UKC

Hi there.
I'm going to Tuscany in a few weeks and fancy having a go at some via ferrata I've spotted in one of the national parks out there.
My question is, I guess its probably best to buy my own kit and I'm also a bit tight, so dont want to spend too much. I was thinking of getting the Salewa kit copied in below.

http://www.trekkinn.com/outdoor-mountain/salewa-rope-break-mini---rope/1777...

I've got my own clips. I this kit any good? Or do I need to spend more money?
I've also seen there has been a recall on some of the more expensive set ups.

In reply to Gemart:

I would not use that as a VF kit. It could only possibly work as a means to slow you down if you only had one clipped when you fell, and I wouldn't really want to be in that position. A true VF kit will arrest your fall, and slow you down if you have both or one attached. Also, on the assumption that you are going to attach your own 'clips' I'm guessing that you would have to use a Fo8 with a stopper knot for that (I would), so from the pic it looks like there would be not much rope left over to have decent stretch between the 'clips'.

Also if your 'clips' are actually screwgate or twistlock karabiners then you'd find it a pain in the bum, the karabiners that come with a proper VF set are more user friendly.

Bottom line for me is that as far as I can see, if you fell any distance on that with both connected then the resulting forces would be extremely painful.

In reply to Removed User:

That sort of design was pretty much standard for vf for quite a long time. The Y lanyard that is ubiquitous these days is relatively recent as these things go.

In any case you could move the rope to one side of the brake and put some tape/slings to form a Y on the other.

Assuming the brake itself is suitable for catching that kind of fall of course.

In reply to Gemart:
Decathlon have a couple of types of Via Ferrata set, at a bit less than the going rate.

In reply to Gemart: Thanks for the advice. What do you think this one will be like?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0033PRTA8/ref=asc_df_B0033PRTA89962742?smid=A3P...
Seems to hit the requirements a bit more.
Also just looked on the Decathlon website and all I could find were lanyards.

In reply to Gemart:

I have an unused mammut VF set up for sale on ukc.

Let me know if you're interested.

Darren.

In reply to Gemart:
Have you looked at hiring a VF lanyard when you're out there? It was very cheap in Italy, and it's less stuff to lug in your luggage.

In reply to Gemart:

Hmm they certainly had them in store in June - If you have one nearby it could still be worth checking, as their website hasn't always been reliable.