Dru Posted January 30, 2002 Posted January 30, 2002 SO i got 3 of these (BD Ice Clipper plastic screw racking biners) before this season to rack ice screws on. So far I have somehow lost 3 screws I think from stealth unclipping from these dumb racking devices. and i only found 1 as booty, so I'm down 2. I offer this as disincentive for anybody else thats thinking about getting them. Quote
zippy_monkey_boy Posted January 30, 2002 Posted January 30, 2002 if it is from bd, means BAD!!!! the best for that is the heart from ushba gota try it to like it, all around thing, works best here and there. Quote
TimL Posted January 30, 2002 Posted January 30, 2002 Funny, I found the BD ice clips to work really well. On the other hand, the Trango ice clips (forget the name) suck. Several screws have fallen off that piece of crap. It seems if you overload either piece of gear with to many screws, the chance of dropping a screw is greater. Quote
Dru Posted January 30, 2002 Author Posted January 30, 2002 quote: Originally posted by philfort: What climbs did you lose them on? Well I lost one on Weeping Wall, one somewhere at the Rambles I think, and one either at Gibraltar Wall or its on Fred's rack and he took off to Orizaba for a few weeks. Oh and I think the screw I found belongs to a cc.com climber so I'm not planning on identifying it any further. Its mine now the way mine are yours if you find them first. [ 01-30-2002: Message edited by: Dru ] Quote
JayB Posted January 30, 2002 Posted January 30, 2002 I have yet to find the perfect ice-screw racking device, but the BD Ice Clipper has worked pretty well, provided you limit the load to 5 screws or so. I have noticed a tendency for the gate on the IC to pop out (so that the gate comes to rest on the outside of the biner)every once in a while though. I had this happen once and unloaded four screws at once while high-stepping and had to down-climb and start over. Not a big deal on this one pitch climb, but quite a bit more, err... "inconvenient" on a multi-pitch outing or a more commiting single pitch affair. My friend uses some sort of welded double bent-gate biner thing from Simond (?) which seems to work pretty well for him. Quote
mattp Posted January 30, 2002 Posted January 30, 2002 I don't know the specific devices discussed here, but my general experience is that the easier to clip and unclip a racking device is, the easier it is to have them unclip accidently. Is this what you guys are finding to be true? By the way, I was just in Pro Mountain Sports and he has some very slick looking tubes for sheathing your screws and the leashless tools look pretty cool as well. Quote
Rafael_H Posted January 31, 2002 Posted January 31, 2002 quote: Originally posted by zippy monkey boy: ...the best for that is the heart from ushbagota try it to like it, all around thing, worksbest here and there. Sounds interesting. I have never seen such a thing but can imagine how it works: a heart shaped springy wire with the screws going in/out of the butt-shaped side? How is the "heart" attached to the harness? Perhaps with an ID? Wouldn't it then stick too far out? Quote
Rafael_H Posted January 31, 2002 Posted January 31, 2002 mattp and Dru, I know a guy who used BD ICe Clippers to make a leashless tool. He broke those clippers in two and then attached them to the tool like hooks, lower one for the pinkie and the upper for the trigger finger. He used hose clumps and tape for attaching. Quote
Rafael_H Posted January 31, 2002 Posted January 31, 2002 Huh, and I gather the only place to get a look at it is PMS... Jim, do you have it? I know you "can get one" I like the BD Ice Clipper but almost lost a screw once and yes, the trick is not to overload. Following Dale's advice I now have 2 Ice Clippers and two wire gates so between 4 spots each one has a lighter load. I can see that "leaning up against the rock/ice, climbing tight chimneys, awkward steps", high steps can make screws come out of Ice Clippers. Quote
Dru Posted January 31, 2002 Author Posted January 31, 2002 I dont think I ever dropped a screw on the route from one...I would have heard it I have 3 and put 3-4 screws on each. I think the screws are somehow falling off during descents or while bushwacking between pitches or whatever because I have never heard or seen one detach - just racking up the next day one is gone somewhere. Maybe aliens are abducting them ??? Quote
