Home-made Climbing Gear?

[@HowNOT2]

Recalled alien tested kzbin.infoCKx2BWh0SIg. Aric Datesman tested these in 2009 and said this about them: Of the 24 of them I tested similar to how you did this one, of which 13 were brand new and never used, only a few broke above rated strength. Many broke well below rated strength, and a few broke not much higher than bodyweight. Failure modes I found included the failure of the brazed joint, the top of the head where the axle went through popping off, the cable failing at the swage, the axle bending to the point of being U-shaped, and the lobes deforming and pulling from the test fixture due to being overly soft. Many of them also had the axle hole in the lobes incorrectly centered in relation to the curve of the bearing surface of the lobe, with the Orange ones being the worst offenders (I suspect their drilling fixture was incorrectly designed).

[@BurchellAtTheWharf]

If you want I can make a clip about away to splice a loop eye in cable for yea, I would make a few and send them but that I'm not to sure on how to do

[@77knots]

The stopper with the brass slider was called a “Buddy” made by Dbest mountaineering ( Don Best). I think that they were sold around 1986 or so from Liberty mountain. I climbed with a full set of them for 20 years. The larger sizes were bomber and held a ton of whippers. The one that you tested was the smallest size. I still have the full set in a box!

[@Zeldon567]

When you retire them would you be willing to donate or lend them to the channel for testing/review?

[@johns3106]

It’s easy to shake your head at “home made” stuff, but just remember some of our most iconic gear started out as “home made”…Chouinard forging lost arrows in his backyard, Ray Jardine experimenting with various Friend prototypes that he made himself, the original “hexes” made from different sizes of machine nuts…there is a long list in the history of our sport!

[@InterwovenElements]

These things are nuts! (hehehehehe)

[@user-ld7xh3fm9z]

The yellow and blue cams with the wheels are Go-Pro Rock & Rollers. They were produced out of Santa Rosa in the early 1990’s . They are the proto form of the RB, developed by the same individual. P.s. I think I still have a couple in my kit somewhere. MKH

[@HowNOT2]

Thanks!

[@oldmanbeta]

I remember them being advertised in the magazines. I never bought any. But I met a guy in the late nineties and climbed with him in Yosemite who said he was the inventor of them. His name was Joseph. Super nice, chill, and funny guy.

[@heepstuff2868]

Yup, I still have 2 full sets, and use them occasionally.

[@andrewstoll4548]

I would have to trust the person making it as much or more than I'd trust the equipment.

[@daveb3910]

Sometimes slipping is better than breaking. That last one, if you could make it do that slip reliably, could have a use

[@vara202]

That is terrifying and I would not trust it

[@danielwendell542]

As a farrier the hoof rasps made total sense for the liner plates, glad you implemented that idea!

[@SobrietyandSolace]

Farrier is by far one of the coolest occupations going

[@blarghimakraken6447]

Some lock nuts on those adjuster bolts could help! If you watch at 2:10, the top left actually backs off, allowing the piece to slip out.

[@danhoyle8503]

The vast majority of climbing gear through the ages has been home made before there was a market for them to be produced on a mass scale. The gear we have now that we buy from manufacturers is just the tip of the iceberg of the amount of cool designs people conjured up in sheds

[@matthewrberning]

Fascinating designs -that cone one looks really promising

[@threeriversforge1997]

I liked that last one. Not only does it look good, but that stuttering as it failed would make a nice shock absorber, helping to mitigate the shock pulse when you finally come to the end of the line. Just like safety harnesses have those rip-away stitches. 😁

[@steelonius]

It also offers a really nice set of grating noises as the wire makes its spasmodic slips through the saddle clip allowing you to experience a few more moments of fear as you question whether or not it's actually going to hold.

[@threeriversforge1997]

@@steelonius Sounds like a real win-win kinda deal! Whoever invented that thing is a genius!

[@steelonius]

@@threeriversforge1997 😅

[@BurchellAtTheWharf]

4:16 to splice an eye loop is realitively simple, but takes a little time to practice, but is far far better than just clamps

[@johndavidwolf4239]

Or use a thimble eye, remember you are dead.

