New Petzl Gear for 2013

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New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby Scott McCrea » Jul 13, 2012 6:32 am

Petzl is updating their Basic, Croll and Pantin ascenders. Also, a new caving specific headlamp. LINK

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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby Jeff Bartlett » Jul 13, 2012 7:04 am

Wow! Ascenders look lower profile, I wonder if they're lighter. Basic looks potentially more comfortable to hold when in use as an upper ascender, though I wonder what that piece of plastic on top is. I wonder if the "ULTRA VARIO" takes some cues from the Pixa series or is simply an extension of the existing Ultra series.

Interesting upgrade to the Croll: "The stainless steel wear plate improves durability by reinforcing the rope friction zone."
Last edited by Jeff Bartlett on Jul 13, 2012 9:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby jharman2 » Jul 13, 2012 8:28 am

Regarding the Croll, this makes me pretty excited: "The stainless steel wear plate improves durability by reinforcing the rope friction zone.".

I switched from a Croll to an ABC chest ascender a few years ago. The Crolls that I had wore out prematurely. The ABCs wear out too but not quite as fast. I generally kill 2 ABCs a year. If the new Croll can reduce that to one or less I'm a buyer.

I wish there was more info on the updated Pantin. It looks like they have changed something where the webbing attaches to the shell. That also makes me excited as the main failure mode that I've experienced with the Pantin is the webbing breaking where it threads through the shell.
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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby Jeff Bartlett » Jul 13, 2012 8:31 am

jharman2 wrote:The Crolls that I had wore out prematurely. The ABCs wear out too but not quite as fast. I generally kill 2 ABCs a year.


Damn, seriously? I have about 7 miles of climbing on my Croll and there's no wear to the rope channel (I'm familiar with this premature wear, though, as described by Warild in Vertical). Is that a Pantin-user thing?
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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby Scott McCrea » Jul 13, 2012 8:45 am

John talked about wearing out his ascenders back in May.

Also, these images were harvested from the interwebs over the years.

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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby Jeff Bartlett » Jul 13, 2012 9:00 am

There's a bit more info on the Ultra Vario here, in reference to the version not permanently-mounted on a helmet:

ULTRA VARIO: Ultra-powerful multi-beam headlamp with ACCU 2 ULTRA rechargeable battery
Multi-beam lighting up to 450 lumens makes the ULTRA VARIO rechargeable headlamp suited for the most demanding activities. It is ideal when lighting needs and precision are crucial, as in caving or mountaineering.

This headlamp has four lighting modes that allow the user to adapt the lighting to different situations: ambient lighting, proximity lighting, lighting for movement, or long-distance lighting. The compact ACCU 2 ULTRA rechargeable battery offers the perfect balance between capacity and compactness, making it comfortable on the head.

Ergonomics and construction make the ULTRA VARIO headlamp particularly intuitive and reliable in any situation
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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby jharman2 » Jul 13, 2012 9:54 am

Jeff Bartlett wrote:Damn, seriously? I have about 7 miles of climbing on my Croll and there's no wear to the rope channel (I'm familiar with this premature wear, though, as described by Warild in Vertical). Is that a Pantin-user thing?


There are three factors that cause accelerated wear on my gear:

1. Fixed project rope. Our ropes may be fixed for years getting continually infused with mud and sandstone.

2. The Tuscarora sandstone or Tuscarora quartzite. The cap layer above our project area is Tuscarora which means our mud and our ropes are infused with the stuff. It destroys any gear it comes in contact with. Top micro rack bars only last about 2500 feet before they wear through - and that's stainless steel. Aluminum goes away MUCH faster.

3. Pantin use undobutedly contributes.

I can get about 1.5 miles out of a chest ascender under these conditions. On clean rope I'd say it would last almost indefinitely.
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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby gindling » Jul 13, 2012 10:26 am

I would have to disagree about the Pantin contributing to rope wear. I bought the first gen of the Pantin back in 2000 or 2001 and have never left home without it. If anything, with proper usage, the Pantin would decrease the amount of wear because the Croll tracks up it so nicely and keeps you much more vertical. I would say that bad technique like not having your Croll tight enough against your body which forces you to lean back a little adds ALOT of friction, so does not having your feet directly beneath when climbing. I see many people, and I did it a bit when I first began, leaning back when they sit and they have like six inches or more between the croll and the chest, this of course makes you reach up and pull your body towards the rope before you can go UP the rope. All of that puts undue wear on the Croll. I'm not saying that's what y'all are doing but I have done it and I still see many people doing that. Its actually interesting to look at the wear on my original Croll before I had my Pantin and the wear on my ABC which I have only used with the pantin(I will try to post some pics). But I understand about the dirt, a friend of mine got back from Krubera and with one trip down to the 2000m level and all the gear hauling he could bend his Croll in half because of all the wear from the thick standing ropes and the apparently gritty gritty mud. Thats what, about two miles of rope!
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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby caverdoug » Jul 13, 2012 11:26 am

The 2013 Croll is somewhere around 40-50 grams lighter than the current version. The 2013 Basic has a similar difference.
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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby Caver John » Jul 13, 2012 11:46 am

The ultra vario looks nice, but I think the rechargeable battery was overlooked. No good for caving unless a) they make a dc adapter or b) caves come equipped with ac charging stations. Also I'm sure it's over priced
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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby caverdoug » Jul 13, 2012 12:50 pm

Just posted some more information on the Ultra Vario caving light on the Karst Sports facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/karstsports
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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby Jeff Bartlett » Jul 13, 2012 1:06 pm

caverdoug wrote:The 2013 Croll is somewhere around 40-50 grams lighter than the current version. The 2013 Basic has a similar difference.

WOW. Between the two, that saves more than the weight of a carabiner.
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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby caverdoug » Jul 13, 2012 1:23 pm

Just to peak some interest: The 2013 Basic and Croll will both be 85 grams. Current Croll is 130 and Basic 135.

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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby Carl Amundson » Jul 13, 2012 1:28 pm

Any word on whether they have improved the teeth on the cam of the Croll?
They wear down quickly on the project rope I regularly travel on.
(I work in the same project caves as John H)
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Re: New Petzl Gear for 2013

Postby caverdoug » Jul 13, 2012 1:37 pm

junkman wrote:Any word on whether they have improved the teeth on the cam of the Croll?
They wear down quickly on the project rope I regularly travel on.
(I work in the same project caves as John H)


The material has changed for the cams!
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