Carbon Fiber in Low temps ?

[Chris Schultz]

Treated myself to some carbon fiber geckos awhile back. The owners manual/guide mentioned risks of breaking at temps below freezing.... I was not anticipating so much climbing this winter, but work is busy, and now I am paranoid after reading the manual. Does anyone use their carbon fiber geckos in cold climates? Any issues? I know carbon fiber is used in aviation etc... which sees extreme temperature swings, but different stresses then a climbing gaff would. Don’t wanna shatter my $600 gaffs...

 

[Lumberjack]

You won't be climbing in temperatures that will affect carbon fiber.

 

[Chris Schultz]

Haha! Yeah you right. Thanks for the reality check.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

You got my curiousity up so I did some reading about CF

First...you should write to the manufacturer to find out what they mean by cold..Miami cold or Fairbanks cold?

Searching with "does carbon fiber get brittle in the cold" gave a bunch of info. From bicycles to aerospace...and arb work now, in spikes and poles. There are a variety of resins, fibers and processes. In general it's hard for me to believe that arb work would put cf spikes at risk of failure. But, unlike Scotty, I'm not an engineer, Jim.

 

[Chris Schultz]

Colorado, anywhere between 7500’-12000’. Typical wintertime temps in teens to 20s.....

 

[LandonPainter]

Colorado, anywhere between 7500’-12000’. Typical wintertime temps in teens to 20s.....

I’m in Denver and have been climbing on carbon fiber KK for two years with no issues in the cold. That said, well made carbon fiber is super strong and cheaply made carbon fiber is rubbish, one of my stirrups cracked within 3 weeks and the other looks new still. Go figure, that was in summertime temps.