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30-Sep-2003 10:55:39 AM
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Anyone have an experience with Wild Country Rockcentrics, I've been considering getting a set and I was wondering if anyone has used them and what their impressions of them are.
They actually seem that they would come in quite handy for general climbing especially on belay setups and the like, or do they end up being like hexes i.e. something you only take up with you if you really really know that you need one.
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30-Sep-2003 12:16:18 PM
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im a big fan of rockcentrics. i have sizes 3 to 7 on dyneema and always carry them on long multipitches or on climbs with uniform cracks. they seem to fit in heaps of different locations are light and cheap. the feature that i love is that they come with sewn dyneema slings. I have used wired BD and metolius hexes and found it a disadvantage that i still had to clip each piece with a draw in order to allow some flexability in the placement. The sewn slings on rockcentrics mean that they can be clipped a biner or if necessary extended with a draw or sling. i will usually rack my rockcentrics on individual biners(omega JC wire gates only 41g). a little heavier but it has two advantages.
1. you can take the rockcentric off your harness, place it, clip it and go thus reducing the effort by not having to place it, remove the other rocks it was racked with, then clipping it with another biner or draw, then clipping the rope.
2. if you find that your using more draws than initally expected and want to keep some in reserve, you can extend a piece(ie a cam) with the rockcentric. place the cam. take the rockc off your harness(preferably a size that you dont think you will need to complete the pitch),grab the actual rockcentric itself and with your teeth grab the loop of dyneema that goes it and out of the two holes on the top of the rockcentric. give it a little pull so about 100mm of sling comes out then clip this newly formed loop to your piece (ie the cam) and clip the rope to the biner was already on the rockcentric. there you go a 300mm extender without using a draw or sling.
it ends up looking a little like this.
________ _______
(________I0_______)
The I0 is the rockcentrics aluminium body the lines are the dyneema sling.
i have found that the curved sides of rockcentrics produce a great camming action in alot of placements.
all in all, they are versatile and when placed correctly they are bomber.
http://www.chockstone.org/RockHardware/Order.asp?Action=Group&MainGroup=Passive%20Protection&Category=Rockcentrics%20By%20Wild%20Country
give them a go and you wont be disappointed.
trent
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30-Sep-2003 2:09:27 PM
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bought one (no 3) to try out about 5 years ago.....have only used it about 3 times, no use on my rack.
i think they end up being like hexes as you mentioned
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1-Oct-2003 3:00:48 PM
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Use the no 5 & 7. With the slings they are excellent and the camming action makes them bomber.
Also could consider Polyhexes which are made out of a material that is around 60% ligher than aluminium. Only come in sizes 9, 10 and 11. Although the idea of a plastic looking hex is weird at first, they are bomber and extremely light weight.
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1-Oct-2003 3:03:05 PM
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ive heard the plastic ones "fix" if fallen on.....
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1-Oct-2003 3:34:27 PM
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they have poly-nuts as well too... though i don't see the point, as nuts don't weigh too much anyway. the poly hexes i like though.
I was a bit concerned about falling on plastic, but the tests they have done look ok..
http://www.hawknet.com.au/~altitude/products.htm
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1-Oct-2003 4:47:57 PM
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I have a review on the new curved hexes (Climbing or Rock & Ice) comparing them and not being very impressed generally. I'll try to find it and scan it if you'd like to read it.
Re - poly hexes, nice idea but the surface hardness is very low (the reason the cables cut into them in their own tests), so with a decent fall they should (logically) weld into the rock. And real world experience (heresay at this stage) seems to indicate this...
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2-Oct-2003 1:04:00 PM
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On 1/10/2003 joemor wrote:
>ive heard the plastic ones "fix" if fallen on.....
I've a got a number 9 polyhex and found that it is an absolute shit to remove even if only weighted with body weight.
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2-Oct-2003 1:11:27 PM
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For all the reasons Trent mentioned, I find my WC rockcentrics great. I'd never get them on wires - slings are definately the way to go. I prefer using the smaller sizes than big wires, and their multi shape means they go into cracks lots of different ways. I might leave the biger ones behind if I know I won't need them, but otherwise they are part of my regular rack.
Cheers
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9-Oct-2003 12:11:46 AM
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I have a couple of poly hex's and I love them. They do fix in when they take a fall, but isnt that what you want.
I'd leave a piece of gear behind after a fall every time with pleasure if it does the job.
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9-Oct-2003 10:34:47 AM
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On 9/10/2003 Peter wrote:
>I have a couple of poly hex's and I love them. They do fix in when they
>take a fall, but isnt that what you want.
>
>I'd leave a piece of gear behind after a fall every time with pleasure
>if it does the job.
Can you recall on which climbs you left the last few pieces of gear, just out of interest? ;-)
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28-Oct-2003 5:37:19 PM
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I recently bought a set of rockcentrics and love them (in a totally natural way). All I need to do now is to grow a beard (for stroking purposes) and I will be content.
Seriously though I find them very useful.
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6-Dec-2003 9:41:42 PM
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I use my hexes ALL the time!!!
and yes the wired ones get rattled out more easily than the tape slung ones but are easier to place and remove in deep cracks.
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8-Dec-2003 10:17:40 PM
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get some!
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11-Dec-2003 5:22:19 PM
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Apart from WC rockcentrics are there any other options for hexes if you want them on a sling (as opposed to BD's wired ones)
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12-Dec-2003 12:16:08 AM
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Not that I know of but I have seen them with climbing rope and Kevlar rope I’m not sure who makes the but
bob
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12-Dec-2003 9:43:11 AM
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yeh im pretty sure a lot of companies make them with dyneema or (for a few dollars less) nylon slings. you can also buy JUST the the hex and tie in your own sling/cord
ill do a bit of reesearch an post up a list of all the different hexes
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12-Dec-2003 12:56:23 PM
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You can find Faders hexes without cord. I have two and fitted them up with spectra. They work a bomb! Cost me approx $20 each for a size 11 cowbell plus cost of spectra.
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12-Dec-2003 1:14:41 PM
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Jimbo
Do you know where you can get them?
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15-Dec-2003 12:30:12 PM
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I think Bogong has them?
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