Monday 26 April 2010

BD Ice clipper problems



Well I've read/written quite a bit about these, and I think it's only fair/right that I explain the circumstances under which I have become part of the "Ice clippers broke on me" club.

Today I was climbing at the Roaches, while rigging the belay I heard the depressed clink clink of gear falling. I looked down to see my trusty reverso3 had fallen down to a lower ledge of the climb I had been on (only about 2 metres). Confused I looked down at my Ice clipper (where I always rack my belay plate) only to see the gate had fallen completely off onto the floor. I looked around and eventually found the gate. I am confused as to how this happened, the route had been a techical slab climb, no trutching or scraping involved, so how did it come off?! Luckily in this case I didnt lose anything important, and nothing was damaged. Would I trust these with a full rack of £40+ ice screws....Probably not.

I fixed the ice clipper no problem, and then belayed with an italian hitch, however if I had been climbing something longer and dropped something more important this would have been an issue!


.......Disapointed and confused.....

DMM Alloy Offsets


Well a little later than planned I finally got around to writing my review of these. They have now accompanied me on 4 climbing trips, three times on grit and once on limestone. There really is nothing to say about these except they are pure magic. They fit so well, I find myself wanting to save them for later in the route and refusing to use them! Climbing at the Roaches today on a route called Captain Lethargy, only HVD, but figured it would be a good outting for the Offsets. The route itself is a winding crack in the "into thin air" section at the far right of the lower tier. I used 3 offsets during the route, and the placements were perfect, the unconventional shape of the offset wires meant they slotted perfectly into the cracks. As an experiment I also tried placing standard DMM wallnuts in the same placements, and they were less than convincing!

The offsets are ideal for complimenting an existing set of wires (I carry wallnuts and/or zero G spectrum wires), as they fit into tapered cracks very well. My climbing partner today (Paul) also commented about the excellent placements the Offsets seem to allow for, turning seemingly appalling cracks into bomber placements.

Brilliant piece of kit, 10/10!

Tuesday 6 April 2010

DMM Alloy Offset wires- first impressions


RRP: £45
I paid: £20

I had been after a set of these for a while to compliment my DMM wallnuts and Zero G spectrum wires. Finally settling on buying a set I had planned to head over to the new V12 at Awesome Walls in Stoke, however by chance I gave my bro a ring who was at the Outdoors Show, he said they had them on offer at £20 for a full set. At that price how could I say no!!
Will be testing these in the Peak tommorow (Stanage?), so hopefully some details on how they fit then.
However they look and feel cool and well built, so I guess we shall see!