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worst gear ever

Original Post
Jim Fox · · Westminster, CO · Joined Jun 2014 · Points: 50

R&I choices:

rockandice.com/climbing-gea…

What are your choices for worst gear ever invented?

Ryan7crew · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2012 · Points: 485
Rob T wrote:Tricams…all of them.
+1
PRRose · · Boulder · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 0

I had a pair of Resin Rose shoes, and they did suck. There was another Spanish shoe around the time that Fires became widely available that also sucked, at least as a climbing shoe: my wife ran in them once when she forgot her running shoes.

Ukrainian plastic stoppers seem like a bad idea, too. Also single slot ATCs.

tim · · Boulder, CO · Joined Aug 2006 · Points: 507

Link cams

Locker · · Yucca Valley, CA · Joined Oct 2002 · Points: 2,349

Tri-nuts (Not to be mistaken for tri-cams which are great!)

EDITED:

and I'll happily second those funky ass link cams.

Jason Todd · · Cody, WY · Joined Apr 2012 · Points: 1,114
Rob T wrote:Tricams…all of them.
You'd love these.

CMI RokJox
Ted Pinson · · Chicago, IL · Joined Jul 2014 · Points: 252

I hate you all...Tricams 4 life!!

But, seriously...I wouldn't trust anything more than a tricam in horizontal cracks.

My vote for worst gear is the turantulace. Just a POS beginner shoe that REI sells to beginners as a first shoe even though there are scores of better shoes in the same price range.

TBlom · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2004 · Points: 360

The BD Bod harness. I'm sure it was a huge improvement over swami belts, but sitting or falling in the BOD was like getting punched in the nuts.

PS Always liked having a couple tri-cams in the rack, sometimes they are the only thing that works.

Jon Nelson · · Redmond, WA · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 8,196

The Forrest Titons, listed in that R&I article, were pretty bad.

Still, as a young kid starting out, they looked neat to me and I bought a few.

MSR, through the original ideas of Larry Penberthy, came out with a few quirky items, though not bad, just never caught on. For example, the "ice hawks". See them here:
cascadedesigns.com/msr/time…

eli poss · · Durango, CO · Joined May 2014 · Points: 525
TBlom wrote:The BD Bod harness. I'm sure it was a huge improvement over swami belts, but sitting or falling in the BOD was like getting punched in the nuts.
If you're falling in one of those harnesses, you probably aren't using the correct tool for the job. The alpine bod is designed for ski mountaineering, at which is excels because you can easily put the harness on without taking off your skis/crampons/snowshoes or whatever. And all the heavy winter clothing should provide more than enough padding should you fall.

I can't really think of any piece of gear that I own that is really shitty. Honestly the worst piece of gear I've ever been handed was a trango flexcam. They may work great for splitters at the creek but once the crack starts getting irregular or funky, which is tends to do around here, they're shitty to use.
Michael Scott · · Salida, Colorado · Joined Dec 2006 · Points: 0

Wild Country Brakeman.

StonEmber · · Raleigh, NC · Joined Mar 2013 · Points: 35

The "Nipple". So you can send with rad ass tunes at your disposal...

Chase Bowman · · Durango, CO · Joined Jan 2014 · Points: 1,010

X4s.. All of them. Would trade them for aliens any day of the week. But I think the figure 8 has left the gear bin twice in the past four years, so that gets my vote.

tim naylor · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2004 · Points: 370

squid, wc super rocks? and dare i say a big bro.

Dankasaurus · · Lyons, CO · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 85

Link cams.

eli poss · · Durango, CO · Joined May 2014 · Points: 525

Fixe aliens

StonEmber · · Raleigh, NC · Joined Mar 2013 · Points: 35

Climbers...

Oh, and a number 6 cam.

Garrett R. · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2008 · Points: 25

The Edelrid adjustable belay station? Total unitasker, can't be any easier than than tying off a sling...

Burnett Crispell · · Truth or Consequences, NM · Joined Jan 2012 · Points: 110
Ryan7crew wrote: +1
Bought Forest tri cams and my first ice axe at Forest Mountaineering in Denver. Made a couple duplicates too. They suck.
Burnett Crispell · · Truth or Consequences, NM · Joined Jan 2012 · Points: 110
eli poss wrote:Fixe aliens
Hi, we love aliens in NM. I'll buy your old ones. 575.740.2385 text me.
Brandon Gottung · · CO Western Slope · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 1,613

Stoppers made by Clod which fit absolutely nowhere

Rock n Rollers

Link cams

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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