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mikitta
May 16, 2007, 3:10 AM
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http://cgi.ebay.com/...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I was looking on ebay to see what kind of rock shoes I could find for my kids (hah, just as cheap to buy new ...) and ran across this auction.
Don't know about anyone else, but I've always been taught that buying a used rope is not the best idea ...
God Bless,
mik
(This post was edited by mikitta on May 16, 2007, 3:22 AM)
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desertdude420
May 16, 2007, 3:17 AM
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Never buy a used rope! Especially off the internet. I wouldn't even buy one off my best friend who used it only while climbing with me!
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ja1484
May 16, 2007, 3:32 AM
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I prefer to never purchase used gear myself.
That said, if you're going to do it, there are some general "good ideas" to stick with:
- Buy only hardware. It's much easier to inspect for damages, wear, etc. than soft goods.
- Know the ins and outs of the hardware you're considering, and what red flags you should look for when inspecting the merchandise.
- Realize that even if you do all this, you still don't know the history of the gear, and all bets are off.
That said, I will repeat: Don't buy used gear. It'll get ya hurt.
(This post was edited by ja1484 on May 17, 2007, 8:33 PM)
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solan
May 16, 2007, 6:04 AM
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I'm sure you can get used syringes at a cut-throat price, too. Just ... just don't!
I have made one exception, which is when I started climbing: the local climbing club (Oslo) sold some used metal gear from some very respected climbers who had fallen down from a major wall. But that was metal, not rope.
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rymep
May 16, 2007, 6:29 AM
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I bought my first rope used. Granted it was only used for toproping, but it still worked well to teach me the ropes *yeah yeah, bad pun*
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mankypin
May 17, 2007, 4:58 AM
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Maybe buying a used rope as a gift for someone who owes you money, banged your girlfriend, kicked your dog and made fun of your retard brother in church. Other than that one special occasion, there aint no sense in it.
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alx
May 17, 2007, 11:50 AM
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I draw the line at used ropes. The rope is the one thing you absolutely have to depend on 100% to keep you alive- usually with no back up. New ropes are cheap enough if you're not too picky.
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turtleshell980
May 17, 2007, 7:41 PM
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Yeah..."Not the best idea" is one way to say it. Another is that it's downright stupid. The only used equipment I'd ever get for climbing is....wait, I can't think of anything! This stuff saves your life, why would you risk the quality of that?
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drector
May 17, 2007, 8:21 PM
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My equipment is all used. I just didn't buy it that way. It's not being used that is the problem, it's knowing where it came from and what might have happened to it when it was stored in teh trunk on top of the spare car battery. That makes me not want to buy new stuff off ebay either (from individuals, not from known climbing stores using ebay)!
Dave
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shimanilami
May 17, 2007, 8:32 PM
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I might consider buying a used static line, assuming that it was "hardly used".
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caughtinside
May 18, 2007, 5:52 AM
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here is something for you guys to fret over:
How often do you climb on your partner's rope?
Their rack? Are they belaying you off their harness? Did they booty those slings??
You put a lot more faith in gear you know little about than you realize. Really, how often have you seen those frayed slings your partner uses and said nothing?
Oh sure, you may always climb with the same people, but are you their only partner? Are they climbing with a doofus who keeps a leaking battery in their pack?
As for me, yeah, I'd probably buy a used rope from a few select people, if I were so inclined. Not off ebay, but that's me. But my friends aren't selling ropes, and I don't need to buy used ones.
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stymingersfink
May 18, 2007, 6:06 AM
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i've sold many pieces of gear on e-bay in my day, though not so much lately.
even sold a few ropes.
i guess it would all depend on the ethics of the seller, and the knowledge of the purchaser.
FWIW, never had any complaints from the purchasers. Probably some of the best used gear they had ever bought. Course, the pool of used gear in this area (SLC) probably puts many other areas to shame.
Ask brent e. about that one.
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mtnfr34k
May 18, 2007, 10:34 AM
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desertdude420 wrote: Never buy a used rope! Especially off the internet. I wouldn't even buy one off my best friend who used it only while climbing with me!
Sorry, but I disagree. As with everything else in life, the question is more complicated.
Normally, I'd say no. I certainly wouldn't buy a rope from someone I didn't know, with no way of varifiying his/her honesty or the history of the rope in question.
But last winter I spent 5 weeks in El Potrero. A friend of a friend showed up with a brand-spanking-new-out-of-the-plastic-bag 70m rope. He and I ended up climbing together for most of his visit, and then I bought that 70m rope off of him, used it for 10 more days, and then retired it. It was worked!
So I guess my answer is: if the conditions are right, I'd buy a used rope from someone else.
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mikitta
May 18, 2007, 10:45 PM
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I would never buy a used rope from someone who's integrity I did not trust, nor who's history with that rope I didn't know.
/shrug I guess an Eidlwise is cheap enough at less than $150. I'm not going to chance even toproping stuff on an Ebay'd rope unless it was from an actual climbing shop and they could guarantee it was brand new :)
But that's just me.
God Bless,
mik
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builttospill
May 18, 2007, 11:39 PM
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Perhaps I shouldn't speak up because I personally like getting cheap used shit on eBay. The more people that use it to find climbing gear, the worse off I am.
But honestly, some people here are paranoid as all hell. If you're willing to draw the line and say you'll never climb on used gear, more power to you.
