|
Testing and Review of the Trango BallNutz
trango slider nut
I took my first whipper on a Trango BallNut at Taquitz Rock in 1989, on a thin crack called The Pirate that had been free'd 12 years earlier by the famed Tony Yaniro and I was inspired by a photo in the Chouinard Catalog at the time of Lynn Hill dancing up this seam of all seams. On a clear southern Cali morning, I laced up my Boreal Fires and gave it my best shot, armed with a handful of small stoppers and a few BallNutz which were made by Lowe Equipment at the time.
It wasn't a long whipper that day onto my new #2 BallNut, but it held just fine and I finished the pitch with only a bruised ego. These camming nuts quickly became a favorite piece for thin cracks, but then a few months later most of my climbing gear and all of my tye dyes were stolen out of the van in Yosemite before I was able to log more flight time or dance with Jerry again. Luckily, Trango has kept this unique design alive, improved it a bit with modern materials and engineering, and given us a tool that protects where others won't in the vertical world.
When Trango asked me to check-out their latest reincarnation aptly named the BallNutz, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. Thinking that these small and specialized camming nuts were maybe a little to 'gimmicky' for real-world use (alpine memories are short), especially put in the hands of the less-skilled leader, it seems that they could be more of a liability than an asset.
But after almost a year of testing, I've changed my mind and now I'm only wishing I had a set earlier. These would have helped immensely on some of my recent rock projects like Autumn Mist and The Eliminator on which a few of these BallNutz would have handily protected the cruxes better than the bogus #1 stoppers that I hoped were 'solid enough'. I've also been finding these super handy on the many 5.8 through 5.11 routes in Eldo where thin, parallel cracks are often the norm and these sliding nuts can be just the ticket for sewing up otherwise tenuous and runout pitches.
About the Trango BallNutz
BallNutz are thin crack protection that use a sliding ball/ramp concept. These thin 'camming nuts' can protect parallel sided cracks, piton scars, and flaring cracks from 3mm to 16mm in size. Trango claims that the three smallest sizes have a 2:1 expansion range that "results in unmatched security in chossy rock or expanding flakes". The largest #4 and #5 sizes fit where the smallest cams do but in a more narrow space and with what seems to be greater security.
BallNutz have been well known and favored by clean aid climbers (an oxymoron) for some time, but it's the free climbing community that could most benefit from an expanding nut as these things are the bomb. Because of the stiff cable on this unit, Trango recommends using a quick draw with BallNutz™ to prevent rope-caused movement once they have been securely placed in a crack.
Features:
- Available in 5 sizes
- Size Range: 3mm-16mm
- Strength: 4.5kN-8kN
- Lightweight
- Clean protection that fit crack sizes where only certain pitons would work
- MSRP: $39.95 (all sizes)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1 |
3
|
6
|
0.12
|
0.24
|
29
|
1.0
|
4
|
Blue
|
| 2 |
5
|
9
|
0.18
|
0.35
|
39
|
1.4
|
8
|
Red
|
| 3 |
6
|
12
|
0.24
|
0.47
|
48
|
1.7
|
8
|
Gold
|
| 4 |
9
|
13
|
0.35
|
0.51
|
61
|
2.2
|
8
|
Green
|
| 5 |
11
|
16
|
0.43
|
0.59
|
71
|
2.5
|
8
|
Purple
|
Trango BallNutz Review
My review time frame for these BallNutz was a little less than a year of climbing on a variety of routes and seasons including the alpine zone of Rocky Mountain National Park in winter, big-wall routes in Alaska, and test piece trad lines at Lumpy Ridge and in Eldorado Canyon, Colorado.
Like any piece of removable protection, especially with the smaller units, these BallNutz take a bit of practice on the ground to figure out what types of cracks and size openings they will wiggle into, and while practicing on placements close to the ground, I'll attach slings long enough to 'bounce test' these pieces without risking an ankle injury or worse should I blow the placement. This technique helps build skill in placements and can increase confidence in the BallNutz holding power.
The smallest sizes fit in seams that I would have consigned to only thin pins in the past, and not carrying these on established routes would have meant longer fall potential. Although these camming nuts expand, where there is rock flex or crystal breakage their small sizes mean that there is little room for expansion or sizing errors, which can be single milimeter wide mistakes.
Trango BallNutz do need a little more care than your average piece of gear, and to keep mine going strong I prefer to carry them in my top-lid of the pack so that the small cables attaching the trigger to the brass wedge won't get tweaked. Removing BallNutz these can be difficult if they've been weighted or fallen on with some force, especially in the smallest sizes where it's difficult to achieve contact to the aluminum head with a nut tool.
To remove a stuck BallNutz, apply pressure to the aluminum head of the unit with a nut tool and give it some light taps, pushing the aluminum nut intothe crack and hopefully separating the two parts. Putting a small rock in the chalk bag to tap on the nut tool can be the key to getting enough force applied in the sweet spot.
These five sizes are all desirable to carry on the rack when faced with less than straightforward pro and at 8kn strength, the sizes #2 and up have some real holding power when placed well. And that truly is the secret; to place these camming nuts and all of our removable pro into the most solid position each time. It is key that these are placed in the correct sized crack, that it is composed of solid rock, and that the unit is in the best configuration possible to maximize its holding strength. Only once you have somewhat mastered this elusive art of perfect placements should these key pieces be added to the rack. And when you're ready for them, you'll be psyched.
|
