Quickie killer?

I know we have now seen the recall, but I had stated that I would post any reply from ISC that I received from them, so here is what I got this morning:

Hi Dave,
Thanks for reaching out and providing these videos. We have issued a recall for the UltraLink and are taking steps in order to improve and redistribute the product.

For more details, please see the safety notice here: https://www.iscwales.com/News/Product-Notices/UltraLink-Notice/

Thanks,

Joe Hines



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I | S | C ‑ SALES​
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+44 (0) 1248 363 110​
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Factory & Registered Office:​
Unit 1, Plot 2 Llandygai Industrial Estate. Bangor.​
Gwynedd. LL57 4YH. UNITED KINGDOM.​
 
Phil said:
you have crushed my confidence! Screw links welded shut form now on. I definitely should not have said they couldn't be rubbed open so definitively.
Click to expand...
Everything can be pressed, rubbed or otherwise accidentally opened. I've had tricacts accidentally open 3x, 2x then locked on to the small branch that opened it. That's out of how many hundreds of climbs? Point being it's not difficult to monitor your life support while you're climbing. Safety is about situational awareness, not about very low percentage gear mishaps.
-AJ
 
Carabiners are easy to inspect frequently because they are most often connected to you or at least within arm's reach. This thing could be 80ft feet away or completely out of sight on the other side of the stem. Good luck checking if that little pin is rotating.
 
This whole debacle has got me thinking about how often we outsource our critical thinking in an age of information overload. There are thousands of climbers who would trust their life to this new gadget with no more than a casual glance at the CE logo on it (present company excluded of course). They would place their trust in the 'experts' who supposedly tested and certified it, labeling it as "safe and effective". It must be safe if it has the approval of a major safety-testing and standards institution, right?

"But it's only CE approved as a pulley, not a connector!" Yes. True enough. And you might have caught on to that little distinction if you were paying attention. But how many were 'actually' paying attention, compared to how many wanted to get in on the action and be an early adopter of the cool new shiny thing........
 
moss said:
Point being it's not difficult to monitor your life support while you're climbing.
Click to expand...
The scenario I'm most concerned about is the true accident needing life support gear to hold and interface properly while shits hitting the fan. Meaning a branch breaks and I got for a wild swing or my rigging fucks up and I'm launched off my perch. Which carabiner or link do I feel will resist accidentally opening or misconfiguring during Mr. toads wild ride while I can't inspect/monitor it cus I'm sideways upside down. Like the guy at the end of that Yale break test video. I think the ball locks are better than than traditional tri actions. And I think the quickie is better than the ultra link. Is a quad lock even better than the ball lock? Probably, but now I need to factor in user friendliness.
 
Muggs said:
This whole debacle has got me thinking about how often we outsource our critical thinking in an age of information overload. There are thousands of climbers who would trust their life to this new gadget with no more than a casual glance at the CE logo on it (present company excluded of course). They would place their trust in the 'experts' who supposedly tested and certified it, labeling it as "safe and effective". It must be safe if it has the approval of a major safety-testing and standards institution, right?

"But it's only CE approved as a pulley, not a connector!" Yes. True enough. And you might have caught on to that little distinction if you were paying attention. But how many were 'actually' paying attention, compared to how many wanted to get in on the action and be an early adopter of the cool new shiny thing........
Click to expand...

Bad time to bring up the US FDA?
 
Muggs said:
This whole debacle has got me thinking about how often we outsource our critical thinking in an age of information overload. There are thousands of climbers who would trust their life to this new gadget with no more than a casual glance at the CE logo on it (present company excluded of course). They would place their trust in the 'experts' who supposedly tested and certified it, labeling it as "safe and effective". It must be safe if it has the approval of a major safety-testing and standards institution, right?

"But it's only CE approved as a pulley, not a connector!" Yes. True enough. And you might have caught on to that little distinction if you were paying attention. But how many were 'actually' paying attention, compared to how many wanted to get in on the action and be an early adopter of the cool new shiny thing........
Click to expand...
I commend ISC for making the recall. They did the right thing.
On the other hand, I am a bit pissed at them. Although it is CE approved as a pulley only, they clearly knew it was going to be use as a Quickie link with a pulley built in. Heck, they even advertised how it could be used without the sheeve. (Makes a very lousy pulley that way)
And even sold as, Pulley Only label, who would buy it? We already have micro pulley that are lighter and cheaper.
No, they knew it was going to be used as an upgrade to the quickie, above and beyond the CE approved for pulley only.
As much as I like their equipment, they made a goof on this one, both physical and intent of use. If a climber fell using it as a redirect, would they have been clear of lawsuits because it was not approved for anything other than pulley? Pretty shady marketing if you ask me.
Just look at the Maple Leaf Ropes video on open of this tread. "Can be used without the pulley as a shackle". I know that is not ISC talking there, but he states he has been working with ISC on these. They knew what it was going to be used for.
I personally don't give a rat's ass if something is CE approved, as long as I know it is safe to use as I intend. Our home-made slings and lanyards are not CE approved, nor our splices. CE approved doesn't really tell me anything, other than someone, somewhere is covering their own butt.
 
Last edited:
***UPDATE***

LK100 and LK101 UltraLink Exchange Program Update
Safety Notice/Product Recall | April 2023

We have finalised our new UltraLink design and will begin shipping out exchanges on April 25th, 2023.

We have made a couple of key changes to the design of the UltraLink to address the concerns of accidental opening. We have added a collar to protect the Safelock button from branches and rope. We have also increased the spring tension in the Safelock button, which now requires very deliberate action to operate. Click here to check out the new UltraLink

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. We know that the product we are releasing back into the market will alleviate concerns that users had with the prior design while maintaining the same ease of use and functionality.

Thank you.
Kind Regards,

David Rawlins
Compliance and Quality Manager

1-313-1-2662-1-LK100A-UltraLink-Small-Main.jpg
 
Ya know - never did get the ISC recall send back thingy location/ label/ whatever sorted for where I am and so in the end just ditched my Mark 1 Ultralink version in the black bin. Done with it. FIN. Life is simpler. Just me though. Please report here if the new one is life changing and I may reconsider (yeaahhhh not really).
 
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