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Fake certified climbing equipment Read this article first Recently while doing loler inspections I’ve seen a few items that people have bought cheaply from the internet and have been using. I cant pass these items as "safe to use" as there’s no knowing who made them or if they were tested. If good no cheap and if cheap no good” my old boss once said. There are many companies’ selling cheap products on the internet, they generally tend to originate from China or that area. We don’t know if these have been properly tested which makes them potentially dangerous. They may have CE printed on them but in this instance, it means “China Export” . They also sometimes carry an EU or UIAA mark. There is very probably no individual serial number present and the kN rating is sometimes not what would be expected for that particular product. There is generally no documentation or data sheet that comes with the equipment. Xinda does appear to have some safety certificates issued by the UIAA for sport but no certificates of compliance for work so no CE or UKCA marks. Xinda also gets faked a lot by other Chinese companies keen to make some quick money. Xinda Tupa AL-NASR NTR – (never take a risk) how ironic.. SunniMix ShineTrip Camnal Lixada LightenUp Aoneky LOLER for Arborist, LOLER Inspections, Tree Surgeon WWW.LOLERFORARBORISTS.CO.UK LOLER safety inspections Arborists Tree Surgeons Brighton experienced surgeon Brighton&Hove Sussex Surrey Kent...

Brands: (Its quite hard to find information so I hope these are correct. Feel free to tell me otherwise and I'll update my table) · Donaghys and Arbor response are made by Southern Ropes in the UK? – owned by a company in NZ? (Also possibly made in South Africa?) Be aware that not all Donaghy's climbing ropes are CE certified and that a non-CE certified rope cannot pass a LOLER inspection for climbing but can for rigging. · Dragon - owned by Buxtons. They import some textiles, lanyards and hardware from Protekt in Poland. The ropes are made by Marlow in the UK · Dreevo - owned by Treekit in the UK. Manufacturers of the kit are SAR and Liros. · English Braids – I think they both manufacture ropes and buy in ropes to sell. “Alliance” ropes are made by Fletcher Stewart, “Euro Rig” rope is identical to Stein’s “Omega” rope (Fletcher Stewart) “Prusik Pro” is almost identical to the Teufelberger “OP” and the 9mm “Silva Prusik” is almost identical to the Teufelberger 10mm “epiCORD” prusik. · Euroline are a brand owned by A. Haberkorn in Austria. (They sell spare parts for Tree Austria harnesses which they make as well as making Stein harness’s). · Harkies – owned by Harkie Global Ltd They import some textiles and hardware from Protekt in Poland · Husqvarna/Harkies/Notch/Treehog branded HMS and oval karabiners appear to have been made in the same factory (which one I don’t know. Please tell me) but have very different kN and lifespans. The Notch ones that I’ve seen don’t seem to have individual serial numbers but are stamped as being CE certified. The Husqvarna ones have a lifespan of 3 years from date of manufacture. · New England – owned and manufactured by Teufelberger in the USA. New England are a brand of Teufelberger · Notch - owned by Sherilltree in the USA. Their harnesses are CE certified because they’re made by Edelrid in Germany and some of the hardware is made by Rock Exotica and rebranded. The Notch “Jet Step” foot ascender is very similar to the Harken “Ninja” foot ascender so I presume either Harken manufacture them or they outsource them. · Simarghu harness– Not sure of the owner/manufacturer but there is a link to Carrs Billington Agricultural (Sales) Ltd. Carlisle UK. · Stein - owned by Fletcher/Stewart in the UK. Fletcher Stewart is the importer (or manufacturer) of Yale ropes in the UK. ISC manufacture most of the Stein hardware and A. Haberkorn manufacture the Stein Vega harnesses in Austria. · Tree Austria/Tango - owned by Drayer in Germany (harnesses are manufactured by A. Haberkorn in Austria. The ropes and slings are manufactured by several companies). · Treehog - one of the brands belonging to Flexion Global Ltd. (Who also own Arbortec clothing). They import some textiles and hardware from Protekt in Poland. Lifespan of Treehog equipment ARBORTEC.FRESHDESK.COM Harness/Soft goods - The lifespan of our soft items such as harnesses is 10years from the date of manufacture, this date... PROTEKT catalogue. Search for the arborist one Catalogs - PROTEKT PROTEKT.UK

