UKC

At the wall last night and noticed that the strip of metal separating the two rope holes on my Reverso was very sharp down one edge! Concluded that this was from the krab (a Sentinel) impacting when arresting a fall and that a filing session (or a new reverso) was in order.

Anyone else had the same concern?

In reply to porridgefan:

Not the same problem, but still one that annoyed me. The plastic on the wire loop of mine had melted. I found this hard to believe, as I would have thought that someone like Petzl would have had the foresight to use a plastic with a higher melting point. None of the other belay devices that I own have shown any signs of a melted plastic covering on the wire, despite the same use. Anyone else had it happen?

ES

In reply to escalator:

bump!

In reply to porridgefan: I beleive a Reverso 4 is due out soon to address problems of wear on the metal, not heard anything about the wire til now though.

In reply to porridgefan: I've just retired a reverso 3 after finding the rope grooves had worn to sharp edges and were shaving the sheath of the rope on raps.

In reply to porridgefan:
The Sharp edge on the inside may be rope wear? Usually this would take a few years but abseiling on dirty ropes etc will speed it up.
Usually if it is about 10%+ worn through you'll need to replace

In reply to porridgefan:
I had exactly the same thing happen ,its only a millimetre or so of wear but it had created a sharpish edge ,its definitely the karabiner rubbing on the metal that causes it.
I just gave it a quick file and thought no more of it.
At the time i was a bit dissapointed with the quality of manufacture but that is offset by the excellence of the device as a whole.

In reply to LJC:
>I've just retired a reverso 3 after finding the rope grooves had worn to sharp edges and were shaving the sheath of the rope on raps.

Mine is nearly there too so I've pretty much retired it - at least from summer use - and gone back to my ATC guide.

It is interesting to note that my ATC guide is twice as old as the Reverso 3 and has had much more usage than the Petzl but does not have the wearing problems.

I had the original reverso and binned it due to sharpening in the same place. It's interesting that Petzl didn't manage to 'design out' the problem with newer version.

In reply to TobyA: I've just had a compare of my old one (about 2 years old) and a brand spanking new unused one (just bought from Snow and Rock in the sale). Other than cosmetic damage:

The friction teeth have worn down slightly
The rear of the rope slots have got (subjectively) massive gouges with sharp edges
One side of the middle rope separator has lost some metal

My regular partner also has had the same problems with his, so it's obviously a common fault - a light (and hence less durable) alloy perhaps?

In reply to porridgefan: It would be interesting to see it, so perhaps you can post a photo of it.

In reply to mloskot:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67289060@N07/6126775903/in/photostream/

Then click 'newer'

My apologies for the focus on #1! Only just noticed!

In reply to porridgefan: Yes, I can see it. I guess it make cause wear of rope sheet. I think there is no reason to panic. I'd treat it gently with a metal file.

In reply to porridgefan:

Out of curiosity which end of the krab is facing the bottom part of your Reverso 3?

Looking at the images it all looks like fair wear and tear to me. It's a lgihtweight device for sure and it uses a lightweight alloy so it will not be as beefier as other (heavier) devices hence you will not get as much wear out of it.

In reply to george mc:

I'd say it's expected too, I would just like to minimise rope damage and raise awareness.

Both ends of my krab end up facing, predominantly the smaller end. Not that this would make much difference, both ends impact the divide of the reverso.

In reply to porridgefan:

Hhmm...it does make a wee bit of difference. The smaller end will tend to 'punch' into the Reverso when holding a fall or lowering. Especially if using it when at a climbing wall e.g. top roping.

Might be worth ensuring that the wider part of the krab always faces the bottom end of the Reverso - might reduce the chance of anymore damage occurring?

In reply to porridgefan:

The problem shown in the photo is related to wear, it is not a design defect or fault, simply wear.

The occurrence can be reduced by using a connector that has flat or round bar rather than the shaped version mentioned. Note that the manufacturer suggests the use of the Am’d connector (refer) to website to get an idea of the shape and style of connector. You could even watch the video that goes with it (if it is still on line).

Note it has been found that you may be better of using an offset D connector rather than a shaped (HMS / Pear) shaped connector, as this is less lightly to invert (rotate) whilst in operation. You will also get better braking (note the comment on the instructions #4 Compatibility).

The rollover (deformed material) can be removed with a fine file and some high count wet & dry and there is really no need to bin it yet.

With regards to the wire loop being stripped of its sheath (burnt), this happens if the rope moves over the cable suggesting an issue with the belaying method as this should not happen. I have seen this problem on other brands to. It could also initially have been caused by being pinched or cut accidentally leading to the breakup of the sheath, again, not a defect just the result of accidently damage.

Regards

In reply to porridgefan: Yes, I do have a same problem + I've seen several others mentioning the same problem. It happens eventually even with round carabiners, as it is the case with mine. While it's wear, not a manufacturing defect, it was surprising how fast it happened. In my opinion Petzl should have used harder aluminum in Reverso 3. I don't yet have the material details of Reverso 4 aluminum, but hopefully the problem will be fixed there.

In reply to porridgefan:

If your particually worried about it, take the edges off the burr with a bit of sand paper... or buy a new device. This wear can happen with any belay device made of aluminium - only alternative is steel which is significantly heavier...