Gear mods

I've used pickets made from PVC. I think the snow is going to let loose or the picket is going to pop out before a picket is going to break. For those two reasons, they kinda feel like mental aid anyways. 

i dremeled my petzl caritool evos to fit inside the clipper slots on my harness because i like the larger size of the evos (and i already had them) but didn't like having to put them somewhere else on the harness. now they fit in with a nice snap and they can hold a bunch of screws and a tool

Curt Haire wrote: I remove the sling from every cam whose stem will accept a carabiner to make them less of a cluster to rack (I always end up adding a quickdraw anyway, so why the sling!?!).  

https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/qc-labreslinging-camalots-and-c3s.html

Removing the sling on some BD cams lowers their strength 

Long Ranger wrote: I've used pickets made from PVC. I think the snow is going to let loose or the picket is going to pop out before a picket is going to break. For those two reasons, they kinda feel like mental aid anyways. 

The fact is, a properly placed picket can and has held very high loads in real life situations. 

Greg R wrote:

The fact is, a properly placed picket can and has held very high loads in real life situations. 

Yes. Also a fact: DIY pickets have been around for a long time and there's some evidence they hold. There are a few interesting white papers on modes of failure for snow pickets that convinced me that material strength is not the issue when pickets fail.

Matt Wetmore wrote:

https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/qc-labreslinging-camalots-and-c3s.html

Removing the sling on some BD cams lowers their strength 

Matt, I think what that article shows is that the design of the factory sling impacts the failure mode and strength of the protection when clipped to the factory sling. I don't think it shows that clipping the factory sling is stronger than a draw to the thumb loop (which is what I think Craig is saying he does), but please correct me if I'm wrong as that would be a surprising conclusion.

Mark Berenblum wrote:

Matt, I think what that article shows is that the design of the factory sling impacts the failure mode and strength of the protection when clipped to the factory sling. I don't think it shows that clipping the factory sling is stronger than a draw to the thumb loop (which is what I think Craig is saying he does), but please correct me if I'm wrong as that would be a surprising conclusion.

The conclusion is that when they switched from a steel thumb loop to a cable thumb loop, the sling they were using was pinched by the cable and cut at 10kN instead of the desired 14kN. That's why they "determined that having the double layer of webbing was substantial enough to get us the strength we were after, didn't cut the webbing and produced less tweakability (engineering term) of the thumb loop."

I think that removing the sling and using a carabiner as the connection to the thumb loop would result in the thumb loop getting tweaked after falls. In their testing, the sling broke before the thumb loop. I wouldn't say that clipping the thumb loop with a carabiner is any less strong than clipping the factory sling, but I would bet that it damages the thumb loop significantly more and results in a shorter lifespan of the thumbloop therefore cam.

Mark Berenblum wrote:

Matt, I think what that article shows is that the design of the factory sling impacts the failure mode and strength of the protection when clipped to the factory sling. I don't think it shows that clipping the factory sling is stronger than a draw to the thumb loop (which is what I think Craig is saying he does), but please correct me if I'm wrong as that would be a surprising conclusion.

That article doesn't show it but yes clipping the thumb loop is weaker by 2kN. Look at the instruction manual that comes with the cam. 

It's probably because it forces the cable to bend at a tighter radius because the sling is wider than a biner. IMO it doesn't really matter because 99% of the time the cam is going to rip out of the placement before the cable breaks, but you decide for yourself. 

Mark Berenblum wrote:

Yes. Also a fact: DIY pickets have been around for a long time and there's some evidence they hold. There are a few interesting white papers on modes of failure for snow pickets that convinced me that material strength is not the issue when pickets fail.

Good to know, because the pvc that the Long Ranger suggested costs only a buck or two compared to dropping $20-30 on a picket. Any links to the white papers showing comparative tests on manufactured vs DIY pickets.  Thanks

Caleb Schwarz wrote:My inflatable pillow always seemed to skid out from under my head as I slept, so I rigged this with tenacious tape and shock cord to keep it in place.
(Weighs a hair over 13g if anybody cares)

Update for anyone who wanted to do this:

The tenacious tape doesn't stick for very long on the fabric of the pillow (because it's not a ripstop nylon) so I seam-gripped it and it's bombproof now.

