Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (BjornLyngwa) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:44:58 GMT

The thing that bugs me is that although the limited sample of ~20 Aliens he tested were strong enough to hold a fall, they all seemed to have wildly varying failure modes and failure rates.
How I see it is if I bought a brand new Alien I would have to actually test it to find out how strong it is or if the cam lobes are even centered properly on the axle so the camming angle doesn't go bad.

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (thisrod) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:21:08 GMT

One has to wonder how many RC.com posters are serious climbers. They talk about microcams like they're supposed to be reliable protection. Nonsense. If you make a habit of falling on non-redundant cams of that size, expect to suffer. I've fallen on aliens, sometimes black ones, some in marginal placements and dicey rock, and they've held more often than I expected them to. I know other climbers have had different experiences with them, but I like them.

With gear this...

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (phil box) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:27:59 GMT

Airtime is fine mate, just don't get off route.

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (doug scown) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:31:38 GMT

Read this after deciding to pass on Airtime a few weeks ago (first ramp was under water) but now (of course) I'm just super keen

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (rightarmbad) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:46:56 GMT

But I've also seen the orange take on the mystical 'doesn't quite sit right placement' it's a function of the width of the cam in my book.

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (phil box) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:32:30 GMT

I am also still a big fan of Aliens. The purple Alien however has always spooked me. The orange just fits sooo well in a lot of placements but the purple has never inspired me so it is still pretty much in as new condition. As Lee says I also simply go for other more stable cams like Camalots.

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (ross ferguson) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:05:40 GMT

Well I see the arguments. I however am a big fan.
Like most things in life, you will find fault if you are looking for it.
I took a couple of 5m falls onto a black alien when trying Voices in the Sky ground up.
I cant say the placement was perfect as it was placed under pressure. I suppose this and many other falls on most sizes have given me much confidence in Aliens.

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (Gareth) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:48:05 GMT

I am big alien fan.
Below are the ratings given on the CCH site. (I converted them from lbs)

Black 845kg
Blue 1000kg
Green 1136kg
Yellow+ 1226kg

As you can all see the black is rated to only 845kg and that's in "perfect" conditions. So flare the placement a little, change the rock type and overcam it a little and you could easily get down pretty low. I usually don't carry a black unless I know there won't be much else on the route....

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (manacubus) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:15:25 GMT

Hey Ross. [Preface: I love aliens] I've got the purple alien, but it mostly sits on the "spare" rack. After using it for a year or two, I now almost never take it out. I can't put my finger on why, but I guess I prefer my other more stable cams at that size. It's narrow so it doesn't often sit nicely, and it has a tiny usable expansion range compared to its competitors. But it'll be on my harness when I get around to onsighting Masters Edge

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (hotgemini) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:05:11 GMT

Ross, if you have some spare time, have a read of the alien testing performed by aric datesman (Adatesman) on rockclimbing.com in 'the lab' section of the forums.

If you haven't got the time, the cliffnotes of it are;
1) The alien failure modes are inconsistent and often below rating, curiously some of the ratings are higher than the ratings of the cable the cams are made from.
2) Many units appear to have poor brazes between the cable and the head
3) The...

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (ross ferguson) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:42:14 GMT

I reckon those Purple Aliens are dodgy

What? That's just a weird thing to say.
How is it any different than the other size's that makes it dodgy?
Ross..

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (phil box) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:46:27 GMT

Oh yes, the Scaphoid healed up perfectly, no long term ill effects at all. Glad I got it screwed together.

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (phil box) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:44:30 GMT

hotgemini wrote:
Long term bump.

Phil, do you still have the yellow alien in question? I'd be interested to see it run through the cam modelling software as linked from Aric's testing thread.

-Adam.

Yeah I still have and climb on the yellow Alien. Of more concern to me is the purple that I have never liked. That was the top piece that popped. I reckon those Purple Aliens are...

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (zille) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:24:00 GMT

I should probably start looking at the date of the original post rather than just the last post.

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (devlin) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:22:06 GMT

6 years ago..........

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (zille) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:59:07 GMT

Glad to know you are ok Phil. I hope your recover from the injuries soon.

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (hotgemini) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:28:05 GMT

Long term bump.

Phil, do you still have the yellow alien in question? I'd be interested to see it run through the cam modelling software as linked from Aric's testing thread.

-Adam.

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (yellow) — Fri, 30 May 2003 10:39:14 GMT

Sorry to hear about your accident phil. Happy to hear that your injuries were not more catastrophic.
Till next we meet. Brett

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (clintdb) — Wed, 28 May 2003 19:36:37 GMT

I think he's trying for an extra thumb - sort of like a third hand-hold

I know a good physio Phil - you'll just have to come down to Sydney though D">

Re: Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (madi) — Fri, 23 May 2003 15:23:26 GMT

Phil,

Glad to hear you're ok !! That a pearler of an egg on your elbow - Looks like a some new type of climbing appendage (jamming in pockets perhaps?)....where can i get one!!

Airtime on Airtime Over Pumicestone

feeds@yuku.com (phil box) — Fri, 23 May 2003 08:40:06 GMT

Yes folks, I logged some frequent flyer points on Airtime Over Pumicestone.

I`m sitting here nursing myself and trying to type this report and feeling very sheepish and sorry for myself.

I was climbing Airtime with Ted Cais who had been eyeing that section of Tibro for more than 30 years. Ted spooked himself down low just above the first bolt when he started to head up to the left on a lichen encrusted smooth ramp. The thing is there is not much gear up to that point...