ZigZag Issue Again...

no burn outs and no sudden stops here, and mine broke. it is just pure enjoyable control on all levels. can move down very fast and come to a controlled stop.
 
Yep the Zig is really controlable. I've noticed some advanced climbers complaining about how it lackes fluidity and pure beginners expressing how much they liked its fluidity... so i think this is because these advanced climbers have their habits using friction knots and have more difficulties to adapt than beginners who are often very carefull because they are more afraid of highs.

But it doesn't explain why the Zigzag 2 failure can happen or not regardless the way people use it. You can use it every day in harsh conditions without any trouble, you can use it occasionaly for recreation and brake it really fast... it is a systematic failure as it is allways on the same spot, but it is a random failure too. It's really strange.

For sure the design doesn't help and it's not a surprise that it breacks exactly where the metal is tinyer than anywhere else. But if it would be only because of that we could observe a patern like "the more you use it the faster it breacks".
 
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I have owned 4 now. Had the original and sent it in after the zz2 came out (unbroken). I bought another one while waiting for the return. That one broke after I got the new one and they replaced it. Owned 4....1 broke...in the tiny spot of metal between the spring hole and the edge.
 
I haven't found any issues with fluidity. I still use a lot of finger and palm on the rope not just on the device. One complain is that I go through gloves twice as fast though. On long decents I use one hand on the device and then another below my body on the tail like using an 8. I have never had a hitch set up that performed like this bugger does. I like that I can climb a spar with a tie in above me lanyard free. The softer my rope becomes the less it feeds through though. I have used mine constantly and still no issues. It is a little bizarre!
 
It surely is. That's why i think about a combination of weakness because of the design plus a random weakness because of the alloy.

Hi Treevet, was the one that broke more used than the three other ones ?
 
No Bradypus, this last one probably has the most hours on it and no break. I am curious if anything has been done outside of the replacements. Probably won't ever know that.
 
Bradypus said:
...plus a random weakness because of the alloy...
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I believe I read that Petzl stated the cause (the second time around) was a combination of insufficient metal thickness combined with a faulty riveting process. If the rivet is expanded inside the side plate hole, it would act as a wedge and stress the thin area that breaks.

I suspect slight variations in expanding the rivet is a more likely cause than a random weakness in the alloy.
 
I've gotta say I'm pretty wary of a tool with this many issues. Insufficient testing? Poor quality control? I've climbed on Petzl gear for many, many years both on rock and in the trees and never had any problems. Just seems a little off that they can't seem to get this thing right.
 
Hell, my Spirit quick draws have hung on projects for months at a time, been frozen and sandblasted (sometimes in the same day), held thousands of whippers (collectively, not singly) and are still going strong 14 years later.
 
Thanks Gmcttr, i didn't know about that.

wyoclimber said:
Insufficient testing? Poor quality control? I've climbed on Petzl gear for many, many years both on rock and in the trees and never had any problems. Just seems a little off that they can't seem to get this thing right.
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I feel, i may be wrong again... but i feel that a "poor quality control" is not a Petzl habit at all.
Petzl knew what they were talking about when they worked for caving because Fernand Petzl himself was a great caver. They knew what they were doing when they worked for rock climbing thanks to the Petzl Team who was made of amazing alpinists and climbers. I feel they lacke arborists in their team. It looks like the Zigzag development is more an engineer thing than a tree worker one. It is a great tool on paper, it keeps some good advantages but it lackes testing on the field. It has been tested by some arborists but nothing as deep as Kevin did with the rope runner.

And even if there wouldn't have been any troubles the Zigzag is allmost obsolete since the beginning : not middle line attachable, only usable in DdRT... just this shows a problem in the early development stage.
 
I just adore my Zig Zags. "almost obsolete since beginning"? Probably more peeps on it than (uggh) SRT, what a silly annoying set up. Sheeple fodder. Today pict...DSCF1607.webp
 
Agreed Vet, I love my Zigs. I run more SRT now but if I have a doubled line there is about a 99% chance there will be a Zig on there.
 
macswan said:
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No way. I can't believe there have been more zig zags sold than there are SRT climbers.
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Just my opinion...your opinion based on being on a forum of many SRT ers? Huge world outside of here.

I bet there are more Taughtliner s out there than SRT ers.
 
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Mark13y said:
Sp

lg splice on the end of that or running a 3:1 ma set up? And what's with the swivel snap?
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Not a large splice, R bowline...keeps the knot away from the trigger...swivel snap because I like it ...and because it gives me the distance I like and have been used to for the rest of the 40 some years prior to this and a little hitch climber. Just HATE the SRT anchor line and I tried it early on.
 
I'm not fond of the extra worry about where the anchor line is either Vet but if you are going to go through all the work to isolate a branch for doubled rope you could just use a cinched canopy anchor at that point. They have there own retrieval issues sometimes but doesn't it all at some point.
 
Hope the bowline has a Yosemite tie off, but I would at least put one of those blue bandit rubber bands on that to keep it in place. Do you ever have the snap load your harness rings across the gate when slack comes in the system? Or the lower am'd cross load? I had my lower biner wanting to rotate constantly until I put one of the bands on it.
 
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