I got an excellent price for a climbing helmet from rope world in Steenberg.

Are you going to tell us the details or do we have to beg?

Strictly speaking the helmet I bought is a industrial site climbing helmet(Is there anything wrong with using that for rock climbing?), it doesn't have the design or padding of the more expensive helmets like the helmets the climbing shops sells. It is not the rolls royce of climbing helmets however for the amount of money I spend I think I got good value.

Drifter,

Glad you made a plan, hope it works for you, I have seen guys wearing bicycle/skate-boarding helmuts too, I suppose wearing something is better than nothing although I myself wouldnt trust anything less than something that was designed specifically for rock-climbing.

Let us know how it worked out if you are ever unlucky enough to take a fall/hit on it

So spit it out, how much did you pay for it?

Thanks for the support Mkboy. I paid R195 for it.

Below is the testing that is performed by the UIAA for a helmet to receive their approval.



Source: http://www.uiaa.ch/?c=310

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Climb ZA - Administrator

Thanks Justin for the information

See you at the Darwin Awards

yup,

Grrr, I think you hit the nail on the head, if you'll excuse the pun..

I started out with a trimed down riot police helmet. Better than nothing. The trick is to get into the habit of wearing it at all times, at every crag & not only when leading.

Go for it Drifter.

True Marhall, I heard that most climbers who were injured by rocks falling weren't actually climbing at the time but walking into or out of a climb or standing at a bottom of a climb(can't verify this though) One magazine recommends you wear your helmet walking into a climb or out of a climb as well.

A police riot helmet has to take a lot of punishment, like people throwing bricks with a lot of force, hitting the police person with poles or stick on the head, so I would think a riot helmet is alright for falling rocks.

My helmet does have a EU standard mark on and an UIAA mark on as well. The helmet is made in England.

question to Grrr and mkboy, do you guys currently have any sort of helmet?

Drifter

Good on you for getting a helmet. I agree with mkboy that something is better than nothing. But here's some food for thought:

* \"Strictly speaking the rope I bought is an industrial site static rope (is there anything wrong using that for lead climbing?), it doesn't have the bright colours or the stretch of the more expensive dynamic ropes like all the climbing shops sell. It is not the rolls royce of climbing ropes however for the amount of money I spent I think I got good value.\"
-> Rope access and rock climbing require different sets of equipment. There's a reason the climbing shops sell the helmets they sell. Your industrial helmet should protect you from falling rocks/gear/trees/climbers, but I doubt it's designed to protect you on lead falls. The fancy cradle system in climbing helmets isn't designed (only) for comfort: it also keeps the helmet in place on your head during a fall.

* I have had the misfortune of packaging the body of somebody who died from a head injury when an inappropriate (i.e. industrial) helmet failed to protect him in a fall in the mountains. IMHO a proper, rated climbing helmet would have saved his life.

* You saw the photo of Marianne's helmet on a previous thread you posted. Her injuries would have been much more serious - and probably terminal - without that helmet. Do you trust the industrial helmet you bought to give you the same measure of protection in a similar accident?

You've asked the advice of this forum on climbing helmets. With near (if not total) unanimity the respondents have suggested purchasing a new helmet rated for climbing. (I can get you the UIAA and CE rating numbers if you want). That's not because we have commercial interests in climbing shops, but because we believe these give the best protection.

Your industrial helmet is way better than no helmet at all, but probably still not as much protection as climbing helmets. Is that a risk you're prepared to take? After all, climbing is all about the risks.

Hey Newbie,

I have Petzl Elios helmet designed for climbing that I wear on belay and when climbing, top roping or lead.

Already had a few close calls with loose stuff falling while belaying so the pot stays on my noggin Reckon I'm allowed to comment on this then when someone asks advice...

Drifter can use it or lose it, aint going to break my heart if he agrees with me or not. his pot is Ce rated so the question is only if its going to stay on his head when he takes a big lead fall, he wants to take the risk, I wouldnt.

Its all about minimising possible risk when you climb in my humble opinion

Granted, I sure we all agree

a) If you can, buy a helmet made for the intended purpose (and any other gear for that matter)
b) Wearing some sort of protection is better than wearing nothing at all, which it seem most climbers don't bother with.

Personally, I have recently bought myself a petzl hemet, it just aint worth the
risk. Still going to buy a few industrial helmets though, the cheap ones, for the non climbing guys/girls sitting at the bottom of the crag. as i said better than nothing at all.

Totally Agree!

