Thanks for the concern...yes I remember very well all it's been said about it and to refresh my memory I just read it again now that you had mention it. I always avoided putting any weight into the spine hole because of what was said. I've been experimenting other possibilities and they do more damage than anything else. As soon as you make the spine or the links perform differently from what they are meant to the risk of not grabbing anymore increases. Strangely, with my ropes and the set up of bollards (I went from no bollard to the bronze one) this doesn't happen. Plus I don't lean completely on the harness but keep sort of a straight position and let some weight on the chesty and control the rope slack with the other hand. I really put some time into this and apparently it isn't bad at all. The key is that I could use it only when I really feel in need, charging more or less my weight on it...but yes, I am aware that anything can happen and if I feel unsafe all I would do is get closer to the rope and disengage the weight or even the carabiner from the shuckle.
Let me experiment more and see what happens...
