Do you lend your gear to friends?

After a 3 for 3 with items lent to a good friend (ignited the fitted plastic cup on my pot, clogged the water filter, burned a hole in gloves), I had to give it some thought.

My kids say: "it's only stuff", and "if you lend it just don't expect it back" which put me my in my place and got me thinking I would do it again.  For context I have stuff from the 90's I still use!!

What's your experience?

I lend friends gear that I don't care about.

I don't lend friends my top end gear.  

If it's "only stuff", then let your "good friend" buy his own stuff. I've always felt that if I borrowed something I have an obligation to return it in the same condition that I borrowed it in, or restore it to that condition, or replace it if necessary. If I don't expect something back when I lend it, why should I lend it at all?

Ben Franklin said it best...

FrankPSwrote:

Ben Franklin said it best...

Not sure what he said!!...google says “Pardoning the Bad, is injuring the Good.” ??

RJNakatawrote:

Not sure what he said!!...google says “Pardoning the Bad, is injuring the Good.” ??

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be."

Your "friend" should have replaced all those items without being asked. At the time they were damaged.

RJNakatawrote:

Not sure what he said!!...google says “Pardoning the Bad, is injuring the Good.” ??

“He that lies down with Dogs, shall rise up with fleas.”??

If you know your friends, you already know what to expect. The friends I choose tend to be considerate people who are careful with others' stuff, would replace the item in a heartbeat if damaged, and wouldn't ask/expect to borrow irreplaceable things with sentimental value.

I can’t think of any gear I have that I’d be unwilling to lend to any of my close friends and partners. But I also have utter confidence in those people to take good care of said gear and immediately replace anything they lost or broke. If someone broke that trust, I’d no longer lend them anything, and depending on the situation, I could see it souring the entire friendship/partnership.

I have a rack of C4s that I hate (why does anyone like those pieces of shit?) and I've lent them out numerous times, sometimes for up to a year. Always gotten them back. I've only climbed one wall but my gear has climbed many as I often lend out my gear to friends. Always get it back or if something gets dropped on the wall my friends pay for the lost items. 

I've had very good experiences and will continue to lend out gear to climbers. 

FrankPSwrote:

Ben Franklin said it best...

“Be excellent to each other”

Sure, anytime. Whether it be climbing gear, tools, fishing/hunting equipment, etc. I may have a different idea of what constitutes "friend", however.

life's too short to be stingy with your stuff, and the world would be a better place if there were less "go get your own" type people out there.

Yes and no. 

No I don't lend out my gear to friends. 

Yes I lend out my gear to my personal climbing partners. 

My rule for lending out gear is that your life has to be dependent on it too and we have a relationship where we go climbing together and I see how you treat gear in general.

I have lent my gear out only to get it back damaged or turn up missing.

Once your life is dependent on my gear too and will continue to be after I lend it to you then I am comfortable lending out my stuff to that person.

If you're not my regular climbing partner then the answer is no.

FrankPSwrote:

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be."

If Ben Franklin said this he was quoting Polonius in Hamlet. In the play he is a tedious old fool and wrong about almost everything so we can infer Shakespeare didn't think much of this advice. He would probably be amused to see it used against its original sense. 

When I first climbed El Cap. I borrowed haulbag, aiders, pulley, jumars, almost everything not part of a standard trad. rack. 17 years later I had acquired more than enough gear and was happy to lend some of it to a pair of next generation climbers who used it on an early ascent of "Freerider." It felt like handing on the baton and still gives me a warm glow to think I helped them in a very small way. 

Of course if someone trashes your kit and doesn't offer to replace it then they can go whistle next time let alone a third time around.  

duncan...wrote:

If Ben Franklin said this he was quoting Polonius in Hamlet.

Thanks, I always thought it was ol' Ben!

I absolutely lend my gear to my friends. They are good friends who would replace it if something went wrong

I don't generally lend out soft goods, except a few harnesses for newbies. 

I'll lend out most hardware if I trust the person, especially if they are going to Indian Creek or the valley. 

With my most frequent climbing partner, half the time we climb together we inadvertently end up with one of the other's cams anyway!

I only make friends with people that have integrity and who show up and have roughly the same values as me.  So hell yes.  My friends can use my gear any time.

Depends.

Most friends = no lending, not ever. (and never ever A-rack and B-rack will come with a Return By or Else Date. C-rack, they're like throw away so if I'm gonna get burned by a friend it will be a 30 year old finder cam or something haha.

Certain partners = absolutely, shirt off my back

In situ - a buddy calls out from 25 feet up he needs an extra 4, I'm probably trying to toss him mine.

FrankPSwrote:

Ben Franklin said it best...

“Neither a borrower or a lender be.”

Wait, wasn’t that Shakespeare?  Either way it applies…   You’ll go through life with far fewer headaches if you avoid both borrowing and lending.

Still lending climbing gear out can be very rewarding.  So despite having been bitten in the rear, I plan to continue lending gear when it feels right (and hoping for the best)