When to Retire Climbing Gear?

When to retire climbing gear has a long history, full of heated debates and varying opinion, they?re as old as the sport itself. The first step is to distinguish fact from emotion. The basic urge of self-preservation is often skewed by an emotion of fear that can lead to irrational conclusions. Self-preservation is both healthy and necessary when supported by facts, without which it digresses into fear, and we all know from experience how fear negatively affects our decision-making while sapping our physical and mental strength. Conventional wisdom says soft gear (ropes, slings, harnesses) should be replaced in as little as one season or six depending on use and wear. Hardware (screws, picks, biners etc.) upon close inspection is afforded a few more seasons again, depending on use. Rather this ?collective wisdom? is speculative or rutted in fear (i.e. liability) it is somewhat conservative. In reality, under real conditions how well does our equipment really hold up? Obviously you can?t base a premise on a single example so I will leave you to draw your own conclusions. I have a friend who?s part of a team that?s been conducting ?live? tests on the whole ice protective system. Hear are just some of the results 8-year-old Ice Floss half rope, 21 lead-falls on a single strand. 24? stitched slings, 16-years-old, 12 lead-falls. 16-year-old biners the same. Not one piece has yet to fail. This is not to say that all gear will perform similarly, but its something to ponder!