Rafael_H Posted February 1, 2002 Posted February 1, 2002 Oh, just remembered. Operator error, I grabbed the screw that wasn't on top of the stack so the top almost fell off, I just caught it with my leg. So, no, Ice Clipper is fine with me. Still, due to the short distance to the biner's lip it could come off. Just saw the Ushba thing on their web site. Just from looking at it I see no big advantage before Ice Clipper. They should have designed it so that the butt side is up, which would have greatly improved it against accidental unclipping. (Heck, I can even see how to do that with just a strand of steel wire, super simple! In fact, I'm gonna make one.) On the good side this is one clipper that can somewhat alleviate Grivel 360 racking problems. Quote
Rafael_H Posted February 1, 2002 Posted February 1, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Dru: ...Maybe aliens are abducting them ??? Get a BD Alien Shieldor, only $99.95, comes in three colours. Quote
al Posted February 1, 2002 Posted February 1, 2002 I just use ovals, gate down and out on my rack, each size screw on a different oval. When an oval's empty at least I've got something I can still use. Quote
Bronco Posted February 1, 2002 Posted February 1, 2002 Dru - it sounds like a more serious problem than you alude too. I have a similar problem myself. "These cheap, piece of garbage *shoes*!! if only I had better/different *shoes* I could climb 5.10 without any problem. Just look at the *shoes* so-and-so has and he can climb anything" *insert any peice of gear* cams, helmets, tools, whatever. Whatever it is quit whining and blaming your gear for your poor performance and just admit it - the climb was just too easy for you to bother to pay attention. Thats what I do! Quote
todd Posted February 1, 2002 Posted February 1, 2002 RAFAEL the ushba heart has a pretty burly clamp that clips onto the harness padding (if you can squeeze it) or the belt. it wont fall off. i love mine, and just got back from a trip in the alps where i was using them on a lot of technical alpine routes (i.e. leaning up against the rock/ice, climbing tight chimneys, awkward steps, etc. = things that are most likely to cause screws to come unclipped). i didnt lose any screws. i find i can usually rack about 8 on the heart (4 on each side). its definitely worth looking into. Quote
Dru Posted February 4, 2002 Author Posted February 4, 2002 i found out edwards has one of my screws and touche has another one... that makes me down 1 (which was maybe stolen, not unclipped) and up 1 on booty, so i'm even.. the clipper isnt an unclipper after all... boy i was just being pessimistic! Quote
freeclimb9 Posted February 4, 2002 Posted February 4, 2002 quote: Originally posted by al: I just use ovals, gate down and out on my rack, each size screw on a different oval. When an oval's empty at least I've got something I can still use. I use bent gate carabiners in the same way with a mximum of 3-4 screws on each. I, too, can't see using a "clipper" that takes up space on my harness and has only one use. Quote
David_Parker Posted February 4, 2002 Posted February 4, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Dru: i found out edwards has one of my screws and touche has another one... that makes me down 1 (which was maybe stolen, not unclipped) and up 1 on booty, so i'm even.. the clipper isnt an unclipper after all... boy i was just being pessimistic! Or smokin' out too much! Quote
Cpt.Caveman Posted February 5, 2002 Posted February 5, 2002 I have some new ice Unclippers. I have yet to have them unclip. Good thing you got your gear back I dont like the trango thingy. Quote
dan_e Posted February 26, 2002 Posted February 26, 2002 I finally switched over to all BD ice clippers this season from using the Trango's. The biggest problem with the Trango model is that slings, leashes, and just about anything else were getting clipped in to them! I have not had this problem with the BD model. Also, Grivel screws rack nicely on the BD clippers. I have three on my Blizzard harness and I do not rack more than four screws at a time. Sure you can always use a bent gate biner, but the BD unit stays put and works even better on the Blizzard harness which has a few spots just for the clipper. I think that I finally have a near perfect system for racking gear on my harness! Dan E. Quote
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