Omega Pacific Link Cam failure in the field

A size 0.5 Omega Pacific Link Cam is reported to have failed in a fall in the US. Bradly on Rockclimbing.com forums explains:

"...when I fell the cam was at or less than a foot below my feet. The placement was in a pocket where the crack above and below the placement tapered out. It was cammed to the middle lobe ... The stem was angled down about 45 to 60 degrees"

Image from Bradly's Picasa Album

Michael Lane from Omega Pacific responded: "Link Cams are specialty pieces ... [and are] vulnerable to damage and failure if subjected to torsional loading that requires the relationship of the head/axle and the rock to change much during a fall, especially if the placement is bottoming or loads the lower-end linkages to be stressed over any kind of edge or intrusion ... the fact that their lobes consist of hinged components when other cams are made of a single piece of material made this [torsional/bending loading issue is] an obvious characteristic from the start."

Furthermore he reports that Omega Pacific are taking action in response:

"1) We're looking at new link designs that strengthen the hinges to make them stronger. 
2) We'll be rewriting our literature to emphasize proper placement of Link Cams with a clear warning about the potential consequences of placing them in ways they could be subject to damage."

More info in the Rockclimbing.com forum thread.

New dual axle cam from DMM

DMM recently announced a new double axle cam - dubbed the 'Dragon'. They are clearly inspired by the BD Camalots, however they are meant to be lighter and also have extender slings. Since the patent on the double axle design expired in 2005, DMM are the first company to make use of the design.

Image from DMM

There has been some confusion in the past on when the double axle patent expired. The patent is US 4,643,377 titled 'Mechanically expanding climbing aid'. A US patent lasts 20 years from the filing or priority date (whichever is earlier) or 17 years from the date the patent was granted - so long as the patent in question was in force in 1995, the longer of these two options applies. US 4,643,377 was filed in 1985 and granted in 1987 - therefore the 20 year term from 1985 is the lifetime that applies, meaning the patent expired in 2005.

The relevent US Code is here: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/35/154(c).html

Alien cams allegedly failed below rated strength

Aric Datesman , a volunteer moderator at the Rockclimbing.com forums has tested 13 brand new Alien cams, purchased in May 2009, and according to his report 8 out of these 13 cams failed below their rated strength. Additionally, he tested 9 'used' Alien cams - and reportedly 7 of these failed below their rated strength. Datesman concluded "there appears to be a high probability that there is faulty gear [Aliens] out in circulation and people should be aware of this and take whatever precautions they deem necessary to ensure their safety". Before publishing Datesman claims to have shown the results to CCH (the manufacturers of Aliens) to give them the opportunity to respond - it appears CCH has not responded and over a month has passed since the results were published.

The image shows how the brazing of the Alien in the middle has only partially filled the enclosure. Datesman suggests that this could explain why the cam failed below its rated strength. Image by Aric Datesman, from the rockclimbing.com forums

In 2006 CCH issued a recall notice for over 4000 cams after it was discovered that some cams were "improperly brazed".

Totem cams and 20 gram carabiner from Metolius

The Outdoor Retailer Winter Market show finished a few days ago and rockclimbing.com has some great coverage.

Some of the highlights are the Totem Cam and the Metolius Mini carabiner which weighs 20 grams. The Totem cam is a unusual looking cam that has independently loaded sets of lobes (see photo and their website) - which they say is great for aiding, marginal placements and flares. There's more info and a worthwhile video at the Totem Cam website.

Image from rockclimbing.com

The Metolius Mini crab looks absolutely tiny, almost keyring sized, and is the lightest crab produced, 3 grams lighter than the Camp Nano, with 22 kN, 8 kN open.

Image from rockclimbing.com

Full coverage at rockclimbing.com: part 1, part 2, part 3.

Camalot patent expired in 2005

Inventor Tony Christianson came up with the idea for a double axle cam and teamed up with Chouinard Equipment (now Black Diamond Equipment) to produce the Camalot [1]. He filed a patent (US 4,643,377) on 26th September 1985. This reached the end of its 20 year term on 26th September 2005. Protection in Europe was sought in Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy with an EPO (EP 0 223 964 B1) filing date of 25th September 1986 (one day before the 12 month Paris Convention time limit). The expiry of his European protection occurred 20 years from the EPO filing date – 25th September 2006.

Extract from Christianson’s Camalot patent (US 4,643,377)

Considering the popularity of the Camalot it is surprising that other manufacturers have not taken advantage of the now unprotected dual axle design. It has been 2-3 years since the protection ended and presumably the development of a Camalot copy would not take longer than 2-3 years. Either manufacturers are not aware that the patents have expired or have, for one reason or another, decided not to pursue the dual axle option.

An early Camalot prototype, image from [1].

[1] http://www.needlesports.com/nutsmuseum/camsstory.htm