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Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

Author

Date of manufacture of new climbing gear

Sastrugi

10-May-2017
7:03:44 PM

Hi all,

First post here - apologies if I've got the wrong forum.

I bought a set of wild country hexcentrics online, and they arrived today. I've just been checking them out and noticed that the year of manufacture for the slings is 2008.

Do companies have an obligation to sell textiles within a maximum time period from their date of manufacture?

These slings will expire in 6 months time, and I'd prefer to get a refund from the company if possible (rather than buying a new set or re-slinging the ones I've got). Will I "have a leg to stand on" if I confront the retailer over this?

Thanks in advance.

patto

10-May-2017
7:40:40 PM

It is tough being a retailer. But that isn't your problem.

I would contact the retailer and if there is no traction there contact Wild country. Be polite and inquire with WC whether selling 9 year old items is acceptable practice.

Polite enquires can go a long way. Metolius replaced one of their cams for me no questions asked. (Cam did its job but was rendered unusable after a fall.)

rightarmbad

10-May-2017
7:43:46 PM

Yep you have a legit case

Paul

10-May-2017
7:50:13 PM

I would be interested to see results of tests done to see the breaking strain of equipment which is unused and stored appropriately at the end of the rated life span.

Sastrugi

10-May-2017
8:03:02 PM

Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate your help. I'll get in contact with them and let you know how I go.

martym

10-May-2017
8:18:59 PM

Online local or online OS?
If they are local give them a call. They won't want bad publicity. I'm pretty sure any gear that advertises it's own expiry date will be covered user ACCC (email The Checkout and get it on ABC :)

patto

11-May-2017
1:26:49 PM

On 10/05/2017 Paul wrote:
>I would be interested to see results of tests done to see the breaking
>strain of equipment which is unused and stored appropriately at the end
>of the rated life span.

As far as I am aware there is negligible effect of time on the soft goods used in climbing. As most of us are aware plastics/polymers are largely chemically stable and do not degrade readily. Stored appropriately and nothing will change in 8 years.

If I paid full retail I'd be annoyed. If I got them discounted due to age then climb on!

gfdonc

11-May-2017
2:38:18 PM

BD did some tests on old nylon a while back, but the link I saved isn't valid any more.

The takeaway I got out of it was, if stored away from sunlight and chemicals, old nylon is pretty much as strong (breaking strain) as new, but the loss of elasticity in dynamic ropes over time was questionable. (in other words a 20yo unused rope would probably give a harder catch than a new one.

Can't quote the reference now, so take it as gossip.
Nevertheless selling gear that's 8yo as new is a no-no.

Andrew_M

11-May-2017
3:52:58 PM

This guy has done a lot of testing on old ropes and slings:

https://www.facebook.com/SiebertResearch/?fref=nf

Can't remember all the details, but my recollection is that a properly stored unused rope doesn't lose any strength (at least in static tests - he didn't seem to do drop tests). Slings can be dodgy, but mostly because of weathering/UV damage, with the rule of thumb being that if they're furry, don't trust em.

BBSR

12-May-2017
3:13:00 PM

On 11/05/2017 patto wrote:
>On 10/05/2017 Paul wrote:
>>I would be interested to see results of tests done to see the breaking
>>strain of equipment which is unused and stored appropriately at the end
>>of the rated life span.
>
>As far as I am aware there is negligible effect of time on the soft goods
>used in climbing. As most of us are aware plastics/polymers are largely
>chemically stable and do not degrade readily. Stored appropriately and
>nothing will change in 8 years.
>
>If I paid full retail I'd be annoyed. If I got them discounted due to
>age then climb on!
>
>
My understanding is that dynema ages considerably faster than nylon. I believe the Rockcentrics available now are dynema. Not sure about old ones.

Have a read of the below expert or article.
http://www.alpenverein.de/chameleon/public/1710c3f7-77d8-c1dd-d63b-f619124ee2c1/Aging-of-Slings_26368.pdf

"The 67 Dyneema slings we tested also showed an unequivocal correlation between residual strength
and age. For example, slings that had been used for less than three years still held almost 20 kN on
average while the 3 to 5 year old Dyneema slings exhibited only 16 kN residual strength on average. "

Goshen

12-May-2017
4:13:59 PM

Interesting.... I thought it was the opposite (Dyneema slings age less than Nylon); but nice to see the data on it.

"Dyneema slings should be retired five years after purchase even if they were rarely used"

Oh crap; better fish out those Dyneema slings I got... years ago... Oh crap you can still read the date on them... 2003. Been a while since they were trusted as a critical piece (and never knotted... but still !).

There are 11 messages in this topic.