Gear manufacturers Petzl are warning cavers to check their ropes after two critical defects were found on a low-stretch kernmantle rope.
A customer unpacking new Petzl AXIS 11mm ropes found a deep cut in a rope manufactured in June 2019 and a 2.1m scrap of rope found taped to one end of a rope made in September 2019.
The firm say that to date no other client has reported similar defects and that no accident or injury is known. Their investigations suggest that the two defects occurred on one of their rope-cutting machines, and they say that only ropes cut on this machine are at risk of defect.
They say: “We took immediate corrective actions to eliminate this risk on the production line. Our stock is in the process of being inspected and no further defect has yet been found.
“As a precaution, we ask that you immediately inspect each of your low-stretch kernmantle ropes listed below that have a serial number between 18 C 0000000 000 and 20 H 0000000 000.”
- AXIS 11 mm
- ASAP’AXIS 11 mm
- PARALLEL 10.5 mm
- VECTOR 12.5 mm
- RAY 12 mm
- SEGMENT 8 mm
- CLUB 200 10 mm
- PUSH 200 9 mm
- TOP 9.8 mm
- LEAD 9.8 mm
- KIT including these ropes
The inspection must be carried out by hand, without gloves, along the entire length of the rope.
Further information, along with inspection operating procedures and details on how to log each rope inspection, may be found on the Petzl site.
