Age of climbing gear

[muppetlab]

i spoke to marlow a few years back regarding some ropes i bought that were ex military still in brand new selaed boxes with internal plastic packaging and i think they said shelf life was 10 years from date of manufacture. So if you bought it when it was 6 years old presumably youd only get 4 years use out of it max. This issue can up more recently when i bought a cambium saver which was already 5 years old when i got it, the dealer said it wont matter because it will be busted before expiry the date runs out, which i wanst overly impressed with. Its best to ask the manufacturers as i think some recommend 8 years on a harness and some 10. Obviously if its in daily use you will get less but id be interested in what any loler trained guys have to say about max life where the item has been stored for a few years before service??

[treequip]

be interested in what any loler trained guys have to say about max life where the item has been stored for a few years before service??

 

I would say go with the manufacturers guidance

 

An item will pass or fail on condition or age. The age factor is defined by the manufacturer and is a non negotiable in as much as an inspectors PL insurance is concerned

[muppetlab]

cheers thats what i thought

[Vespasian]

I would say go with the manufacturers guidance

 

An item will pass or fail on condition or age. The age factor is defined by the manufacturer and is a non negotiable in as much as an inspectors PL insurance is concerned

 

seems to me after reading through this thread thats whats being got at is what an insurance company demands if theres a claim...

Has the tackle been inspected by someone qualified?...

 

better be on the safe side an all that!!!...

 

Now I'm no expert, but if you inspect it yourself and test it out in safe conditions, it don't matter if its fifty or five years old...

If it works, use it...

 

I mean, what kind of moron discards a perfectly good piece of kit because some health and safety crank wants to cover every inch of ground..

[devon TWiG]

I have been in this industry for about 30 years now and have never heard of someone being injured because a rope / harness / carabiner has failed .... we managed fine before LOLER came along, many items being older than 5 years ( especially harnesses ) , they would be replaced when either they become stiff / tatty / contaminated a bit damaged or we just wanted some new / better gear !!

[Mark Bolam]

I have been in this industry for about 30 years now and have never heard of someone being injured because a rope / harness / carabiner has failed .... we managed fine before LOLER came along, many items being older than 5 years ( especially harnesses ) , they would be replaced when either they become stiff / tatty / contaminated a bit damaged or we just wanted some new / better gear !!

 

 

Word.

[treequip]

I have been in this industry for about 30 years now and have never heard of someone being injured because a rope / harness / carabiner has failed .... we managed fine before LOLER came along, many items being older than 5 years ( especially harnesses ) , they would be replaced when either they become stiff / tatty / contaminated a bit damaged or we just wanted some new / better gear !!

 

Don't take it personally

 

LOLER is huge, we are but a tiny part of it

[AardvarkTreeServices]

 

I mean, what kind of moron discards a perfectly good piece of kit because some health and safety crank wants to cover every inch of ground..

 

The "health and safety crank"would be the HSE enforcing the law relative to LOLER regs.

 

The "moron" would be every employer that doesnt want to go to jail IF a piece of untested kit fails and kills or seriously injures someone.

[dan494]

 

 

 

Can see rope being really dodgy, not only sunlight, but there may be other ways it could degrade.

 

 

Don't worry about rope too much, we've got an old climbing rope that was retired about ten years ago, still used for lowering/ pulling occasionally and when had a breakdown recently it was used to pull a fully loaded transit about a mile to the yard!

[Mark Bolam]

Same.

Yale XTC, can't kill it.