I have to claim for lost/stolen gear - but also handy when I used to do a lot with Scouts and was using my own gear for setting up anchors. We certainly had a log of use for every bit of gear, but you can only really log number of days they were taken out climbing, rather than actually used (I might not use all of the slings on a given day, for example), unless someone takes a big fall, in which case the bits of gear involved would be removed from use.

I could cross-reference my gear against my logbook for an "estimate" of use - not every bit gets used on every route.

Mostly, it'll get replaced on visual inspection, but I might check the age on software and go from there.

In reply to Pay Attention:

My rope is 50 years old.

It hasn't broken yet

In reply to AlanLittle:


Funny that you should infer that from my post.

In reply to Removed User:

Sorry, I have a couple of friends who make doormats of discarded rope.
I'm not sure what you mean by vague suspicions. Discarding rope (and harness) after a ff 1 fall is a pretty common rule of thumb.
http://dmmclimbing.com/instructions/Ropes_User_Guide.pdf

Edit: Inserted link to DMM

In reply to Pay Attention:

F**k that. My gear is a right load of junk collected over the years. How often does a gear failing results in an accident? A quick look every now and again is enough for me. If it looks knackered, rid it if not carry on. Took loads of falls on all my ropes and never retire them because of that, only when it gets frayed or damaged. Unless you're taking some mega falls

In reply to Sharp:


I can't see how there could be any potential for someone to successfully sue you unless some of your gear failed, in which case I would be rather more concerned with the accident that I got sued for than being sued for it...

I hate this 'I only do this because I might get sued' attitude, although I guess in the end it achieves the aim of reducing accidents...

In reply to andrewmcleod:

I did mean it in a professional context, I doubt there's anyone who keeps a personal gear log in case they get sued - that's probably a myth.

If you're licenced or taking money from people every piece of gear should really be accounted for individually then if there's an accident you have a body of evidence that a) you're a competent provider that takes steps to ensure their gear is well looked after, and b) it's open for an investigator to make sure that your gear is fit for purpose in terms of age and use. If someone's been using a piece of equipment (a rope for eg) past it's usable life then I really don't have any sympathy for a provider being sued due to negligence, they brought it on themselves.