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Petzl harness disintegrating

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 ebdon 19 Oct 2020

A question for the gear experts, I've got a petzl adjama harness, a bout a year old (which I regard as pretty new!) But the fabric on the inside of the buckles on the leg loops seem to be disintegrating with bits of rubber and nylon thread constantly falling out.  Should I be worried? Is this cosmetic? Its fabric stitched inside the main webbing that's going. 

I'm a bit disappointed as I'd expect better from petzl

OP ebdon 19 Oct 2020
In reply to ebdon:

Pics:

Post edited at 15:46

OP ebdon 19 Oct 2020
In reply to ebdon:

Close up:


 nufkin 19 Oct 2020
In reply to ebdon:

Have you contacted Petzl? I think Lyon Equipment still do their UK distribution, or if not could probably point you in the right direction.

OP ebdon 19 Oct 2020
In reply to nufkin:

I was contemplating it, but hadn't gotten round to working out how. It may not be a problem and may be purely cosmetic, I'm not sure what this badly stitched nylon in between the main webbing actually does.

Removed User 19 Oct 2020
In reply to ebdon:

That's crap. I would want a full refund.

Post edited at 16:12
2
 chris_r 19 Oct 2020
In reply to ebdon:

Your first picture seems to show that a lot of the black anodising has been worn off the metal buckle. That seems like a lot of wear in 12 months. Has it been used in some really harsh conditions?

In many ways that's pretty irrelevant I suppose. The fabric in my (now retired) 25-year-old Petzl harness looks in better condition than yours. I'd like to think they'll replace it for you.

In reply to ebdon:

Easiest solution would be to contact where you bought it from as they will have contact details for warranty issues etc!

OP ebdon 19 Oct 2020
In reply to Euan McKendrick:

Just sent them an email,  shall see what they say. I just wondered if anyone else had this issue or knew what was going on. A bit of googling found a mountain project thread with a guy with the exact same issue but no answers...

In reply to ebdon:

Where did you get it from? I assume the structural integrity of the harness is still intact. that could just be cosmetic no matter how dodgy it looks.

 balmybaldwin 19 Oct 2020
In reply to ebdon:

The really fluffy stuff (green circle) from the inside doesn't look load bearing but you should get it checked, I would be more concerned about the wear in the red circle - That looks like it's load bearing


 GPN 19 Oct 2020
In reply to balmybaldwin:

Hard to tell for sure from the photo. The ‘fluff’ in the green circle could be the non-load bearing strip of fabric around the buckle (I think it’s there to reduce friction), or it could be the load bearing bar tacking thread.

The red circled area is definitely abrasion damage (gritstone chimney/hanging sideways on belay etc). It looks fairly significant, but photos can be deceptive.

I wouldn’t like to say if the 2 problems are connected, but the damage in the red circle is certainly more significant from a safety point of view.

Post edited at 21:03
OP ebdon 19 Oct 2020
In reply to balmybaldwin:

My rubbish photo makes that wear look worse than it is fortunately (allthough there is a teeny of fraying) nothing I wouldn't expect after a years weekend warrior use. It's the bits if fabric falling of in chunks that was concerning me.

Definitely no gritstone chimneys, which I avoid like the plague!

Just incase anyone thinks I'm about to die heres a better (but still terrible) pic

Post edited at 21:15

 GPN 19 Oct 2020
In reply to ebdon:

Well you probably might not die

I’d get it looked at.

G.

Post edited at 23:05
In reply to ebdon:

Is the end of the webbing fraying? It looks like webbing that hasn't had the cut end sealed; it tends to unravel.

Either that, or has it been attacked by velcro?

 beardy mike 20 Oct 2020
In reply to ebdon:

That second picture of the fraying doesn't look that much better to me... Not so much the adjustable webbing, more the stuff on the fixed side. I have harnesses with a decade of wear on them (probably shouldn't admit to that) with less wear at the buckles... The stuff coming out from the middle, that looks like the heat sealing hasn't happened properly. Won't be structural to start with, but I reckon Petzl would probably warranty it just to be sure...

Post edited at 08:22
OP ebdon 20 Oct 2020
In reply to beardy mike:

Thanks all,I shall report back if I get anywhere with Petzl.

Regarding the buckle wear, allthough its not enough to worry me personally quite yet, I just compared with my old harness, which had had a good 10 years of similar abuse, and only had slightly more wear which does concern me.  The only explanation I can think of (baring some thruchy epic I have erased from my mind) is my main complaint with this harness in that allthough the leg loops are adjustable they seem to be set for people with MASSIVE thighs and therefore I've got them as tight as possible (and there still to baggy for my liking) and never change the position of the webbing. Unlike my old WC harness which fitted perfectly and I was always changing the position of the webbing.

Moral of the story I guess is go to the shop and try things on

 Pina 20 Oct 2020
In reply to ebdon:

I had this a few years ago with an adjma harness. Less than 2 years use and Lyon informed me that it classed as wear and tear and that the harness should be retired (gear loop also cracked from getting put in a bag). Basically meant they wouldn't replace it under the 3 year warranty which was a bit poor. Especially considering my pretty low usage (punter use really).

 Petzl UK 20 Oct 2020
In reply to ebdon:

Hi

Can you contact aftersales@petzl.co.uk please?
Make sure to attach your images and provide the full information for our aftersales team.

 tjin 20 Oct 2020

If I look at the images, The wear at the buckle and the fizziness at the webbing at the buckle is abrasion wear (the red circle somebody added). That to me is wear and tear from rubbing against an abrasive wall. 

The fluff is a different story, never seen that on a harness. 

OP ebdon 09 Nov 2020
In reply to ebdon:

As a postscript to this thread if anyone ever has the same issue and is searching...

I sent the harness back directly to Petzl after being contacted by the rep on this thread who had a look and confirmed the degrading material is not safety-critical - "The stitching and rubber section you were seeing is used to hold the leg buckles in prime position during the manufacturing process" and as such didn't really matter and was a cosmetic issue only.  Petzl then returned the harness with a quick turnaround (not that I'm getting to use it much at the moment!) so all in all great customer service. Thanks Petzl

 Ceiriog Chris 09 Nov 2020
In reply to ebdon:

Fernand would be turning in his grave 


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