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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

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#1 & #2 size nuts and RPs. 17-Oct-2006 At 11:41:22 AM MichaelOR

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I remember reading that Roland didn't pursue certification of the RPs (for sale in Europe etc) because of the prohibitive cost for such a small operation. It wasn't worth the outlay for him. I seem to remember reading that the larger RPs ( eg #4, 5) are stronger than the small wires (eg #1 rock). It is the small RPs that that are the issue in practice for lead climbers.

When the rock and placement are both good (eg at Arapiles), small RPs can hold falls. Quite a few years ago at Araps I fell onto #1 and #2 RPs (equalised) and they held. My feet were certainly a bit above the gear when I fell. I'm a lot happier the bigger the RP or wire of course.

The placement is crucial as the brass can deform during a fall and possibly mean that the placement will fail. In my fall the RPs showed no sign of deforming as the placements were really good! ie lots of surface contact on both sides. The wire on the small RPs will snap (as do other small wires) with a hard enough fall. The wire on small rocks is weak at the point where it is threaded through the actual metal wedge. It is the radius of the curve and the thickness of the wire that is the issue. RPs do not have 'threaded wire'.