Courant ropes and prusiks: "The service life of the ropes depends on the frequency and type of use. The use of the rope, with mechanical devices, friction, UV rays and humidity will speed up ageing and wear and tear. Intensive use: 3 months to 1 year Average use: 2 to 3 years Regular but light use: 4 to 5 years Infrequent use: 10 years (maximum life span)"

Just a quick update · The “Dragon adjustable work positioning lanyard” and the very similar “Treehog rope lanyard with rope grab” (Treehog sell this with and without a swivel karabiner) . Both lanyards are manufactured by Protekt in Poland. The lanyard is CE certified as a whole unit with the serial number being placed on the lanyard. The components cannot be reused separately and the rope cannot be replaced as the ropegrab and karabiners have no individual id. Be aware that this style of ropegrab has been cloned and is on sale on Aliexpress and eBay with CE markings. The CE in this instance means China Export. Lifespan | loler-for-arborists WWW.LOLERFORARBORISTS.CO.UK

LOLER for Arborist, LOLER Inspections, Tree Surgeon WWW.LOLERFORARBORISTS.CO.UK LOLER safety inspections Arborists Tree Surgeons Brighton experienced surgeon Brighton&Hove Sussex Surrey Kent...

LOLER for Arborist, LOLER Inspections, Tree Surgeon WWW.LOLERFORARBORISTS.CO.UK LOLER safety inspections Arborists Tree Surgeons Brighton experienced surgeon Brighton&Hove Sussex Surrey Kent...

I'm happy to drive to you and test your kit. I guess there has to be a minimum amount of kits to make it financially viable for me and there would be some cost for mileage to you. I do have some clients in your area already Chris LOLER for Arborist, LOLER Inspections, Tree Surgeon WWW.LOLERFORARBORISTS.CO.UK LOLER safety inspections Arborists Tree Surgeons Brighton experienced surgeon Brighton&Hove Sussex Surrey Kent...

And don't forget these are ideal lifespans probably not what you'll actually get. The treeMOTION harness is 5 years in use (if used 1 week per year) or 8 years from the date of manucacture.

There's some slightly odd wording on the large isc rigging pulleys and a couple of safety notices on some DMM bits.

Agreed but then again worse for people buying kit expecting it to last a decent amount of time only to find out it failed because its lifespan is 5 years from the date of manufacture. If that piece of equipment sat on a shelf in a shop for a year before you bought it then I'm sure it's a bit gutting.

I was quite surprised when i started looking into it. Stein lowering capstans/bollards have a lifespan between 12 months and 5 years depending on use while Buckingham capstans have no age limit (and depending on the size, different Safety Factors although the UK 5:1 safety factor will still be applied) Treehog Hardware is limited to 5 years from the date of production whereas the manufacturer Protekt in Poland say 10 years for its hardware. The Tree Austria 3.2 harnesses has information which goes from 1 to 12 years depending on how often its used. Some of the words used to describe the 3.2 harness and its potential lifespan are: “intensive/daily/regular/regular seasonal/occasional/sporadic/maximum operating life/longevity/realistic application period/ When properly stored and without being used.” Husqvarna say that their karabiners must be retired after 3 years from the date on manufacture whilst Harkies, Notch and Treehog who have strikingly similar karabiners (possibly made in the same factory?) have differing lifespans. The ART Spiderjack 2.1 has a lifespan on the textile and metal parts of 5 years in service whereas a Petzl Zigzag has no specific lifespan.

I'm a LOLER inspector based in Lewes near Brighton and i thought id share a document that ive been working on regarding the lifespan of PPE and Rigging equipment. I have a comprehensive document available for my clients but also a free sealed PDF version available for anyone to make use of. I hope it helps when buying new kit Lifespan | loler-for-arborists WWW.LOLERFORARBORISTS.CO.UK Chris

Me too

We went through Arb Approval last year and the assessor was not happy with the report we got from stallion lifting. His comment was that they were not arb specific, looking at their report in hindsight there were some issues we highlighted

If you get stuck again I'm a LOLER inspector living in Brighton. You can bring your kit to me or I could come to you one evening. The cost is £50 per kit Email [email protected] LOLER for Arborist, LOLER Inspections, Tree Surgeon (temporary website address)