Trango gear

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote: It has a hard to reproduce hiccup where it just flat out drops someone. Not a belayer error either. It's rare enough that only a few people ever get dropped this way.

Could you elaborate on this please? I've never heard of such a thing happening and I'd imagine that, if true, it would be outlawed. I also have a hard time believing that Malcom would continue to produce the Cinch after hearing of such a phenomenon. At the very least, I would expect the EU to revoke its certification. Perhaps that's why Malcom "prohibits" TR soloing on the Cinch.

eli poss wrote: Could you elaborate on this please? I've never heard of such a thing happening and I'd imagine that, if true, it would be outlawed. I also have a hard time believing that Malcom would continue to produce the Cinch after hearing of such a phenomenon. At the very least, I would expect the EU to revoke its certification. Perhaps that's why Malcom "prohibits" TR soloing on the Cinch.

First, Malcolm works with amputee athlethes. Paradox Sports. He's had nothing to do with Trango for at least 5 years.

It passes tests (in a vertical line). At a 45 degree angle, it is still nearly impossible to recreate. It fails a statistically insignificant number of times, that said, would you want to be attached to it that .001%?

Cue the cinch love defenders...

Do know what physically causes the failure?

It amazes me that someone would make the decision to produce a belay device with a known failure mode that isn't caused by belayer error. While .001% seems small, that's 1 in every 100,000 people. When the price is life, why would somebody produce such a belay device?

Pnelson wrote:Personally, I can think of no piece of gear that Trango makes which stands out as the "best" in its field.

Trango might not have the absolute best gear which I think is arguable.
However the price to value of Trango gear puts them at the top of the list for poor climbers like me. Also it seams that I can find Trango gear for sale quite often too which is a double bonus.

eli poss wrote: Why do you dislike the cinch so much? I would argue that it is potentially the best TR solo device, if you ignore malcom, that is. It feeds smoothly, allows you to rappel/lower without switching devices, doubles as a belay device, is comparatively light.

The cinch has a known (which most folks dont know) issue of the pin getting worn (faster than a grigri) ... If it wear down the cinch may not lock no matter what yr brake hand does

cascadeclimbers.com/forum/u…
This has lead to accidents

mountainproject.com/v/belay…

Any cinch use who doesnt check the pin wear or knowingly uses it when the pin is worn is playing russian roulette with their partners lives

To emphasize again ... It doesnt matter how awwwsum ur belay technique or brake hand is, if that pin is worn yr climber goes SPLAT !!!

;)

I've replaced the pin twice on my cinch. That's not a practice that Trango endorses, but if you're the least bit handy it's easy with a punch, hammer, wood block and a grinder.

The pin does wear out faster than people would think, especially if using skinny ropes. My advice is this, if you're ever hanging on the rope belaying and the rope starts to slide after its locked up, replace the device or the pin.

After a little while though, the area that the rope pinches against opposite the pin starts to wear too, leading to a decreased time between pin replacements.

It's a great device, but it requires more attention than a grigri.

Their phase draws are great though. My wife has a set and so do most of my partners. Their ropes are good, maybe not as good as Sterling or Mammut, but Trango seam seems to meet the price point a lot of people look for.

Trango simply brands and distributes their ropes from PMI

blog.weighmyrack.com/all-th…

The tango phase and cypher ceres are the same biner from a common source .... The cypher is cheaper

mountainproject.com/v/10943…

Ropes, biners, slings .... Many companies simply rebrand for their own uses

;)

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote: It has a hard to reproduce hiccup where it just flat out drops someone. Not a belayer error either. It's rare enough that only a few people ever get dropped this way.

On that note, I've got an almost new (warranty exchange after the pin of the old one wore off) Cinch I'm looking to get rid of: $1000 to a good friend, $100 to someone I don't know, $10 to one of my enemies. I'm not kidding on the prices...

how can I become one of your enemies?

I'll argue Trango does make the best gear in a few categories. Ball nuts and Big Bros...Good luck finding those in the petzl or BD catalog.

I own some Rock Empire Robots. Which are the same as the flex cams of that generation. Actually made in the same czech factory as well. These were just my second set of cams at the time (now my 3rd, so I rarely use them anymore except for TR anchors). I also own ball nuts and a cinch. I've never used the cinch for lead belaying but I do really like it for top roping/gym. Trango also has made some very nice ice tools over the years, though I haven't used any in a long time. My newest Trango tool is the Squid. Interesting device, not sure if it's worth the money but it definitely works.

Trango ropes are I believe made by Tendon which is a brand of Lanex. I had (still have) a set of lanex 8mm doubles. Those ropes were great, lasting 4 rock and ice seasons and still looking good at retirement. I wish more Lanex ropes were available in the US. I am fairly certain Metolious ropes are also Lanex (actually, I might be confusing Metolious with Trango, I know Metolious ropes are Lanex).

+1 for Lanex ropes.

Add another for the "i like trango" camp. I've used and own a lot of trango gear over the years - and while some of it (like their cams) isn't the absolute best in the business, 95% of it is excellent. carabiners, slings, ice tools etc... all excellent. Buy their stuff, be happy.

Trango ropes are PMI produced

blog.weighmyrack.com/all-th…

Camp also makes ball nutz

;)

bearbreeder wrote: Camp also makes ball nutz ;)

I think all the Ballnuts are made in the Czech Republic and then rebranded as either Trango or Camp.

rocknice2 wrote: I think all the Ballnuts are made in the Czech Republic and then rebranded as either Trango or Camp.

The current versions are made in korea ....

As are many biners including the the trango/cypher one i listed in my first post

Not too many companies exclusively make their own gear .... For example metolius fs mini an the grandwall papoose (canadian company) are the same biners made in the same factory in taiwan

The obvious exceptions for metal gear are DMM and BD

Even petzl at one time had (and may still have)some biners made by rock exotica

Which is why i find "brand loyalty" especially for brands that outsource very interesting

Much of the gear is the same shiet just different smell

;)

i bought a trango crag pack. haven't got to use it yet but it is very spacious and i really like the pocket on the side to store your shoes.

planning on getting the trango rope tarp next.

Trango makes some pretty rad stuff. Never had an issue with anything from them.

I absolutely love their ropes, especially the 9.8mm Lotus, great handling and knotbility , not much kink/twist ever, incredible durability. They also have terrific customer service and stand behind their products from my limited experience/ interaction with them.