gumbie question here, despite having a decent amount of experience. i have placed plenty of tcu's in sandstone (shitty sedona sandstone) and haven't fallen on them, but have been hearing that tcu's in sandstone are a death wish. so for safety's sake, i'll ask: is it safe to place tcu's or c3's in sandstone and fall on them? i mostly ask because i'm going to the creek this weekend and want to push myself on some thin cracks and can't get a whole lot of 4 lobers in the small sizes
It depends on the quality of the sandstone and the quality of the placement.
Generally the softer/weaker the stone, the less any placement will be likely to hold. For passive placements, at the small end you have to worry about the edge/constriction breaking. For a cam, you have to worry about that, plus about the rock basically grinding/rubbing away, so the cam doesn't engage or doesn't engage enough to stop your fall. Also, if there is any loose sand on the surface (not uncommon on some sandstones, again quality of the rock), these can act like ball-bearings and allow the cam to travel rather than engage.
We use cookies to improve your browsing experience, to show you
personalized content, and for statistical purposes. By continuing
to navigate our website, you accept our use of cookies. Read our
Privacy Policy to learn more.