How do you mark your gear?

[fenderfour]

I take my gear and put it into a big pile, no need to organize, a pile is more effective. Drink plenty of beer and wait. At the right moment while it is safe and no enemies are nearby, I unzip and proceed with marking.

 

Note: this works very well with softgoods such as ropes, runners, and cordellettes, but this method loses it's effectiveness over time with stoppers and cams. It's also not very good for ferrous metals, as it may cause increased corrosion.

[EWolfe]

There is actually a inconspicuous permanent way to mark 'biners with spraypaint.

 

Hold the gate open, and spraypaint the notch that the gate locks in, then wipe away excess with a paper towel, leaving just the paint in the notch. Brace gate open and let dry.

I have 'biners 7-8 years old that are still clearly marked with the forest green.

[AlpineK]

There is actually a inconspicuous permanent way to mark 'biners with spraypaint.

 

Hold the gate open, and spraypaint the notch that the gate locks in, then wipe away excess with a paper towel, leaving just the paint in the notch. Brace gate open and let dry.

I have 'biners 7-8 years old that are still clearly marked with the forest green.

 

Hey those are mine give em back.

[EWolfe]

 

Did I say forest? I meant -----> green

[sobo]

Colored 3M electrician's tape. I use a strip of white above a strip of red. Poland's national flag!

 

It's fitting for me - and mebbe polishbob...

[sobo]

After reading that blurb in one o' the mags a few months back, I've been hesitant to re-mark my ropes with ink (they said someone or other tested that, and it weakens rope by like 30%) so I'm trying to find a new way...

 

Interesting... I read a while back that it was now determined to be OK to use inks utilizing VOCs as the ink transport mechanism to mark ropes. Sharpies and Marks-A-Lots in particular were mentioned as OK. I think it was in Climbing or R&I.

 

I use magic markers (Sharpies, M-A-Ls, etc.) to mark the middle of my ropes, and have for better'n 5 or 6 years. Use to use a "special rope marking pen" sold by "Putzl" until I read the aforementioned article. Used tape before that for eons, but after a while it gets dirt under it and then will slide on you without you necessarily knowing it. Can lead to ugly developments whilst rapelling, especially at night or in low-light conditions when you can't see all the way down the rap path.

 

And I agree with fenderfour: it's all about the core, man. A sheath just keeps the kern confined, and protects it from abrasion and grit. The sheath has a lot more to do with how a rope "handles", and adds very little to the rope's overall strength.

 

Edit: When marking the middle with ink, make a band about 3 or 4 inches long. You'll be a lot less likely to mistake that mark in the dark for a wet spot on the rope (while setting up your rap after ice climbing), shadow of an overhanging branch in the moonlight (be-nighted descents w/o headlamps), missing the mark all together while flaking the rope looking for the middle, etc. Hey, it's happened...!

Edited April 6, 2004 by sobo

[chelle]

I use purple sparkly fingernail polish. Tape sucks and falls off, leaving litter. The marking stickers they sell are expensive and dumb cause there are only like 3 colors.

 

Spend $3 on a bottle of polish and paint your gear somewhere it won't rub off. Bottom of the gate on biners, in between the wires on stopper heads, and on stems for cams... I write my initials on my webbing with a permenant marker.

[chelle]

Mark your rope by sewing a piece of GORE floss into the sheath at the midpoint. It will not wear off, does not damage the rope, and is easly felt for if you end up rapping in the dark on a long alpine climb.

[scott_harpell]

Blue electrician's tape. On thick band, and one thin band.

 

Most popular color schemes: purple and yellow, yellow and black.

 

did you leave a few wiregates at index a few months back?

[scott_harpell]

Mark your rope by sewing a piece of GORE floss into the sheath at the midpoint. It will not wear off, does not damage the rope, and is easly felt for if you end up rapping in the dark on a long alpine climb.

 

just file down the point of the needle to make sure you dont poke the core...

[s_darris]

don't use any tape!...and better than nail polish is car touch up paint, g.i. joes has it, small cans, more durable than nail polish....hey, paint yer gear the color of your rig...unlimited,unique colors avail...

[Scott_J]

What IS the best way to mark climbing gear? How do you mark yours?

 

I lift my leg and pee all over it.

JJD, alright, man that is the way to do it. Just like a wolverine. Got to love it.

[scott_harpell]

I like to use auto pain ot the thumb triggers of my BD cams.... never wears off.

[catbirdseat]

Mark your rope by sewing a piece of GORE floss into the sheath at the midpoint. It will not wear off, does not damage the rope, and is easly felt for if you end up rapping in the dark on a long alpine climb.

 

just file down the point of the needle to make sure you dont poke the core...

It won't hurt the rope to go through the core. The needle parts the fibers and passes between them. There are some needles, however that have a triangular shaft near the point, used for leather. Don't use that kind because they CAN, in theory, cut the fibers. In practice this is very unlikely when the rope is not under tension. The fibers move aside. This is why stepping on ropes with crampons doesn't usually damage the core. If it did, a lot more people would have died by now.

[scott_harpell]

If it did, a lot more people would have died by now.

 

How many people fall on a glacier climb? 1:10,000?

[wrench]

And I agree with fenderfour: it's all about the core, man. A sheath just keeps the kern confined, and protects it from abrasion and grit. The sheath has a lot more to do with how a rope "handles", and adds very little to the rope's overall strength.

 

um, have any of you ever touched a knife to a weighted rope? you don't need to hit the core to make the whole thing snap like butter under tension (yes, personal experience -- no, i don't know how you would put butter under tension). the sheath is VERY integral to the rope's overall strength (vague recollection: ~30-50% of overall strength?). not trying to start a argument, just warning people, when you decide to fuck around with your rope, don't assume the sheath is functionally just a "cover" for the core... and maybe someone could chime in with a useful reference to some research that's been done if they feel it's worth continuing.

[EWolfe]

I used to sew in my center mark with black thread on lighter ropes, etc

It worked great, and I could feel the halfway mark as well.

The only downside is that it takes FOREVER to sew enough passes to clearly mark the cordage.

I guess you could use a thicker thread, but the nice thing about the fine thread is you couldn't really feel it through the device, and it seemed like wear would be an issue with increased standoff.

 

Now I just use a Sharpie

[sobo]

And I agree with fenderfour: it's all about the core, man. A sheath just keeps the kern confined, and protects it from abrasion and grit. The sheath has a lot more to do with how a rope "handles", and adds very little to the rope's overall strength.

 

um, have any of you ever touched a knife to a weighted rope? you don't need to hit the core to make the whole thing snap like butter under tension (yes, personal experience -- no, i don't know how you would put butter under tension)...

 

Simon? Simon, is that you?

 

I'll re-check my sources on "average percentage of strength contributed by sheath", but I don't recall that it was as much as you say, but I could be wrong. It's happened before.