camp via ferrata rewind set
26th May 2009
We recently got Camp rewinds for local VF’s after looking at a bunch of other sets on the market.
The main choice comes to whether you want a stitched shock absorber like the Petzl or Black Diamond sets or ones with a friction device like this or the Salewa one for example. I’m not entirely happy with stitched ones, once you fall and tear through the stitching it’s good only for the bin and if you’re halfway up a VF at the time, assuming you’re able to continue, you’ve now got a non-functioning set. I think a lot of people argue that no one falls off a VF so it’s moot but I’m not much convinced by that argument, once I’ve left the ground on anything I try not to fall off
There’s a couple of Eastern European manufacturers knocking out VF sets and some of the local stores have them, they look reasonable, mostly friction devices and UIAA approved but some inferior quality around non-safety components. For example, I looked at one with the squeeze action locking carabiners and the squeeze mechanism felt flimsy, this matters I think as you end up bashing the gear around the crag.
I also felt I liked the squeeze action idea as opposed to the older twist lock and variants, a squeeze action is quicker and easier and there’s no failure case (I can detect) where the gate can be left partly open.
The other feature I liked in the Camp set is the elasticised lanyards, this really helps keep them out of way moving around and lets Camp get a half decent run of dynamic cord into the system without leaving the lanyard a metre over your head. This feature is available on other sets of course.
The only feature I saw on another set, the Petzl, was a extra loop from the harness attachment for resting that allows you to clip to a bit of gear. That looked like a good idea but I’m not sure in practice if it would be much use, it’s easier to keep a belay sling on and use that, it’s longer and I can clip to a couple of bits of gear as a rule so it’s more flexible.
Here’s Julie using the Camp rewind in France :
