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beanie
Jul 21, 2009, 1:32 AM
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Any advice relating to buying used climbing gear? What type of gear would you consider buying and what gear would you buy without hesitation? How to determine if the gear is in good/safe order or just a piece of junk?
-beanie
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swaghole
Jul 21, 2009, 1:48 AM
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beanie wrote: Any advice relating to buying used climbing gear? What type of gear would you consider buying and what gear would you buy without hesitation? How to determine if the gear is in good/safe order or just a piece of junk? -beanie
The only stuff I would buy used would be equipment where you life doesn't directly depend on it. No ropes, no soft good, no biners or draws, no harness, no pro, no ice screws. I guess that leave chalk bags, climbing shoes and maybe a helmet.
Of course, if you KNOW the person selling the gear and you trust them, then the rules can be different.
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nhgill
Jul 21, 2009, 2:06 AM
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My rack has used one or two used cams I and a large assortment of used nuts. My reasoning goes something like this. As long as the cable on nuts is undamaged and unkinked they are probably fine (they are chunks of metal on a steel cable, there isn't much that can go wrong). The cams are Forged Friends which I inspected in person and concluded there was nothing wrong with. I think there might be some used 'beaners on my rack as well but they are relegated to racking gear.
I figure there is no safe way to inspect used soft goods and therefore do not use them.
That being said, if I had the money I would probably phase out all my used gear for the extra peace of mind it would bring.
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jsj7051
Jul 21, 2009, 3:14 AM
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I don't mind buying used gear. Soft gear I'll only buy if I or someone I trust can vouch for them. Any metal gear I clean and inspect myself then take it to my chiropractor and he x-rays it for me. I will buy ropes if the price is cheep and I use for limited applications. I'll also test ropes and gear on lead falls w/ a top rope backup. This does 2 things, tests the gear in question and I practice falls of different lengths and directions. I'm sure someone will go off on this but it works very well for me, in my opinion. 
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error
Jul 28, 2009, 2:51 PM
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I don't buy used soft goods, helmets and biners. Nuts might be ok as long as the wires are in good shape. Ice tools and crampons should be ok.
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saxfiend
Jul 28, 2009, 4:10 PM
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Are you guys aware of how many climbing injuries and deaths are attributable to microfractures in used gear???
jsj7051 wrote: Any metal gear I clean and inspect myself then take it to my chiropractor and he x-rays it for me.
JL
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scrapedape
Jul 28, 2009, 4:17 PM
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swaghole wrote: The only stuff I would buy used would be equipment where you life doesn't directly depend on it... maybe a helmet.
Does this strike anyone else as kind of funny?
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I have no problem with used hardware of any kind if it is visibly in good shape. That means smooth gate / trigger action and no major dents, dings, chips, or other flaws. I bought used slings from a friend back when I was starting out, but would not trust used slings or other soft gear from anyone I didn't know.
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cracklover
Jul 28, 2009, 4:45 PM
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I have a sliding scale.
I've never bought used ropes or slings.
I'll buy life safety gear with moving parts (like cams, gri-gri, biners, ascenders) only after inspecting it personally, hands on.
I'd buy anything else (shoes, harness, nuts, etc) after viewing a good photo of the item, if they're in good shape.
As for tips, Craigslist is good for hands-on buying, as you can typically drive to the person, check out the gear, and only buy it if it meets your criteria.
GO
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ptlong
Jul 28, 2009, 4:47 PM
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cracklover wrote: I have a sliding scale. I've never bought used ropes or slings. I'll buy life safety gear with moving parts (like cams, gri-gri, biners, ascenders) only after inspecting it personally, hands on.
That's what I do too.
But let me ask you this: do you replace the slings/cords on cams or tricams or slung hexes or nuts after you buy or booty them?
(This post was edited by ptlong on Jul 28, 2009, 4:48 PM)
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majid_sabet
Jul 28, 2009, 5:18 PM
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I buy used gear pretty often for training purposes off ebay a lot. You just need to know who you are buying from. I normally do not buy gear off climbers cause they destroy the fuc*k out of gear before they sell and generally, do not offer any good deals anyway unless i found a climber who is stuck in some island and desperately needs some cash then I may get his gear .
mom and pop weekend garage buyer/saler who sale on ebay are the best source for used climbing gear cause most of the time, they do not the difference between car parts and climbing gear. last year I got 280 feet of brand new polyester rope which sales about $1.00 a foot off some dude on ebay for $90 with a bag ,5 large steel biners+belay device.
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