Received: from hplms26.hpl.hp.com by opus.hpl.hp.com with ESMTP (1.37.109.18/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1) id AA129029806; Tue, 19 Aug 1997 07:10:07 -0700 Return-Path: <bbense@telemark.stanford.edu-DeleteThis> Received: from telemark.stanford.edu by hplms26.hpl.hp.com with ESMTP (1.37.109.16/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1S) id AA297649806; Tue, 19 Aug 1997 07:10:06 -0700 Received: (from bbense@localhost) by telemark.stanford.edu (8.8.7/8.7.3) id HAA04276; Tue, 19 Aug 1997 07:00:12 -0700 (PDT) Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 07:00:12 -0700 (PDT) From: Booker Bense <bbense@networking.stanford.edu-DeleteThis> To: Multiple recipients of list <wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis> Subject: Re: Re[2]: Harness lines (again) In-Reply-To: <199708190327.WAA24756@endeavor.flash.net-DeleteThis> Message-Id: <Pine.GSO.3.96.970819063443.4235A-100000@telemark.stanford.edu-DeleteThis> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
On Mon, 18 Aug 1997, Jerry Gardner wrote:
> At 11:04 AM 8/18/97 -0700, you wrote:
> >
>
> I agree Shred-tecs are great. But they do break. This year I've had one
> break on each of my booms. One time 3.5 at Tomales, another 5.2 at Berkeley.
> I think they were two years old, max. The webbing snapped at the bottom of
> the loop. There was no sign of wear on the plastic (I use a reactor bar).
> Perhaps constant moisture rotted the material. My new sets have clear
> tubing, so perhaps I can monitor wear.
>
- Sounds like built in obselesence to me. Webbing in general does
not hold up to abrasion very well. All the fibers are on the outside
were they can be easily cut. Kernmantle rope is designed to avoid
this very problem. The other problem with webbing is that it's very
hard to find "static" webbing. Most webbing is designed to stretch,
(particularly any climbing nylon webbing). There is static solid
webbing used for pack straps and such, but it's even more subceptible
to abrasion.
The other problem with webbing is that it does not stand up to
UV very well. Just like abrasion all the fibers are on the outside,
fully exposed to light.
- Fortunately, webbing is much cheaper than static sailing line,
so replacing it after one season is not as painful. Hmm, both
reports of these lines breaking are from reactor bar users. I
wonder if the more constant tweaking you do with a reactor bar
isn't creating some kind of "sawing" effect on the lines. That
and some salt crystals could easily cut through nylon webbing
in a season. I bet shredtech's never break in the gorge.
- Booker C. Bense : bbense@stanford.edu-DeleteThis
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