[@BurchellAtTheWharf]

@@johndavidwolf4239 just break(untwist) the cable into two halves, (leaving the core on one of the halves) and split it back a fair amount, then Bend it into a loop(both ends fold in opposite directions) and then wrap back in to the natural twist, but remember to leave a legit for a tail,(you can tape the tail or clap it) this eye loop will not pull out unless under extreme strain, the cable should break before the loop let's go.

[@BurchellAtTheWharf]

@@johndavidwolf4239 the goal is not to end up in a pine box or in an urne

[@MrMilosv]

Awesome video! I am not a climber (maybe I become some day) but its super good enough to be interesting and it scratches that curiosity itch! :) PS Amazing how homemade equipment that looks solid compares to recalled equipment from a pro manufacturer ..

[@allwaysareup]

Teasing a tricam. Looking forward to it!

[@kilianhzh]

The last one is cool. Most gear i have does not include a shock absorber

[@Govanification]

For real that was basically a steel screamer. Probably would hold a whip since you aren't going to put 8kN on it after sustaining 4kN for a few seconds.

[@tomk3732]

The all held around 6kn which is not that bad - remember these are small - 6kn on an anchor is somewhere around factor 1 fall.

[@tomaszkal2623]

Really gives me some nostalgic vibes. When I first started climbing I used my grandpa’s home made harness along with a home made figure 8 for belaying. Communism sure forced you to be resourceful if you were into climbing.

[@rogerpalin5864]

The yellow and blue ones are Roller Cams. Still have a yellow one. Awesome bit of kit, would always go into a slot, really when you needed it, and nothing else would fit. To be honest, always placed it as a psychological runner, and never tested it real time, but definitely helped me through a few sticky moments

[@MrMosebey]

Last one is bomber. Its actually a feature, self extending gear!

[@dariocarafa3788]

Every one of those was really cool and worked surprisingly well

[@wlancee]

please include some basalt rock! I have heard some stories of cams slipping out of our local basalt cracks, but I'm not sure if it was when wet or just in general.

[@Deckzwabber]

That sliding cable seems like a very good shock absorber. But I definitely would trust my life to it in that configuration.

[@markkNL]

Until the other side of the cable slips and you end up on the floor because the loop disappears

[@Deckzwabber]

@@markkNL yeah... That's one of the reasons I wouldn't use it on a real rock. But I think it could be possible.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

You said that you already plan on getting some different rock plates to glue inside it for testing but if you need some slabs cut off of different natural rock types I have a lapidary slab saw and would be happy to work together on something.

[@OffWidthCrack]

Cable clamp mantra-Never saddle a dead horse.

[@asdfdfggfd]

I have an old injury on my pinky that gets sore whenever I see those things.

[@davidm8371]

That last one looked great! All it needs is a little work on securing the place with the clamps. I'm not extremely familiar with rigging, but I wonder if there's a way to directly mechanically bond it, like partially unwinding, and then rewinding it throughout itself?

[@xchinvanderlinden]

You gotta test some slippery quartzite rock plates from Devils Lake, WI

[@andrewhunter6536]

Excited for the rock plates, I how they don’t crack. I’m definitely curious if polished limestone or granite has a high enough coefficient of friction with the aluminium alloys to work. Or if things like the dmm triple grip pattern do anything in smoother rock. I wonder if it will concentrate forces enough on the edges or corners of the pattern to cause local deformation that will help things stick

[@Mike-oz4cv]

Finally a video of yours which gets straight to the point without any over exaggerated: “OH NO! WHAT HAPPENED?!” or bad jokes.

[@andrewhunter6536]

What camming angle do you assume for the 4 times force out vs pull? Wild country zero friends have a different angle than normal friends which is again different for c4 and totem don’t even have a constant angle since it’s not a logarithmic spiral.

[@markifi]

all but one are really well made, and even the badly made one is well thought out!

[@asdfdfggfd]

FWIW, all of these failed at about the strength I guessed and in the ways I predicted. This gives me more confidence in home made gear, or rather my ability to evaluate.

[@234i9]

Question: Why not use a couple of slabs of granite and use that for making a thing that hold cams?

