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JAGWire
Oct 14, 2008, 1:31 PM
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I yank on stoppers to 'set' them, so they don't wobble out later. The forces you generate by hand (especially small if you're in a precarious stance to begin with!) in no way compare to those generated by a fall. All you are testing is if the peice will hold a tug-not YOU in a fall.
Yanking on you gear too see if it 'will hold' is just not valid and most likely gives a false sense of security.
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seatbeltpants
Oct 14, 2008, 6:53 PM
Post #28 of 42
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sbaclimber wrote: seatbeltpants wrote: dude i was belaying yesterday gave a cam placement a hefty yank and a rock the size of his head spun gracefully down to crash at my feet. You climb in NZ......'nough said  
worse - i climb in titahi bay 
steve
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sgreer
Oct 14, 2008, 7:01 PM
Post #29 of 42
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Yes, I yank on my gear whenever my GF is at work. No, seriously though, I always test each piece I place, whatever that may be. I find that when I place micro cams in a slightly outward flaring crack they always pop after severa good yanks. So, it is a good idea to test all cam placements. However, when i'm gettin pumped and just want to make it to the next solid hold I just put a piece in to rest my mind. I never test those placements.
(This post was edited by sgreer on Oct 14, 2008, 7:03 PM)
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hafilax
Oct 14, 2008, 7:26 PM
Post #30 of 42
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I'm mostly give them a wiggle to see whether they'll walk and where they'll go if that happens. If the placement is flared or polished I'll give it a yank but still probably won't entirely trust it.
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Gmburns2000
Oct 14, 2008, 7:42 PM
Post #31 of 42
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Yes, I yank on my cams. This is usually because I can't always see how well the lobes are situated. While it doesn't always tell me everything I need to know, it does sometimes tell me if I've missed something about the placement.
Oh, and I yank on my nuts daily.
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rgold
Oct 14, 2008, 7:47 PM
Post #32 of 42
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notapplicable wrote: rgold wrote: And I've been surprised a number of times to have a cam that looked at least adequate come flying out when tested this way. nOOb, clearly you don't know how to place gear!! At least that was the sentiment expressed when I made a similar statement in the other thread. 
Hmmm...maybe people are just nicer to senior citizens.
Of course, the folks who just "plug and chug" don't know which of those placements they "know" how to make would pop if jerked. That is, unless they subsequently fall on every single placement, in which case their climbing skills might be lagging behind their placement skills... Or maybe they're just punching yellow camelots into ten foot deep handcracks, who knows?
In any case, the testing issue is moot, now that we know that setting cams increases their liklihood of holding. Who would purposely opt for a less reliable placement when it is so easy to give the cam a tug?
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sbaclimber
Oct 14, 2008, 8:36 PM
Post #33 of 42
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seatbeltpants wrote: sbaclimber wrote: seatbeltpants wrote: dude i was belaying yesterday gave a cam placement a hefty yank and a rock the size of his head spun gracefully down to crash at my feet. You climb in NZ......'nough said worse - i climb in titahi bay 
I truly feel sorry for you, and I have climbed on some pretty bad choss myself
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lobstertronic
Oct 15, 2008, 11:39 AM
Post #34 of 42
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YOR GONNA DIE!!!!! GO BLIND...
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chossmonkey
Oct 15, 2008, 11:56 AM
Post #35 of 42
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I do sometimes. It won't tell you whole lot, but there have been times when I can see the cams move a little or some irregularities break off so I find a new placement or reset the cam.
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fresh
Oct 15, 2008, 2:49 PM
Post #36 of 42
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sgreer wrote: Yes, I yank on my gear whenever my GF is at work.
never yanked on cams, but I can see how it could give some feedback. I always thought a cam is as good as it looks, but I guess it's not always so easy to tell how crappy rock is.
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sspssp
Oct 15, 2008, 11:26 PM
Post #37 of 42
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taydude wrote: I was setting an anchor once and put a cam under this block, gave it a yank and the block lifted up and the cam popped out.
I'm more likely to tap on the rock with my cam (using it like a hammer) to see if the rock sounds "hollow" (and is thus loose) then I am to tug on the cam.
Aid climbing has taught me which placements to worry about and which not to. Most free placements are in the not worry category (unless rotten/loose rock and hence the hammer test). But for small cams in irregular rock, I will sometimes wriggle them around to see how they do with forces from different direction falls and/or see if I need to put a really long sling on the cam to keep it from walking.
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josephgdawson
Oct 15, 2008, 11:44 PM
Post #38 of 42
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no yanky my wanky
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alleyehave
Oct 16, 2008, 1:31 AM
Post #39 of 42
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taydude wrote: I was setting an anchor once and put a cam under this block, gave it a yank and the block lifted up and the cam popped out.
Yes, can happen with flakes toooo
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brownie710
Oct 19, 2008, 6:06 PM
Post #40 of 42
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I always give my cams a little yank once there set to make sure they are actually....well...set. Once in a while the anticipated direction of pull walks it,etc. just what i do, not written in stone
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coolcat83
Oct 28, 2008, 1:00 AM
Post #41 of 42
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cams apply a lot more outward force than I think most of us can visualize in our heads. i was setting a top rope anchor this past summer and placed a cam between theses giant boulders implanted in the ground, thought they were one boulder with a crack at first. tugged on the cam pretty well and the boulders moved apart and up in the soil! scary, but i would have thought that these chunks of rock weighing several hundred pounds implanted deep in the ground were ok had i not tested it.
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billcoe_
Oct 28, 2008, 2:54 AM
Post #42 of 42
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krosbakken wrote: Im just kinda thinking out loud, but do you pull or test you cam placements?? Because I don't.
Arrogant_Bastard wrote: I do. I keep one of those Metolius Pocket Aiders on me and bounce test all my gear. I'm just very careful that afterwards I downclimb to the exact holds that I was on when I placed the piece so that I wasn't using the aiders for upward mobility. Even bumping up 1 hold, even accidentally, would disqualify the free ascent.
This makes for difficult sit starts and long days I'll bet. 
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