OP Grinder Knobs

[Weekend_Climberz]

So I'm a cheap bastard and want to retro fit my BD Expresses with knobs...any local shops sell these?

 

http://www.omegapac.com/op_alpine_icescrews.html

[David Trippett]

WC,

 

I tried this myself....and found it prettty unsatisfying. The x-section of the express screws hanger is wider than the OP's and you have to modify the knobs quite a bit. In addition, the express hanger is not the same as the OP, which are designed to take that knob. When you put the OP knob on the BD screw, you have two options: one is to place it upright, which makes for a poor lever arm; or to put it further out, at a funky angle, to gain a better lever. Both options leave something to be desired. Another annoyance is that the express hanger is quite small....and the knob ends up taking up a lot of room inside the hanger. Anyway...I did not try these in the field as I was so dissatisfied with the result at home. Perhaps someone who has used this set-up in the field can comment?

[G-spotter]

I had two of them. I only ever used them on OP screws.

 

What I found is that:

 

1) Because you can't fold the grinder down, it can actually serve as a lever point for a biner to unclip itself

 

2) The grinder is almost impossible to lock on. No matter how much you tighten it (I even eventually tightened mine in the freezer so they would be cold and the metal would have contracted as much as possible) the grinder will gradually loosen and then fall off, usually while the screw is clipped to your harness and you don't notice.

 

So now I have none.

 

OTOH I just bought a 360 and a Laser Sonic and so far I am thinking they are worth the $10 extra they cost over the BD at MEC.

[Weekend_Climberz]

I love my 360's, Thanks for the info guys :tup:

[jordop]

Omega screws suck anyways - not taper and impossible to clean. You CAN however put them on old BD screws with a little effort. I hammered them on and used an "epoxy weld paste" smeared around the bottoms. Three seasons and still on Partners might give you some good looks though . . .

 

ClimbOn in Squamish had em last time I checked.

[Farrgo]

OP came out with a new line of screws recently. I used there old ones (black hanger) and hated them. But there new ones (gold hanger) are pretty good, comparable with the BD screws.

[kurthicks]

i think the new OP screws are better than BD. they bite faster and go in easier. AND you can clip 2 biners into the hanger.

[Chad_A]

Redesign? Maybe I should try one.

 

I have some older black hanger OP screws, and no matter what I do to the teeth, they just don't seem to bite worth a shit. I've spent hours with various files getting them (visually) looking just like the Turbo Expresses, but it just doesn't change how they bite in. What makes the 360s and Turbos bite so much faster? I'm sure it's in one of the angles of the teeth, but my layman's eyes don't know what to look for.