ken4ord Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 (edited) Everybody is talks about what to buy, how about what to steer clear of. What type of climbing equipment had you wished you never bought or think has to be the dumbest and most useless piece of shit you have ever seen. Also why do you think your least favorite item is a POS. Here is my vote for POS award These things I had bought because I thought they were such a great deal. Man at $12 a screw how could you go wrong. Well I didn't know that these had detachable hangers (seriously I had two of them where the hanger came right off) or that it would take about 20 minutes to place a single screw cause the teeth weren't sharp at all and there were no threads on them to speak of. Ok I fixed the link, doh! Edited October 26, 2004 by ken4ord Quote
skyclimb Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 That is a funny link there Ken Mine is the BD .4 camelot Quote
jshamster Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 Any figure 8 belay/rappel device. (I've got one, and have never abused my ropes with it.) I love my .4 camelot, but aliens are better. Quote
JayB Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 Black Diamond Switchblade crampons - featuring: dual front points with a thin profile to maximize shearing, and a spacing that provided neither the stability of regular dual points nor the delicacy of monos, an anti-shearing plate between the two front points that prevented effective penetration magnificently, and secondary points so far behind the front-points that they would only engage when one's heel dropped roughly 60 degrees below horizontal, at which time the front points were conveniently sliding out of their placements. Not sure what the deal is with BD and the secondary ponits on their waterfall crampons, but they seem to be designed with a different philosophy than the models produced by other manufacturers. They are great if you want to work on your calf-and-forearm endurance though. Quote
EWolfe Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 Following someone once I had to clean some *ahem* rather well-set metolius curved stoppers. Man, I rued the day he bought those sumbitches. Quote
badvoodoo Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 Um, yaaaa, I'm starting to notice that... Makes a beginner feel good about their placements tho. Quote
ken4ord Posted October 26, 2004 Author Posted October 26, 2004 Hey JayB have you ever tried the Foot Fang monos. Damn those things really sucked ass. The front point was really long not necessarily a bad thing, but it always got hung up on things, the back points were so far back and too close together (closer together than the Switchblades) that it felt like you could never get stable. Check 'em Hey skyclimb why the .4 Camelot? I have never used them, nor do I need one, but I can't see anything wrong with them. cj001f, where did you find those relics damn, they look like they look like they were made in the dark ages. Are you sure that is climbing equipment? What is the red thingy, is it some type of rigging device, I have never seen that one before? Mike, I have checked out those FROG things out, but they seem sort of stupid. Have you used one? Quote
selkirk Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 So why are these so bad? (CMI Micro(Belay device)? .4 Camalot, Kong Frog? My biggest POS experience was with a set of REI gators very similar to These (but with a worse strap system for under the instep) Damn things are stretchy and won't seal to your boots when plunge stepping. Just pack full of snow as fast as you could clean theme. Quote
wdietsch Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 tubular ice pick for my old hummingbird .... why does Grivel still make'm? Quote
ken4ord Posted October 26, 2004 Author Posted October 26, 2004 Hey any kind of bolt if it looks like this or this Quote
Dru Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 Pika Mallards Sort of like a fat Birdbeak or CrackN Up for Hand placed aid in thin seams, but doesnt have enough hook to the tip and slips out of placement when you weight it. WTF? Quote
jj221 Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 I bootyed one of these from a climb in New Hampshire. The party before us had broken a pick and rapped off on one of these screws. I offered to get the screw and pitch it down and the former owner just didn't care. After my experience with the p.o.s. I see why. Quote
Dru Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 Hey those Irbis are fine for alpine ice climbing. I carry one when soloing so that if my crampon detaches accidentally I can clip to a screw while I refix the crampon. Weighs nothing and good for body weight! Quote
layton Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 Just saw the Frogs in a Kong Katalogue. Had a good chuckle. Quote
skyclimb Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 .4 BD's stem is inflexible, due to the trigger- placements must be shallow, they walk like little bastards, and if you have ever fallen on one in Volcanic Ash, you will abolish it to the lower caste of your rack and decide that the yellow alien is one of your most trusted companions. Of course, there are people out there who take repeated 50 footers on .2 BD cams in sandstone. .4 BD is my most unused piece of climbing equipment. It still gets use, but I use alien power whenever possible. Now the .5 BD is a completely different story, the junior kicks ass. Quote
Alex Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 The old CMI "Rock Jock". I bought two direct from CMI about 12 years ago when I was climbing at Seneca one trip. I never used them. I will never use them. Waste of cash. Quote
Off_White Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 (edited) This Salewa screw offers a full 12" of penetration, but removing the core from the small diameter bore offers a bit of a challenge. It's a pity I couldn't find the old coat hanger screw that this one replaced. Edited October 26, 2004 by Off_White Quote
Dru Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 those kongs frogs rock for making hard to reach clips. you can stiffen up the attached draw with tape and its almost like a little foot long cheater stick! Quote
Off_White Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 (edited) For rockclimbing, it's tough to beat this combination. A vintage Stubai holder, without all that pesky padding, drills a tidy 1/4" hole for this 1-1/4" long rawl bolt, lovingly pressed into an old thin steel SMC hanger. I recommend a 10oz ball peen hammer for drilling, so it doesn't hurt so much when you hit your hand. You can rest assured that the 1/4" bolt, from the batch of bad bolts that came out around 1980, might sheer unexpectedly before the breakage prone hanger could fail. Edited October 26, 2004 by Off_White Quote
cj001f Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 So why are these so bad? (CMI Micro(Belay device)? Wears quickly, heats quickly, shape doesn't work that well for belaying. Stupid make yourself keeper. Quote
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