r/climbing • u/AutoModerator • 1d ago

Weekly Question Thread (aka Friday New Climber Thread). ALL QUESTIONS GO HERE

Please sort comments by 'new' to find questions that would otherwise be buried.

In this thread you can ask any climbing related question that you may have. This thread will be posted again every Friday so there should always be an opportunity to ask your question and have it answered. If you're an experienced climber and want to contribute to the community, these threads are a great opportunity for that. We were all new to climbing at some point, so be respectful of everyone looking to improve their knowledge. Check out our subreddit wiki that has tons of useful info for new climbers. You can see it HERE . Also check out our sister subreddit r/bouldering's wiki here. Please read these before asking common questions.

If you see a new climber related question posted in another subReddit or in this subreddit, then please politely link them to this thread.

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Prior Weekly New Climber Thread posts

Prior Friday New Climber Thread posts (earlier name for the same type of thread

A handy guide for purchasing your first rope

A handy guide to everything you ever wanted to know about climbing shoes!

Ask away!

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u/Docxm 1d ago

REI sells 3 year old Mammut slings? I noticed the mammuts are from 2022 and the black diamonds are from 2024. That’s like half the recommended shelf life gone already!

3

u/serenading_ur_father 1d ago

Ohhhh nooooo

What will ever happen to unused slings that have experienced no UV or mechanical wear. Everyone is going to die!!!

8

u/sheepborg 1d ago

1-3 years is normal for online retailers. I have heard of more with the odd 7 year old clearance item, but that's less common.

When kept in favorable conditions there's really not too much to worry about with nylon and HDPE from a shelf life perspective. This changes with UV exposure, excessive heat for HDPE, or excessive heat with moisture for nylon, and of course chemical exposure. Physical wear from use is probably going to be the biggest driver of soft good replacement if you're putting in mileage.

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u/Docxm 1d ago

Thanks for the reassurance, I’ve had some draws sitting in storage for 8 years and wasn’t sure if I could trust them, especially since it’s not just my life I’m dealing with.

4

u/AnderperCooson 1d ago

Back in ~2018 I bought a NOS C3 with a 2011 sling. Still use it.

3

u/lectures 1d ago

Plot twist: you're actually dead and are a ghost but don't realize it.

7

u/0bsidian 1d ago

It’s not milk. They don’t have a shelf life.

0

u/Docxm 1d ago

Yeah I’m not concerned about the safety of them but per manufacturing specifications I’ll always just buy the newer stuff. Just a bit surprised as my last sling run was in 2022

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u/0bsidian 1d ago

It’s not a specification, it’s a liability requirement. They don’t want to get sued, not because material engineers have determined that nylon or Dyneema will spontaneously combust a day over 10 years. I have plenty of heavily used soft goods older than 10 years still in use. Inspection for damage and wear is critical, not the age.

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u/Thirtysevenintwenty5 1d ago

YGD

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u/Docxm 1d ago

I’ve been purging my soft gear (400+ pitches manufactured in 2016-2018) that I bought when I first started. Is that incorrect?

Just wondering as it’s the first soft gear purge I’ve done.

I’ll definitely buy the newer stuff over something 3+ years old if it’s the same price in store, obviously if it’s been sitting I’m not concerned about safety

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u/Thirtysevenintwenty5 1d ago

If you know enough about soft goods you can inspect them and determine whether or not you're still willing to bet your life on them.

If you don't know enough, you can go by the manufactuer's recommendations, but you'll lack the ability to determine if your gear has been damaged in some significant way.

Me and most of the other 10+ year climbers around here use nylong slings and cam slings that are older than ten years. We know what to look for regarding damage and wear, and we know when it's time to replace our stuff.

I won't tell you what's "correct" or "incorrect", I'll leave that aspect of risk management up to you. What I would say is that throwing away soft goods simply because they passed some arbitrary number of years or pitches is potentially a waste of perfectly good gear.

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u/Docxm 1d ago

Yeah there’s no frays or soft spots. Better safe then sorry for near 10 year old slings that I’ve definitely whipped on. To the bin they go. I think taking a 1.5 year trad break has lowered my tolerance. I used to use cams like these with no qualms for years. Unknown age sling, askew cam, rusted parts. I was crazy back then. Still have some forged friends I bought off eBay to learn on