Androids in the Alpine

[Dru]

 

I dropped my adze 2x and hammer once

 

Gord dropped his hammer once

 

Don didnt drop anything. He claims it was skill. I think he was lucky.

[jja]

I've got those little clippy things on my quarks and I''d never take those things in the alpine - I'm gumby enough w/o the extra gear headaches.

 

btw, I don't want to spary on your great tr dru, but did we really need to see your nostril hair

[Dru]

i like spray on my TRs

 

nostril hair, i had hair all over my face. just like "blue-blocker" of the Mountaineers. my hero

[John Frieh]

Hey Dru

Were they dropped because the buckle accidentally released or were you unclipped from the tool for a mixed move or placing gear or something?

 

I would argue, depending on how you place gear (staying in your leashes vs. getting out) that if you always get out of one that it doesn't matter which leash style you use: fixed or detachable leashes, your chances of a dropped tool is the same as you are separating yourself from the tool.

[Dru]

the clip unclipped - while the tool should have been dangling from wrist it dropped. in one case the spring on the clip actually bent out of shape and the spring was levering down, not up, on the clip....

 

basically i think it was either because of plunging shaft or torquing the shaft in a crack that it (spring on clip) got bent in the first place.

 

i didnt really find the androids all that much better in the alpine. i like them a lot more for water ice but the route we were climbing was not steep ice so the detachable clip didnt make gear placement any easier. i am going to put my old saf'lock leashes back on for the summer.

[John Frieh]

What do you think of the CM (crap... my bad... petzl now) detachable leash? Seems fairly idiot proof to me...

[lummox]

you all dont seem to appreciate the significance of 'detachable'.

[John Frieh]

Guess we all don't own a strap on...

[lummox]

that was weak. but prostate massage is a far too rare feature in my sexlife.

[Dru]

i have only seen the peztl charlet clipper in the store and from what i saw, and based on the opinions of other knowledgeable persons, it isn't all that good

 

1) hard to use with gloves on

2) attaches to a bolt which can apparently shear off or be damaged fairly easily.

[John Frieh]

So your vote is for the BD offering?

 

If I recall correctly some of your prior posts, you were anti grivel double spring? Aid I think were your words. Still hold that opinion after this trip?

[Dru]

you must be thinking of something else cause i have never even seen the grivel clip system except for the silly old one with the biner.

[John Frieh]

this one

 

You can view on gna.com also under the indoor set page.

[jja]

I've got the quark clippy thing. I started using towards the end of last season. I like it ok. Unclipping goes super quick and easy. Clipping back in you can do a super slick flick of the clippy thing and catch it with your fingers and clip back in real easy - or the flippy thing doesnt' work, in which case you have to either orient it correctly in your hand with your teeth, or up against your chest. Not to big of a deal, and I suspect I'll get better at it.

 

One thing I didn't expect was the hassle they can be when not actually on the pitch, ie at belays, during snow slog sections, where the f* did i put those damn things - stuff like that. I suppose that will come with experience though.

 

So at least for me the CM clippy's are better than the stock quark leashes, but not quite as good as I thought they would be. Have'nt used any other system to compare.

 

Got to tell you though the first time I unclipped and switched tools to get around an awkward bulge I felt like such an ice hero.

 

Granted it was only honeyman falls

[Dru]

this one

 

You can view on gna.com also under the indoor set page.

 

this is an umbilical, and umbilicals ARE aid. why not just use a good, not detachable leash system in the first place instead of leashless or clipper tools with umbilicals?

[John Frieh]

Because it's easier to switch hands with umbilicals than nondetachables...

 

I swear I only use them in the gym... I swear...

[jja]

umbilicals are only aid if you hang on them, and it looks like the grivel bungee things you linked to would place you about 4' below your tools if you tried to hang on them.

 

much easier and just as quick to flip the rope over the head of a well stuck tool and call take .. not that I would ever do such a thing

[Fromage]

One thing I didn't expect was the hassle they can be when not actually on the pitch, ie at belays, during snow slog sections, where the f* did i put those damn things - stuff like that. I suppose that will come with experience though.

 

Jon, I picked up some new Quarks this season with the detachable leashes and had similar experiences. I found the leashes were considerably more comfy than my older Charlet leashes on the Quasars, and with a little practice it was no big deal getting the clips back on the posts. My tools actually came asymmetrically drilled, so I have a shorter leash on my right (dominant) tool than I do on my left, and the orange clip dangles perfectly into my fingertips.

 

My problem was losing the leashes at the end of the day. I would remove them from my tools for the hike out and later would storm around the motel room cursing because I couldn't find one. It always ended up buried in the bottom of my pack or in a pocket or somewhere else where I thought it wouldn't be. Maybe I just need to work out a better system: when my leashes aren't on my tools, they are ALWAYS in chest pocket/pack lid/etc.

 

I miss ice climbing season.

[John Frieh]

It's always ice climbing season somewhere...

 

The grivel double spring actually at full extension (hung on) isn't much longer than the full extension of one's arm so one could easily hang on them while placing or depumping and still reach them with out having to pull up on the cord.

 

And if drytooling is considered A0 anyways, what's wrong with ensuring you won't drop your tools in the mtns since the only time you would climb leashless would be on mixed terrain with an UC?

 

 

[dbb]

From my few times using androids on real alpine routes where you change between swinging and plunging and hanging the tool, I'm not too fond of them. Granted, I have them setup such that I can just barely grab the head of the tool. But, I don't like unclipping my tools at a belay and just leaving them. Almost dropped them in a moat that way once too. I haven't had a problem with the android coming unclipped, but it can fill up with snow and ice, making it difficult to get the leash back on. I think I'm going to have to just put regular leashes back on for the spring and summer. Oh well, it's worth it for how awesome they are on waterfalls.

 

btw, with my androids, every time I take them off I put them on a locking biner on my harness. In the hotel, at home, after a climb... That way you will always have them, and know where they are.

[lummox]

with some leashes from yatesgear.com

[Fromage]

Would those be the fancy new load-limiting screamer leashes that blow their stitching if you hang on them?

[lummox]

Would those be the fancy new load-limiting screamer leashes that blow their stitching if you hang on them?

in pink and purple

 

 

actually the leashes that come with those tools are pretty good.