Sequoia expectations

dmd

dmd

New member
Location
Pensacola, FL
I bought my sequoia last February. Its primary use has been on the weekends as I have another full time job. It is showing some pretty serious corrosion on the buckles that connect the waist to the legs. Check out the picture. Has anyone else had this kind of problem? I wasn't expecting this from a Petzl product, they have always been a top notch company. I can't think of any thing I've done that would have caused this. Admittedly I don't rinse it off after use. Does anyone do this? None of the other metal is corroded. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I sent it in for Petzl to evaluate.
 

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I've owned 2 Sequoia saddles and the other climber has one. We have never rinsed them off and never had a problem like this. I wore my 6 days a week, 100º days and tossed in the back or in a bag. If you've been careful keeping it away from any corrosive agents then this should not be happening. Don't let Petzl not honor the warranty!
 
Right the warranty. Petzl does not warranty corrosion. Says it right on their site. In my case since none of the other metal is corroding I'm thinking something is not right with the buckles.
 
dmd said:
I bought my sequoia last February. Its primary use has been on the weekends as I have another full time job. It is showing some pretty serious corrosion on the buckles that connect the waist to the legs. Check out the picture. Has anyone else had this kind of problem? I wasn't expecting this from a Petzl product, they have always been a top notch company. I can't think of any thing I've done that would have caused this. Admittedly I don't rinse it off after use. Does anyone do this? None of the other metal is corroded. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I sent it in for Petzl to evaluate.
Click to expand...
Do you work on Palm trees at all? I've heard that Palm "juices" will wreak havok on some metals.
 
dmd, the aluminum on the D Rings of my Sequoia got so bad (in a spot that was really hard to inspect) that it severed the webbing while I was in the tree. Luckily I was standing in a crotch. You'll notice there's a lot of webbing turns and loops around the hip D's and that webbing connects to the leg loops. Look at the aluminum deep underneath that webbing and inspect it religiously. The corrosion on mine caused it to become jagged and finally sawed its way through the webbing. My left leg loop separated from the upper portion of the saddle. Petzl asked me to send it in and they gave me a great deal on a new Sequoia. So yes, I'm still flying one. Not sure that aluminum on other saddles won't do the same thing though? I researched it a little at the time and decided marine grade aluminum would be best. I live on the coast where we have salty air, it's hot as hell and I sweat my ass off. I've had carabiners and other aluminum that was left alone for awhile do the same thing. I think lack of usage may actually be playing against you here. Hope that helps. Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss further.
 
It must be a perspiration issue like TL stated. Maybe one person's pH is different from another's? I don't know. I've always been interested to know because I love in a humid coastal area and sweat as much as any other climber but have never seen corrosion issues on any of my gear.

There was thread a while back that showed an image of a chest ascender with an upper attachment eye that was corroded so bad it looked like it got into a fight chainsaw. Someone very knowledgable pointed out it was from the climber's own sweat. I would never have imagined...

Rinse, clean, and most importantly, inspect with a very close eye. Best of luck!
 
This is anodized metal to address such issues. As for Petzl not warranting corrosion, I'd challenge this as a defective part not a matter of corrosion as they may define it for the purpose of the warranty. While I liked the saddle, I moved away from it when I couldn't replace a couple of pieces on it through Petzl. Now I climb with the TM since it has replaceable parts.
 
Turns out the OP's issue was with the steel buckles, not aluminum, though my bet is "Rusty Fingers" (also known as "Piss Fingers":)) syndrome would affect a number of alloys. As for the anodized aluminum, I've noticed corrosion even on the anodized removable Sequoia rings, but mostly near the threaded areas. Ironically, anodizing is a corrosive layer which, when done properly, seals pores at the surface of the metal.
 
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Seems like if it was sweat causing this there would be corrosion on all the steel parts and there isn't. It is just the buckles on the side of the saddle that I never touch. They might be the ones that see the most sweat since it soaks into the waist belt. They aren't anodized but Petzl should anodize them.

Treelogic come on man you could've keep that Piss fingers stuff on the down low like a PM or something ;)

Thanks for the replies. I was wondering if this was a common problem. But it seems that either I got some bad metal or some bad sweat.
 
X2 on the infrequent use comment. I'm no rocket surgeon, but in Hawaii where I often had to time my rappel to dodge the incoming waves, the only corrosion I ever saw was on pieces that I used and then put away for a while. The daily use stuff never showed any wear.
 
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