Caring for your equipment

Posted by Daniel Middleton on 09/01/2013
How do you care for your equipment?

Do you know when to retire your climbing gear? Can you decide if any damage is dangerous or just cosmetic? Keep safe when climbing by making sure your equipment is up to the job, with the help of advice guides and videos from the BMC.

Knowing how and when to check your safety equipment for climbing and mountaineering is an essential skill. Get into the habit of regularly inspecting your gear for damage and wear, and know when you should be taking it out of service.

Modern gear is generally well designed, and with the adoption of mandatory EN standards for most equipment in the mid '90's it has become extremely rare for equipment to fail. When it does, most often it is either due to the equipment being used incorrectly or because it has suffered some damage. You can find out what to look out for with the following resources:

WATCH: Caring for equipment on BMC TV

This chapter is taken from Rock Climbing Essentials, available to buy from the BMC Shop.

READ: For greater detail download the free Care & Maintenance guide.

RECYCLE: Check out www.greenpeakgear.org. All profits go to the BMC Access & Conservation Trust.



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