The Android Leash

[Lambone]

Ya know, I usualy rave about Black Diamond equipment. I have never had a piece of BD gear fail on me before, until...

I invested in some new Android leashes this year. Some of my friends swear by them, and they seemed great when I first used them.

So I took the leashes up to Baker to try them out and guess what happens. They fall apart! On the first day out!!

Here is what happend, and those of you who own these leashes should WATCH OUT! The little clevis pin that holds the spring that keeps the thumb latch closed FELL OUT! Yep, it just fell right out for no apparent reason. The pin, spring, and thumb latch droped into the snow. Luckily it happened while I was eating a cliff bar...It took me a half an hour of fussing and frozen fingers to get it put back together temporarily, now it is all bent and tweaked out.

I would hate to be on a serious pitch and have this happen. Personaly I like to have the choice of climbing with or without leashes.

Nonethe less I still think the concept kicks ass! I may try to repair them myself, cause I don't think that getting a new pair from warrenty would help much. I don't see why this would not happen with every Android leash produced.

If you have a pair, BE CAREFULL! Check them ot closely and make sure the same thing won't happen to you on your next desperate lead.

[ 11-18-2001: Message edited by: lambone ]

[EV]

I'd STRONGLY suggest calling BD and maybe sending the leash back. They'd probably cover all shipping costs and send you a new one. Fixing something like that yourself - bad idea.

[Lambone]

I plan on calling them tommorow. But my concern is, what is going to keep the same thing from happening again?

I was thinking about sodering the pin in place. It is not a load bearing piece, I am just worried that the soder would inhibit the movement of the latch.

[dan_e]

I am not sure if BD has changed the style of the Android leashes, but I checked mine today and the pin(s) are fine. I forget the exact term, but the pin is held in place by expanding the metal on the opposite side from the head, in this case it looks like it was done cold. They probably chose to do it that way because it's cheaper and like Lambone stated, it's not load bearing. This type of process could have over-stressed the metal, possibly causing a crack.

I would call or email BD and I am sure they will want you to send it back to them, you will be doing them and everyone else who has these leashes a favor! I've dealt with BD's staff and they've always been friendly and helpful.

This should be a reminder to everyone to check over gear for defects when you buy it and of course check it on occassion after it's been used.

Dan E.

[Jimb]

The Android leashes I have been using have a small piece of velcro that wraps around the portion of the leash that remains on the tool after you unclip. It's purpose is to keep the knob that you clip in place. I could never get the velcro to stay fastened which made it very awkward to clip and unclip the leash.Someone suggested using a regular hose clamp instead. This has worked well esp. if you adjust the tension on the clamp just right so you can still slide the leash up the tool if you want to mantle the tool. I better check to see that mine are not about to fall apart,also. That's scary.

[ 11-21-2001: Message edited by: Jimb ]

[chris_w]

I heard that BD made some changes in the leashes this past year. The leash with velcro is the old model. They replaced the velcro with a hose clamp. As for any other changes, I don't know. I haven't had a chance to try them out. I will have to look at the spring\pin connection.

chris