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Warning: my portawrap failed mid-lift last Tuesday
I was lowering a 200 pound limb from a white oak in Portland. Right as the load started to move, the pin sheared clean off. Limb dropped 15 feet straight down. Lucky nobody was under it. Turns out the pin had microfractures I never caught. Check your hardware before every single climb. Has anyone else had a piece of gear fail like that?
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rubybarnes21h ago
and that right there is why I tell everyone to stop buying those cheap aluminum portawraps from the big box stores. I had a similar thing happen with a lowering device on a big sugar maple about two years back. The whole thing just gave out when I was taking the tension off a heavy limb, and that sucker dropped like a rock. I was lucky it was only about 8 feet up but still. You gotta check for those tiny stress cracks with a magnifying glass or even a good flashlight, especially around the pin holes and where the metal bends. And don't trust the "new" feeling of gear either, I've seen brand new stuff fail because of bad casting or machining from the factory.
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john_sullivan221h ago
Why is it always the stuff you think is solid that bites you in the ass? Buddy of mine had a similar thing happen with his old school lowering device on a big maple drop. He was just starting to ease a heavy limb down and the whole carabiner gate just snapped right off. Limb came crashing down and bent his saw bar into a horseshoe. He checks everything with a jewelers loupe now after that, even his climbing biners. Those little hairline cracks are sneaky little bastards you can't see until it's too late.
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