Someone made a good point about your partner's gear. More importantly, I've had partners do somewhat dangerous things when it comes to belay anchors, running belays, etc, and I have personally compromised "safety" rules for speed before. These things are infinitely more dangerous than climbing on used ice tools and probably quite a bit more dangerous than climbing on a used rope.
For those of you that won't climb on a used rope, would you use gear that isn't used for life-saving purposes (i.e. ice tools, rock shoes, etc)?
And for those of you that won't buy on eBay, are you willing to purchase used gear from your local garage sale or gear swap? They're pretty prevalent around here (SLC) and a lot of gear changes hands. eBay is no more unsavory than that, regardless of what your sensationalist news magazine-format shows want you to believe.
I've bought and still own:
-Used cams
-Used stoppers
-Used hexes
-Used ice screws
-Used ice leashes
-Used ice tools
-Used rope (my god, the horror!). Actually, I don't think it was used, but it wasn't New With Tags, so it might as well be.
-Used slings
-Used rock shoes
-Used boots
-Used crampons
-Used ice axe
Hell, I even bought a harness (new) off eBay.
I'm sure my death will be in the obits shortly.
Lesson? Set-in-stone answers are, in almost all situations, utterly ridiculous.
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docjacen
May 19, 2007, 12:09 AM
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i'm surprised no one mentioned that when aluminum is dropped onto a hard surface from over 10 feet, it should be immediately retired. why? because aluminum can develop invisible spiderweb cracks that halve the rated strength, making them unacceptable for load bearing.
nearly every climber's biners, atcs, cams, stoppers, tricams, and even harness buckles are aluminum. Steel climbing gear doesn't respond the same way, but who buys steel quickdraws?
and as far as used ropes, the previous owner could have let it lie in dirt and gravel while walking all over it, and then washed it and sold it to you. You'd never know those grains of dirt and sand had been ground into the delicate inner fibers of the rope and had been cutting the rope apart from the inside.
i would say buy used gear only from those you know well.
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notch
May 20, 2007, 12:19 PM
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Please, for the love of God all of you, ignore docjacen's post.
Anywho...I've been all over this site, and I still can't find any time any climber has been injured when their used gear failed. Lighten up, lemmings.
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ja1484
May 20, 2007, 2:09 PM
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docjacen wrote: i'm surprised no one mentioned that when aluminum is dropped onto a hard surface from over 10 feet, it should be immediately retired. why? because aluminum can develop invisible spiderweb cracks that halve the rated strength, making them unacceptable for load bearing. nearly every climber's biners, atcs, cams, stoppers, tricams, and even harness buckles are aluminum. Steel climbing gear doesn't respond the same way, but who buys steel quickdraws? and as far as used ropes, the previous owner could have let it lie in dirt and gravel while walking all over it, and then washed it and sold it to you. You'd never know those grains of dirt and sand had been ground into the delicate inner fibers of the rope and had been cutting the rope apart from the inside. i would say buy used gear only from those you know well.
Yay microfractures!
Remind me never to climb with you.
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docjacen
May 20, 2007, 2:30 PM
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ok- somebody tell me why this info is wrong. it is what i was taught years ago when i learned to climb.
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lumberzac
May 20, 2007, 3:21 PM
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docjacen wrote: ok- somebody tell me why this info is wrong. it is what i was taught years ago when i learned to climb.
Just because someone told you this doesn't make it true.
The problem with your post, and other posts above, is that you aren't being very rational. You're going on blind paranoia.
Obviously you're the only one who should make decisions about your safety and your gear. Being overcautious isn't inherently bad (you'll stay super-safe!) but at some point it just gets rediculous. What if I said that I retire a cam if I take a fall on it? Who knows what the force of the fall did to the lobes or the wire? Why not be sure? Is my life not worth more than a $60 cam?
On a slightly separate note, I am curious to know: how hard is everyone climbing on this discussion? I don't want to get into an elitist argument or something. I ask because a lot of climbers I know who can't break into leading towards their limit have not developed a solid trust in their gear yet. In pulling a 5.8 crux, in the back of their mind, there is some doubt about the nut-placement/cam-integrity that they're climbing over.
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ja1484
May 20, 2007, 3:31 PM
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docjacen wrote: ok- somebody tell me why this info is wrong. it is what i was taught years ago when i learned to climb.
Mainly because it's a complete urban legend among climbers - the equivalent of that "everyone swallows 8 spiders in their sleep over their lifetime" horsesh*t.
You can see here if you want to read about a chunk of the testing done:
http://www.onrope1.com/Myth1.htm
But it doesn't really matter. Alumnium is a ductile material when properly forged and heat treated (as all reputable 'biners are). It doesn't microfracture.
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docjacen
May 20, 2007, 3:41 PM
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alright, i agree with you that i shouldn't believe everything i hear, but this info is in Long's books too. it also looks like there is some disagreement on the topic here on rc.com.
http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=1462054;page=2;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;
i'm willing to not be dogmatic on this, but i avoid any mistreament of my gear and anything that gets dropped gets inspected at the least.
i actually do trust the majority of my trad placements, although i am not yet climbing at my limit when not on toprope. i trust my gear and i don't feel like i'm paranoid.  but maybe the fact that i inspect my rop after every climbing trip is paranoia.
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docjacen
May 20, 2007, 3:49 PM
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http://www.onrope1.com/Myth9.htm
wow that's a pretty good website. i don't think i'll be walking all over my rope any time in the near future, though.
what i want to know (now that my world of myth has been destroyed- lol) is why john long in the book learn to rock climb states both the rope and biner "myths" as complete fact.
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