Petzl ZigZag letter

Jeff, by all means use it. I'm stating my opinion. I simply find that petzl's gear is over priced, lacking in durability, and too light duty for tree work. I'm sure if you baby and papmer your $300 zigzag it will last and do just fine as will many things. I'm not looking to get into a dramatic teenage pissing match. All I am doing is stating how I feel about petzl, and sharing those thoughts. BTW I lift logs by my apadravya
 
tuttle said:
I use drt 95% of the time

A lockjack and positioner in my view are the best tools available.
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I have to agree with Tuttle on this one. I too almost always climb on the Lockjack and the Positioner. To me nothing works quite as smoothly with consistent performance. I never think twice about them like I did with the Zig Zag after the first accidents. They both are very simple designs with exceptional durability even with big swings, removals, and general tree work abuse. Just because you are climbing on a mechanical device doesn't mean you should have to baby it.

I think the Zig Zag is a great concept with horrible execution. It is too bad that another company like DMM or Rock Exotica didn't engineer and build it.
 
After speaking to a handful of climbers that I trust and have had contact with others (some being from Petzl) I have stepped back on the ZigZag issue. I have been explained to that everything is being done to test and find the reason for the cracks happening with some of them. To even the extent of testing cracked ones to find out if they will drop a climber. As I had mentioned before I have no intention on bashing or dragging the Petzl name down for unfounded reasons. So I have also wrote them back in order to be as upstanding as possible and honest with what is happening, and apologizing for speaking a bit to fast on this. One should know when to say they are wrong, in this case it seems I was.
 
And just so I can make myself clear about how I feel about Petzl, this was in response to a climber who thinks Petzl is an all around bad company with no respect towards climbers or climbing. It should cover where I stand with Petzl.
"Don't be so fast to forget the great things Petzl has done and continues to do as well. From protecting natural areas and having them be allowed for climbing to natural reaserch they help with. They helped to revolutionize SRT before the tree world even cared to consider applying it to their work. They pushed first and deepest expeditions into mountaineering caving. The gear was with climbers as they pushed the limits of heights on the highest peaks our world has to offer. So the thought that "Petzl is shit" is an uneducated thoughtless statement. We have a ton to thank them for and it seems it is at times just easier to shout about the mistakes. Open up to the history we all share as climbers, and understand that all climbing crafts are connected to each. Be a student of this craft, first and a preacher last."
 
gmcttr said:
I assumed it was a reference to the original rope wrench.
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Me too

I don't see how you could hate on that. If anything it makes me respect the RW more but I already believe it is one of the BEST rope tools made in the last century. I am also more partial to artisan craftsmanship than mass produced RD to death. Bottom line is whether or not the ZZ is good petzl was WAY behind with this one as the SJ and UNI were already tried and true.
 
LeviRockett said:
Me too

I don't see how you could hate on that. If anything it makes me respect the RW more but I already believe it is one of the BEST rope tools made in the last century. I am also more partial to artisan craftsmanship than mass produced RD to death. Bottom line is whether or not the ZZ is good petzl was WAY behind with this one as the SJ and UNI were already tried and true.
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Yeah. I don't see how you could compare the original prototype of a device like the RW, which is produced by an individual, to the second production incarnation of the Zig Zag which is produced by a large corporation like Petzl (with millions to spend on R&D and state of the art in house testing facilities).
I'm happy to hear that Petzl is continuing to work on the problem. They damn well better. Who cares if no one has died yet, it's still catastrophic failure of the least redundant part of your life support system. I have been using Petzl gear my whole life. I've owned a half dozen Gri Gri's, racks of draws, ropes, ice tools. I love Petzl and I Expect a hell of a lot better out of them than the Zig Zag has shown itself to be. It's a great concept and great tool but they most definitely have the capacity to fix this problem before they send the Zig Zag to market again. As an industry leader, they are held to a much higher standard than open source innovation.
 
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This is a public relations exercise. A product comes out and is revealed to have problems. How does the company handle it? How do they communicate with their marketplace to mitigate any potential negative impact. Ferrari isn't a crap manufacturer but they did produce some crap designs. It's their response to the market that makes them who they are.
 
Actually, I have nothing against the RW. My point was, the form you buy it in now is an evolved, improved form of the product. People act as though the ZZ is still in a primitive phase.. carved from a block of soap and held together by rubber bands. It is no such thing. But I agree, you can't teach a pig to sing. You just annoy the pig and waste your time.

Petzl has been very straightforward in my communications with them, responsive to my questions without any PR hype or bullshit. They're busy people, they pass questions down a chain protocol so the right person answers with the right answer. It can take a few days to hear back from them, but they have always answered my requests for information, and there have been several. I'm sure they'll respond, in time, to any questions that don't appear to be rhetorical babble.
 
I saw it Tyler and was actually confused by that statement but I will let it drop as since you delted it and it may have been an inside thing with Steve.
 
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