Seems somewhat crazy to me when the belayer/climber carefully put on a helmut and the onlookers all stand next to him or sit nearby 'domeless'

Still, I suppose the on-lookers have the luxury of running if something falls, belayer's got to duck and hope for the best

Puzzles me, my impression is that the Auzzies/Americans etc are much more likely to wear helmets etc, here in Africa we seem to be built tough(or stupid)

quote

* \"Strictly speaking the rope I bought is an industrial site static rope (is there anything wrong using that for lead climbing?), it doesn't have the bright colours or the stretch of the more expensive dynamic ropes like all the climbing shops sell. It is not the rolls royce of climbing ropes however for the amount of money I spent I think I got good value.\"

end quote

Even MORE SCARY!

I am not recommending that anyone use industrial ropes for rock climbing however an industrial nylon and polyester rope of 12mm has a breakage point of 3 tons and a 16mm rope has a breackage point of 5.2 tons. If you fell on these ropes it would save your life though it might hurt as you don't have the stretch factor.

Rope world also sells rock climbing ropes in there bags from the manufacturers though I don't know how much they are and what make they are.

I am not trying to stop anybody from buying a helmet from the climbing shops, I am just saying I got a good deal on an industrial climbing helmet. On site you have to worry about bricks falling from a height however no helmet will protect you if a big enough boulder falls on your head.

Drifter,

If we are to believe the \"propoganda\" that climbing rope manufacturers feed us i'm pretty sure its not just going to hurt if you take a big lead fall on a rope like yours.

You are going to, at the very least, break your pelvis. Hell, you might even be able to throw in some whiplash injuries if your lucky.....NOT for me.

You also placing ALOT more strain on your gear (again, your problem) AND the bolts you falling onto (our problem), not good for future people falling onto the same bolt.

Why are you so bent on saving bucks man? Surely waiting a bit longer and buying quality ,purpose made stuff is worth it??

This isnt the nursury school playground man, you could seriously hurt yourself.

Just a note on the ropes, they are all designed for a particular purpose. Industrial ropes are using in every day rigging and industrial ….mmmm…. use. Semi-Static ropes for rescue and abseiling, etc and dynamic climbing ropes for well, climbing.

They are all EN / CE rated but remember to check which EN rating is on the rope. Even a static rope as we know it is a semi-static rope as a pure static is dangerous if not used correctly.

Even clipping yourself into a bolt with a 60 cm sling and dropping onto it can hurt you a lot / break you pelvis and if you are lucky your chose a normal tubular webbed sling and not a dyneema sling (this stuff is as tough as cable)

Point is, yes the gear is expensive, but there is a reason why you will pay so much more for a dynamic climbing rope, a dynamic rope is a complex life line and it is there to absorb the forces generated when falling and distribute it through the system.

I would not be happy taking wipers on a rope that can hold 5 tons, the rope won’t break, its all the other stuff that I would be worried about. Remember your protection is only as strong as the rock it is attached to, this includes Sport and Trad.

On the up side, one of the best things about buying climbing gear is that it can last you for several years if you look after it.

I know someone who still climbs and takes falls on a 30 year Ederid rope that looks better than my gym climbing rope. Rock climbing is expensive when starting up but a lot cheaper than other sports in the long run.

I am also not trying to suggest that cheap stuff is the same as the more expensive stuff, it is what you can afford and you need to make sure things like a harness, ropes etc are up to the job.

mkboy is correct... you will endanger your life and those of others by using a static rope.
In short someone will die

Climbing with static rope
I heard that its not safe to climb with static rope because if you fall you could break your back. Is this true? Should I buy climbing rope if I am thinking about climbing or just use the the static I have? Is this true about breaking your back?

Answer:
Yes, it can happen. Don't use a static rope. Buy a dynamic rope designed for climbing.

Question: Top Roping with static rope
Is it really that bad to top rope with a static rope? Personally when I'm top roping with dynamic and I'm even 10 feet off the ground I'll sometimes come down and hit the ground from a fall. I dont see why it would be bad to TR with static if the belayer were doing his job?

Answer:
If you are not hauling a pig or caving leave your static ropes at home. You could break somebody's back with a ten foot fall on a static rope. Always use dynamic ropes while climbing.

Petzl fall simulator: http://en.petzl.com/petzl/SportConseils ... ctivite=14

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Climb ZA - Administrator

Mkboy I climb with climbing ropes that I have bought from climbing shops.

I use industrial ropes sometimes in the work I do.

I don't advice anyone to climb with an industiral rope meant to lift heavy objects.

Rock hopper I wouldn't climb with a 30 year old rope, sorry.

I bought my two ropes from CityRock, they are good ropes.

I need to say for the record that I don't know any of the owners or anyone who works at the climbing shops or rope world.

grrr ...

Thanks (NOT!) for mis-quoting me. I was parodying drifter's previous quote. Please look before you leap.

Just for the record: I don't lead on static ropes, nor do I recommend it.

I did not misquote you, I merely quoted you

Anyhow....watch out for Bob The Builder appearing soon at a crag near you