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eyeklimb
Sep 18, 2009, 8:07 PM
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A couple days ago, I took my first lead fall, a little 8-10 footer on a #11 BD stopper. After sorting through my gear last night, I noticed that the 60cm nylon sling I fell on has been stretched by about an inch, and there are obvious creases where the 2 biners were at the time of the fall. Is this ok? Does this usually happen after falls on Nylon slings? Should I be worried about the overall integrity of the sling, or err on the side of saftey, and just go buy a new one, since they're only maybe 4 bucks, and retire that one? Any advice, or links to other related posts (I looked, but didnt find anything this specific) would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Chris
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pindrvr75
Sep 18, 2009, 8:11 PM
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Toss it!
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moose_droppings
Sep 18, 2009, 8:15 PM
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No it's not normal and Id replace it if it were mine.
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drector
Sep 18, 2009, 8:17 PM
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Are you willing to bet your life that it can withstand another fall and stretch like that without breaking?
Or to put it another way, why would you ever think that it is okay for that sling to get stretched like that a second time?
It is garbage. Burn it.
Dave
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shockabuku
Sep 18, 2009, 8:20 PM
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How do you know it's stretched? Had you measured it previously?
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moose_droppings
Sep 18, 2009, 8:26 PM
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shockabuku wrote: How do you know it's stretched? Had you measured it previously?
This is a good question. I've owned some that weren't always exactly the same length as others of the same.
If you didn't premeasure it or aren't sure, replace it.
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eyeklimb
Sep 18, 2009, 8:42 PM
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shockabuku wrote: How do you know it's stretched? Had you measured it previously?
All my slings were the same length before, and now, it's about a half inch to an inch longer, which is what originally caught my attention.
All you that say toss it, my next question is, is it normal for a nylon sling to stretch on the first time you fall on it? I've never fallen on any of the slings before, so I know for sure that it was from this fall. Am I supposed to replace a sling every time I take a fall on it? That can't be the way to go once I get to doing tougher routes where I'm falling multiple times trying to get one move. I do understand replacing a sling when it gets stretched like that, but should I expect every sling to stretch every time I take a fall on it? Or do you think this one was just a factory defect?
Thanks
Chris
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fresh
Sep 18, 2009, 8:54 PM
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ask BD.
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acorneau
Sep 18, 2009, 9:06 PM
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Remember that a 60cm (24") loop is really 120cm (48") of material (plus the stitching part, of course). Taking a lead fall on it could easily stretch it a half inch, which is only about a 1% stretch.
Also, take the part that got "pinched" in the biner and roll it around in your fingers a bit. It should work itself out an be good as new.
If you're worried about it, replace it.
If it were me I'd put it back on the rack and keep going.
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TarHeelEMT
Sep 18, 2009, 9:11 PM
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If you're even the slightest bit concerned, toss it. Cost shouldn't even be a factor, but those things are what... $4? $5?
Toss it and get a new one.
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sungam
Sep 18, 2009, 10:13 PM
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This should have been the first thing said. If you choose not to climb on it, DON'T toss it - send it to BD to see if something is up with the product.
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moose_droppings
Sep 18, 2009, 10:26 PM
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acorneau wrote: Remember that a 60cm (24") loop is really 120cm (48") of material (plus the stitching part, of course). Taking a lead fall on it could easily stretch it a half inch, which is only about a 1% stretch. Also, take the part that got "pinched" in the biner and roll it around in your fingers a bit. It should work itself out an be good as new. If you're worried about it, replace it. If it were me I'd put it back on the rack and keep going.
That might all be within the realm of possibilities. If like he said the first time about the sling being an inch longer, that's almost two inches of sling material in the 48 inches that didn't recover. That seems a little to much to me.
Any how, as others have said now, ask BD. They'd be a better source than anything here.
(This post was edited by moose_droppings on Sep 21, 2009, 8:34 PM)
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eyeklimb
Sep 19, 2009, 4:57 AM
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I wouldn't have ever thought to ask BD about it. Thanks for that advice. I'll post their response on here as soon as I get one.