Not a mod really but I had a file and was bored...  just like sharpening up an ice screw 

added some trigger holders to my older non-2019 C4 based on the BD design. releases once I pull the trigger back. Works like a charm and holding up to some abuse.

gumbie gene wrote:

added some trigger holders to my older non-2019 C4 based on the BD design. releases once I pull the trigger back. Works like a charm and holding up to some abuse.

Nice! I’ve been considering something like that. Did you use sugru? Also, I wonder if it’ll be more challenging with old style camalots

gumbie gene wrote:

added some trigger holders to my older non-2019 C4 based on the BD design. releases once I pull the trigger back. Works like a charm and holding up to some abuse.

This is great! I want to do this to my 5 and 6. What is your method?

Drew Nevius wrote:

Nice! I’ve been considering something like that. Did you use sugru? Also, I wonder if it’ll be more challenging with old style camalots

I just used super glue and two plastic carabiners. I put a more detailed response on my comment below, idk how to quote two people in one post so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

But I think in older style camalots, the spring tension is a bit higher but at the same time, the super glue holds like a boss. I think as long as you don't test to see if the system works till after the super glue is FULLY dry, the super glue should work well. Trying the trigger keeper before the super glue dries could lead to some frustration.

I haven't used sugru but that might've worked knowing the properties of it unless it doesn't dry well and really harden once dry. 

Ben Podborski wrote:

This is great! I want to do this to my 5 and 6. What is your method?

Super glue, two plastic toy carabiners from BD I had laying around, cut the carabiners for the hook and wire gate, attach the hooks high enough that the lobes are retracted but can be released by pulling the trigger to it's limit. The super glue is surprisingly really robust but takes a while to dry. The wiregate goes into the trigger bar (rests really nicely in there actually) and the hook goes on near the thumb loop of the stem. Also, would melt the end of the plastic you plan on attaching to the cam in order to mold it by pushing the soft plastic against the spot you plan on attaching it to. 

The hardest part was adding the hooks to the stem, but as long as the super glue or whatever glue you decide to use dries out quickly, it shouldn't be too bad of a little project.

gumbie gene wrote:

Super glue, two plastic toy carabiners from BD I had laying around, cut the carabiners for the hook and wire gate, attach the hooks high enough that the lobes are retracted but can be released by pulling the trigger to it's limit. The super glue is surprisingly really robust but takes a while to dry. The wiregate goes into the trigger bar (rests really nicely in there actually) and the hook goes on near the thumb loop of the stem. Also, would melt the end of the plastic you plan on attaching to the cam in order to mold it by pushing the soft plastic against the spot you plan on attaching it to. 

The hardest part was adding the hooks to the stem, but as long as the super glue or whatever glue you decide to use dries out quickly, it shouldn't be too bad of a little project.

Try a super glue with an accelerator next time? Apply glue to one piece, spray the other with accelerator, bam I hope you put it together right cuz now it's stuck like that forever. 

​https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DD1QR/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1​​​

Jared Chrysostom wrote:

Try a super glue with an accelerator next time? Apply glue to one piece, spray the other with accelerator, bam I hope you put it together right cuz now it's stuck like that forever. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DD1QR/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yup I did, was difficult and a bit of pain due to the drying but did get it right. Works perfectly. Thanks for the link

I've followed Gumbie's advice and did the same on my BD 5 and 6, using a Night Ize dual-end plastic carabiner for the donor parts ($1.25) and some Gorilla Glue for the, well, glue ($5).

Worked great!

I make or modify damn near everything I use, so choosing a "favorite" - well - hopeless.  One of the more recent is modifying a $2 scewdriver to make a combination nut/v-thread tool.  why pay 10x?