NZcaver wrote:You seem to be on a quest to find ultralight gear - may one ask why? Do you have a big remote expedition coming up?
I'm not choosing all the lightest options--only when there is not some other advantage that I find particularly valuable. For instance, I could save weight by foregoing a metal buckle in my foot loop, or by attaching it directly to my upper ascender, but for versatility I prefer not to do those things. But generally I like the idea of carrying around less gear (i.e. less mass of gear), especially for longish trips where circumstances require that I have it with me all the time. I feel that while the benefits of light gear are essential only for expedition caving, they are still benefits during more ordinary trips.
I am going to TAG for 10 days soon, but that doesn't quite qualify as a remote expedition.
It is, however, what has motivated me to do what I have been meaning to do for some time, and get my own vertical gear. (So far, I have been using vertical gear that belongs to my grotto--we have quite a few "loaner" sets.)
NZcaver wrote:Are you also switching your handled ascender(s) for Petzl Basics
Though I am tempted to do so, I am not switching my handled ascender (which I use as my upper ascender) for a Basic, because I value having an ascender that I can operate with one hand, and I am not sure of my ability to open a closed Basic that is not on the rope with one hand in a problem situation when I am cold, tired, and in pain.
NZcaver wrote:and going with thinner ropes to save some weight?
I am purchasing gear for my own perpetual use (I don't mean I'll never retire it...you know what I mean), and not specifically for a particular trip. Since I don't own my own ropes and am not ready to buy any yet, I use club ropes and choose the diameter on a per-cave basis. I've used 9mm EZ-bend and 11mm stiff ropes, and I most often go for something in between. The vertical gear I buy now is gear I'm going to be dragging around on me through vertical and horizontal parts of many caves.
NZcaver wrote:Have you found a maillon harness that weighs less than 11oz yet? (That's what my lightest harness weighs.)
Having said that weight is not the only thing that matters to me, nonetheless, my interest is piqued. I have *not* found such a harness. Please do tell!
xcathodex wrote:i'm buying a set of gear myself and was surprised to read that you (EK) are looking for ultralight wiregates to use as cowstail carabiners. that's life support, and for my money it's worth a couple extra grams for Petzl Spirits or equivalent aluminum keygate carabiners.
Why do you assume that wiregate carabiners are in any way more marginal than solid-gate carabiners? They tend to be stronger and less prone to opening accidentally, their gates are stiffer and gate tension doesn't decrease nearly as much over time, or very much at all as the result of dirt impregnation, and traditional wiregate closures tend to have the same ability to push away mud as solid-gate keylock closures (i.e. better than average but not that great).
xcathodex wrote:both vertical and alpine caving techniques recommend the keygate style. not sure what on rope recommends.
As Hank Moon says, the keygate style closure has superior snag-resistance. I don't have ready access to *Alpine Caving Techniques* but in *Vertical* Warild merely says that keygate 'biners are "ideal." Not that there is any additional risk associated with using wiregate carabiners--wiregates are not even mentioned. Beyond the issue of whether or not one's cowstail carabiners should be locking, I am not able to find specific recommendations on cowstail carabiner types in *On Rope, 2nd Edition*. Did wiregates even exist when *Alpine Caving Techniques* (1st English edition) and *On Rope, 2nd Edition* came out?