[@Macks_Mustermann]

3:36 I think this thing would get stuck as soon as it gets properly loaded for the first time since you have to push the middle part up to release it and steel cable isn´t the best in compression.

[@elmeradams8781]

Good point. You'd have to hit it with something to beat it back in.

[@florianunterfrauner2041]

Could you test wooden wedges that have been used in the past?

[@daviddroescher]

Get a hold of Carbolite They laser weld Diamonds the surface of chassie Dino drums to prevent. Tire slip on 2. 2-3thousand horsepower cars. Seams like a good application in the cam crusher. They also have a 450mph bonneville race car.

[@hetistijmen]

Super interesting video, thanks! Preferably I wouldn't depend on home made stuff to save me but physics rule my life as much as they do Mr. Petzl's so it's good to see most of these hold a few kN. The slipping one actually seems pretty safe to me; it's what those clamps do and I'm not heavy enough to generate a bunch of 4+kN loads when falling with a reasonable amount of equipment on me. Also, maybe be careful with those files. They're a good solution to the wedge problem but that type of steel can explode in pretty spectacular ways. Fun if you're safe, a sad story about your eyesight if you're not. Have you considered fiber bound concrete as a plate material? You could have some steel plates machined and pour a fresh face whenever you need to. Machine them right and they should be mechanically locked in place.

[@harlanstockman5703]

The slipping of the cable clamps is quite interesting, as they look properly set, assuming the correct size clamp was used. The cable looks like 1/8", and with 2 clamps it should have a breaking strength of about 7.3 kN (80% full strength). I've seen maybe one video of a clamped cable breaking, without any useful info on the force. I don't think many climbers use cable clamps.

[@thomasr1051]

Hey can you test a big bro? It's a weird piece of kit. It's a spring loaded tube with a locking screw

[@OliverKrystal]

There's a proper procedure for the u-bolts. You need three, there's a certain spacing and tail.

[@j616s]

The one with the plates that spread looks a bit like a flat version of a Climb Tech RB

[@markoneal9677]

Pink tricam tease!

[@getahanddown]

Long gear is annoying but some placements can be further back / hard to get close to. I'd have short as a preference but 100% a few longer small pieces too

[@wb5mgr]

So I would never climb on one, not what they were designed for… But those clamps you were referring to do actually have a name in the industry, they’re called “Crosby”… or at least that’s what I’ve always heard them called by everyone. And what I typically see them used for in a larger form factor is to put guy wires on towers. So for a static line situation. They always deploy a figure 8 safety on the line in case they would slip whenever they are used.

[@HowNOT2]

Crosby is a manufacturer of high quality cable clamps. They generally have a red U bolt. I highly doubt these are made by Crosby.

[@moonliteX]

MORE DIY STUFF!

[@Alienazor3]

How many KN does regular bought gear sit around in this machine?

[@Alastair510]

would love to see you test some old-school hexes in the same rig.

[@ProfessionalJerry]

Bro, do an episode pulling/testing wet cams/rocks

[@alexstarr1589]

Very interesting, these broke higher than I'd expect. I would still never trust my life to them, but who knows when these were made? There might not have been any commercial options at the time.

[@orion7741]

why would you not trust them?? all the famous legendary climbers that you idolize trusted stuff like this, and even sketchier stuff than this when they were climbing. so, its good enough for them to use, but not good enough for you?? thats just dumb. bro, when are you going to be putting more than 6 Kn of force on your climbing anchors??? your not, EVER. they are just as safe as any commercial brand anchors.

[@alexstarr1589]

@@orion7741 Can't tell if you're trolling or not. The issue is consistency, you have no way to know if the homebrew job you're sticking in that crack will break at 6 kN or 1. I don't idolize any climbers, and there's tons of sketchy stuff they used to do that's just needlessly risky when we have the amazing gear available to us today.

[@TheWtfnonamez]

Question for your guys... I recently found my old climbing gear which is twenty two years old. It is in mint condition, barely used, stored in a cool dry place. I have a dynamic rope, a harness, and a host of other karabiners and slings. Is it safe to use or should I bin it?

[@asdfdfggfd]

You should send it to HowNot2 so he can break it for more quality engineering infotainment.