I also measured the amount of stretch, and it's 3cm. If you're looking at the total amount of fabric that stretched, I guess it would be 6cm since it's doubled over. That's 5%. That does seem pretty high to me. I'll probably just end up replacing it, or sending it to BD.
Thanks for the suggestions/advice everyone.
Chris
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i_h8_choss
Sep 19, 2009, 5:12 AM
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sungam wrote: This should have been the first thing said. If you choose not to climb on it, DON'T toss it - send it to BD to see if something is up with the product.
$20 says that BD will send him a brand new sling for free, but won't tell him the cause of the stretch.
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milesenoell
Sep 19, 2009, 7:13 AM
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i_h8_choss wrote: sungam wrote: This should have been the first thing said. If you choose not to climb on it, DON'T toss it - send it to BD to see if something is up with the product. $20 says that BD will send him a brand new sling for free, but won't tell him the cause of the stretch.
...while saying that is was free of manufacturing defects.
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eyeklimb
Sep 21, 2009, 4:23 AM
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For those that want to know, I did email the guy at BD, and he basically said some of the same that you all have so far... he said that it is normal for the slings to stretch, but if I dont feel comfortable, I should retire it, since the slings are only a couple bucks. I'm not saying I believe what he said about them stretching, I'm just telling you what he had to say.
FWIW, I'll probably keep it for a little while, but not use it, until I find a non life supporting use for it, as I'm a bit of a pack rat.
Chris
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bennydh
Sep 21, 2009, 4:58 AM
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You could donate it to a pull test. I'm sure I am not the only curious one now.
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milesenoell
Sep 21, 2009, 8:20 AM
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thanks for the update.
+1 for sending it to Aric (adatesman) for a pull test.
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sungam
Sep 21, 2009, 9:21 AM
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eyeklimb wrote: For those that want to know, I did email the guy at BD, and he basically said some of the same that you all have so far... he said that it is normal for the slings to stretch, but if I dont feel comfortable, I should retire it, since the slings are only a couple bucks. I'm not saying I believe what he said about them stretching, I'm just telling you what he had to say. FWIW, I'll probably keep it for a little while, but not use it, until I find a non life supporting use for it, as I'm a bit of a pack rat. Chris
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bill413
Sep 21, 2009, 6:30 PM
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It held your first fall? FRAME IT!
That takes care of the retirement problem without you feeling like it was a waste.
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Bats
Sep 21, 2009, 6:50 PM
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I would use it to hold my chalk bag.
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caughtinside
Sep 21, 2009, 6:55 PM
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If it isn't cut anywhere and the weave still looks normal the whole length of the sling personally I'd keep climbing on it.
But I have also never measured any of my slings. I would have no clue if they stretched an inch. I eaxpect they are all of slightly different lengths.
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milesenoell
Sep 21, 2009, 7:04 PM
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While I think that the star thing is pretty stupid anyway, what kind of douche gives the OP one star for asking a perfectly reasonable question?
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knudenoggin
Oct 3, 2009, 2:04 AM
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eyeklimb wrote: After sorting through my gear last night, I noticed that the 60cm nylon sling I fell on has been stretched by about an inch, and there are obvious creases where the 2 biners were at the time of the fall. Is this ok?
How much rope was out when you took the fall?
Offhand, it seems like a not-so-severe case, which should
leave the sling alright.
Btw, have you tried putting a 'biner in one of you other slings,
and doing a 2-to-1 loading of the other sling just to see what
it looks like on that (much lesser) loading?
*kN*
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swoopee
Oct 13, 2009, 8:14 PM
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caughtinside wrote: If it isn't cut anywhere and the weave still looks normal the whole length of the sling personally I'd keep climbing on it. But I have also never measured any of my slings. I would have no clue if they stretched an inch. I eaxpect they are all of slightly different lengths.
I would probably continue using it too, but my advice to anyone (myself included) would be, "If in doubt, toss it out."
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