iain Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 pull tests have been done up on rainier with rope failure before picket failure... they can be a pain in the rear though. I still seem to carry and place them though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lummox Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 pull tests have been done up on rainier with rope failure before picket failure... really? whoa! i woulda thought a carabiner would fail way before a rope. and i carry and sometimes place pickets too. they are like tricams: they work great when they work great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 maybe it was the carabiner, I don't remember, needless to say, they can be strong or totally crap imaginary as you prob. well know. Those pickets in the test were built for rescue anchors, so naturally some time was spent getting good placements. I think it was two in series vertically that held best. Also a bollard was pretty much unbreakable in the test if I remember right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Here's a link to one of Seattle MR's newsletters talking a bit about it, for what it's worth: SMR newsletter Looks like it was actually the metal on the picket that broke. Shows how good my memory is Anyway, pretty strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catbirdseat Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 When the snow is soft, flukes work much better, and yet I've talked with many people who say they never use flukes because, "they don't trust them". Granted, the chances of an unarrested fall are less when the snow is soft, but I've seen many cases where you have soft snow with a crust on top that would allow a body to slide and yet prevent self-arrest. So I'm trying to get at the reason. Is it a misunderstanding of when and how to use them, or is it just that the situation where they are useful doesn't occur frequently enough to justify carrying them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 people don't use flukes because they flat-out suck to carry around and cut up your stuff after being pounded on. They are a pain in the ass to release. I hate those things. Even worse than pickets and pickets are bad to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catbirdseat Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 It seems to me that all those problems could be solved through design changes. The burr problem could be solved by addition of a steel strike plate (an has been on some models). The release problem could be solved by adding a retrieval cord. They carry just fine in a shovel pocket, although they aren't terribly handy there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.