Whenever I talk about the merits and demerits of climbing gear…..

I always get alot of flak. It would be OK if these comments originate from seasoned climbers. But most of them seem to be emerging from ‘climbers’ who don’t know a mountain from an ant hill.

That is a problem.

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‘If you want a favourable response. Then please don’t start a conversation with a condescending line of questioning like – have you ever used a Peltz SHUNT before. Of course I’ve had climb time with this kit. If not how can I say definitively that it is a lousy kit. Yes, my set up was coupled with a STOP descender. What do I think about the SHUNT. Well after using it I buried it. I didn’t even give it away. That was how hazardous I considered the SHUNT.

If some of you kamikaze weekend warrior climbers think the SHUNT is such a great product then please write in directly to IRATA and OSHA and ask them why they are no longer conducting any of their climb courses using this particular kit.

Doesn’t that seem odd. Coming to think of it please consider writing to Peltz and ask them why they have opted to discontinue the production of the SHUNT.

Please go!

What do I think about the Peltz STOP range of descenders. I think what that product offered for it’s time was a significant improvement from what was commercially available to the climbing fraternity which was the friction rail or ladder descender.

Is the STOP a good product, for its time, it was an improvement to what was commercially available. Good is not the right word to describe the introduction of this kit into the climbing world. Even today many climbers much prefer the STOP. But as a seasoned user of this descender. I can say, it did certainly have plenty of issues, such as the necessity for the discipline to tie off during mid stops, rope creep was also a very big issue if the tie off was sloppy and incorrectly tensioned, along with the confusion related to spooling the rope correctly into the switch back mechanism before a climb and most notably for inexperienced climbers who instinctively grab their devices when they fall, it was certainly a very big concern.

I do not consider the STOP descender to be a novice or even intermediate level climb tool. It was way too finicky. It’s not a plug and play kit. One needs at least one hundred climb hours in very different climb conditions to truly develop the muscle memory to have confidence with it along with gaining an appreciation of it’s strengths and weaknesses. IMHO the STOP will always be a professional level tool for only the most experienced climber.

However if one compares the STOP to the new ID range of descenders. I would say the ID corrects all the faults of the STOP. I have done a review on the ID range and in my opinion it is as close to excellent as descenders can ever get. I cannot for the life of me see what else there is to improve on and it comes highly recommended.

As for the new range of ASAP fall arrestors, they are a vast improvement to the world’s most useless and dangerous SHUNT which in my opinion was universally hated by every climber who ever used it!

This video is self explanatory. Want to quibble, please. Go there! Don’t take issue with me. Go! Talk to those people who climb day and in and out to put food on their table for their families and don’t want to fall.

Please try or at least pretend to be a real man…go! Vamos! Que passé contiguous tio? Much gravitas Bueno! Adios amigos! Now vamos!