- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
I know I'm gonna get tons of flack about locktite but I would be remiss if I didn't post this.
I use a BF II and have recently been experimenting with spliced bridges. I've made several and switched them out several times. I've probably removed and replaced the left shackle 15 times, the right, maybe 10 times.
The principle with bow shackles is the bolt makes an interference fit with the threads, If you torque it, it should not withdraw without a similar amount of torque. I trust that principle.
I know locktite is recommended and I trust that too, but because I've been changing bridges fairly often lately I haven't threadlocked the shackles.
I'm a habitual visual checker of my bridge and the configuration of my knot and the biners tied in to it. I always check everything, including the shackles before ascending and I look them over frequently while climbing. I also keep an allen wrench in my hydropack in case the shackles start to loosen... but I've never had to use it.
Yesterday I checked the shackles, which looked normal, before footlocking about 50' into a big red oak. I advanced my TIP while standing in a big crotch, clipped back in, pulled up and set a rope for another climber and prepared to move on up. I did my little visual check and lo... my tie in biners were just lying against the stem, unclipped.
My heart rate probably spiked to 180 when i realized the bolt was missing from the left side shackle and my bridge was disconnected. THAT was a revelation.
I replaced the shackle with a ball lock biner, checked the tightness of the right side shackle with my allen wrench and finished working... checking that right side shackle FREQUENTLY. It made me nervous.
That's it, nothing bad happened. What did I learn, besides the fact that I'm still the luckiest fool I know?
- Threadlock the shackles... it's just too easy for the security it adds.
- Never stop doing frequent visual checks of all gear and connections.
- The BF II bridge is a critical connection to the climbing system and it has NO BACKUP. We backup all sorts of components in the lifeline system but the floating bridge harness has a major issue in that this critical failure point has no backup.
One last conclusion. The shackle bolt withdrew I presume, while I was footlocking and setting my partner's rope. I never found it. I'm certain that my error was in not heeding the inkling in my head that I was cycling that interference fit too often and wearing it out. I planned to buy new shackles for that very reason but I just hadn't gotten around to it.
My worst exposure point was while footlocking. I was using ascenders and, had the bolt backed out then... and it's possible it did, I would have simple continued unsecured with a heart rate like Neil Armstrong landing The Eagle... if I had noticed it. The rub is, I frequently hang on the ascenders to look around, plan my climb, swing into the tree, what have you. If I had done that without noticing the disconnected bridge I would probably have fallen.
I know we've argued threadlocking the shackles before... well, I'm now solidly in the threadlock camp.
I use a BF II and have recently been experimenting with spliced bridges. I've made several and switched them out several times. I've probably removed and replaced the left shackle 15 times, the right, maybe 10 times.
The principle with bow shackles is the bolt makes an interference fit with the threads, If you torque it, it should not withdraw without a similar amount of torque. I trust that principle.
I know locktite is recommended and I trust that too, but because I've been changing bridges fairly often lately I haven't threadlocked the shackles.
I'm a habitual visual checker of my bridge and the configuration of my knot and the biners tied in to it. I always check everything, including the shackles before ascending and I look them over frequently while climbing. I also keep an allen wrench in my hydropack in case the shackles start to loosen... but I've never had to use it.
Yesterday I checked the shackles, which looked normal, before footlocking about 50' into a big red oak. I advanced my TIP while standing in a big crotch, clipped back in, pulled up and set a rope for another climber and prepared to move on up. I did my little visual check and lo... my tie in biners were just lying against the stem, unclipped.
My heart rate probably spiked to 180 when i realized the bolt was missing from the left side shackle and my bridge was disconnected. THAT was a revelation.
I replaced the shackle with a ball lock biner, checked the tightness of the right side shackle with my allen wrench and finished working... checking that right side shackle FREQUENTLY. It made me nervous.
That's it, nothing bad happened. What did I learn, besides the fact that I'm still the luckiest fool I know?
- Threadlock the shackles... it's just too easy for the security it adds.
- Never stop doing frequent visual checks of all gear and connections.
- The BF II bridge is a critical connection to the climbing system and it has NO BACKUP. We backup all sorts of components in the lifeline system but the floating bridge harness has a major issue in that this critical failure point has no backup.
One last conclusion. The shackle bolt withdrew I presume, while I was footlocking and setting my partner's rope. I never found it. I'm certain that my error was in not heeding the inkling in my head that I was cycling that interference fit too often and wearing it out. I planned to buy new shackles for that very reason but I just hadn't gotten around to it.
My worst exposure point was while footlocking. I was using ascenders and, had the bolt backed out then... and it's possible it did, I would have simple continued unsecured with a heart rate like Neil Armstrong landing The Eagle... if I had noticed it. The rub is, I frequently hang on the ascenders to look around, plan my climb, swing into the tree, what have you. If I had done that without noticing the disconnected bridge I would probably have fallen.
I know we've argued threadlocking the shackles before... well, I'm now solidly in the threadlock camp.