[@orion7741]

Dont use the rope or the harness, or anything fabric. but all the hardware should be good to go. anything fabric based degrades over time even if its just sitting in a closet somewhere, and that is not something you want to trust your life on.

[@TheWtfnonamez]

@@orion7741 Thank you for this.

[@funy0n583]

would have been cool if you provided more information on where you got this homemade equipment or where it originated from and if you showed some better gear in comparison

[@Ky_yo]

I want one of these for my keys.

[@Bikalakat]

Hey Ryan, where is the data! We all know you can brake everything you want, but we're eager to know when they brake!! ;)

[@Loebane]

It seemed like a few of these failed because the test rig was forced open, allowing them to slip.

[@maxscott3349]

I'm definitely going to try to make some of those, those look way easier to do at home than the normal expensive stuff

[@electriccoconut]

How? He's dead!

[@MatthewWright-y9t]

How bout a how to re sling old cams for us dirt bags

[@WaechterDerNacht]

Have you guys ever tested what happens if the weight difference on a Ohm is bigger than 40kg and how much different they need to be to have an impact? I guess the rope diameter will be critical when it comes to this... Reason i am asking: i am with 2m and 110kg slight heavier than the stereotypical climber.^^

[@elmeradams8781]

I don't think it really matters. Obviously the forces are greater on a bigger guy, but not too much greater.

[@justinsnyder6256]

Wow who would hang themselves off hardwear store cable clamps. That's nuts

[@orion7741]

anybody that does a bit of research would, thats who. cable clamps are designed to hold THOUSANDS of pounds of pressure. they are designed to hole up to more pressure than you will EVER put on them when climbing, even if you take a massive fall. they are perfectly safe to use.

[@arselihp]

Would whip on any of these after they were successfully pull-tested to 6kn, except I'd be worried that the 6kn test had weakened them. So probably the best use for them is destroying them in a youtube video. Carry on.

[@zanelance-hardman4826]

Those welds on your testing device are as bad looking as the homemade gear.

[@zedaprime]

Artisnel, locally made products are always better. I can see the love they put into this. If they made it GMO and organic it would be even better. Any volunteers for a quality control whip on these?

[@MattMcConaha]

Well some of them are built so the front doesn't fall off at all

[@arlodillon1659]

Ace.

[@TheUncleRuckus]

For the algorithm 👍👍

[@napalmholocaust9093]

Most of the cable is dangerously small diameter. A few are downright ridiculous.

[@LauraDelvecchio]

I think it's borderline insanity that people are hand making shit to go climb a wall that could absolutely have the potential to send them to their death. Like that's just actual craziness to me.

[@orion7741]

Laura, really? how do you think all the climbers climbed back in the 60's, 70's and 80's??! They used stuff like this, they MADE IT ALL THEMSELVES. even super sketchier stuff than what was in this video. everything in the video was super safe to use, did you see the Kn force needed to break them?! I find it borderline insanity that you are so out of touch with reality in life....

[@LauraDelvecchio]

@@orion7741 I think you need to relax bruh it's just wild to me. Maybe chill out or something

[@trissdavis]

Man I LOVE jank... Just not when it come to life protecting equipment. These where obviously made by some of the smartest dummies around. Like clever enough to put together some interesting gear, but not quite bright enough to think about the risk vs reward aspect. Got to take note how variable the results are. I don't like maybe when my life is dangling on a rope.

[@grantofat6438]

I wouldn't trust any climbing gear, homemade or not.

[@dragade101]

The U-bolt wire clamp shown in the last cam.... thats trust that you are not going to fall. People really should be using cable crimps which, if used correctly, can achieve 100% of the wire rope's breaking strength. No need to be a cowboy….

[@brendandor]

I don't think the files are a good idea, they will cut the metal in ways that is highly unlikely with rock. A chequered surface would be a better analog i think.

[@benjaminnevins5211]

uhhhhhh.... nope.... solid nope.

[@trace9130]

Math is perfect, your equations are not.

[@rabidbeaver167]

um no lol. those cam things give me the shivers as is. rock isnt always solid, especially in a crack or when you wedge metal into it... hope the rock face can hold or you got that sucker wedged right in..