Sometimes bolts get in the way of random swinging hammers. We explored two ways of heating up glue in bolts in an effort to remove them so you can reuse the hole. I'm not convinced this is a good idea. What do you think? Don't try this if it is fire season. Don't try this without bringing a way to cut the bolt when you are done in case it doesn't work, because it has been compromised. Cutting and replacing the bolt right next to the old bolt is one solution as you can see in this VIDEO Go see The Bolting Bible to learn all about bolting Behind the scenes Learning to install bolts, I heard that in really hot environments like the dessert, the rock could get so hot that the glue would get soft and your bolt would magically pull out and you would die. Now, I don't plan on highlining on a bolt when it's 120F degrees, or anything for that matter, but it made me think that if I could heat the bolt up, then I could pop the bolt right out of the hole and replace it. I saw the bolt buster tool that we used in this video and naturally loved the name ;), and thought it would be better to use induction than open flame. That of course requires a generator and extension cords but it was worth exploring. This could be a great option... if we used a more conductive metal. Stainless and titanium don't really conduct or conduct well. I spent about a year exploring these ideas and even did a "dry run" with bobby with the tool months before the day we filmed this. It was worth getting everyone's opinion so we did a simple no frills video bringing everyone up to speed in our journey. AFTER we made this video, Shawn Snyder bashed some more bolts in the bay area in California so this unfortunately became more relevant than we wanted. This was to address smashed bolts in Yosemite which are still not repaired from last year's drama. After posting thoughts The comments were engaging and helpful. I think the consensus is the rock would be too damaged even if we found a way that worked. A heat shield only stops the top from getting fried, but the rock has to heat up to hundreds of degrees which could spall it and make it unstable. Also, working with an open flame or a generator is impractical for many situations. Also, fires... yea... they are a problem. So! Our next test will be the almighty pry bar. When we pulled bolts sideways in this VIDEO it just lays it over then snaps the head off. I would want it to twist the entire bolt and disengage it from the glue. That would be the easiest bolt removal process ever. Then redrill the hole clean from the glue left in the hole, and reuse the same hole, not making our cliffs swiss cheese. But I have a feeling, nothing is ever that easy. Subscribe and stay tuned!

Cody Zimmerer gave me 1/2" used arborist ropes that broke at 11kN and 12kN which is super low compared to my 10mm static climbing ropes that break around 18kN. Cory Grossman gave me some new rope of the same type and they broke almost twice as high at 20 and 21kN. Used 3/4" double braided bull run rope broke at 20kn which is also pretty dang low for how thick of a rope it is. Behind the Scenes I originally sought after cores shot ropes and an arborist said he had some, sent me "well used ropes" and then sat in the queue for almost a year. I broke them to get them off the to do list and I was surprised such a large diameter rope broke so low. Then I did the VT Prusik VIDEO and Cory said he had some new rope of the exact same type so I thought comparing new vs old would make for a super good enough video as I explore HOW i want to make arborist videos. After Publishing Thoughts I feel insecure about making videos on a discipline I know nothing about but then the comments show me how many questions arborists have about their gear that takes an over zealous independent break tester to answer. I think really understanding the gaps and trying to fill them is the magic sauce. Also, it was interesting how many people brought up how tying figure 8s wasn't a standard thing in these ropes. I assume that is true, even before tying them, but it was nice to compare them to all my other rope tests which are tied with figure 8s. Splicing is a deep topic and I hope to do entire break test series on that, and of course testing all sorts of knots. It is nice to see how engaged the arborist community is. Check out the arborist bridges we tested in this video, also new vs old.

The rope broke in the knot between 17-19kN in all samples except the acid where the contaminate actually was the cause of the breakage around 10kN, which was a lot higher than we thought! Keep acid off your ropes and wear your sunscreen! See our contaminated slackline VIDEO where we tested 16 contaminates and where I also tested pee in this VIDEO! Behind the Scenes This was a highly requested video. What was "nice" is that Larry, whom I rent the lab space from, has plenty of chemicals laying around. Who thought an open barrel of oil would be so handy? I thought it was best to just use the 10mm beal nylon static rope that we use for everything to see if it behaved differently. It didn't, it just made my slacksnap a mess. After Posting Thoughts The mob has spoken. We need to soak the ropes in chemicals and let them sit a lot longer. We did let them sit overnight and they were super dry enough so I'm not sure how that can affect the rope more, but I'm not the chemist and so many people requested it. So now I need to plan a year long test and see if it makes a difference.

Emily and Zach allegedly bought a dynamic Black Diamond rope from Dicks Sporting Goods and what showed up was authentic packaging but not a Black Diamond rope. The rope that they received is likely a static rope from Ali Express which may not be properly certified and is the wrong type of rope to take climbing falls onto. Even if the rope is super good enough, they could have got really injured using this rope in a sport climbing context. Dicks Sporting Goods is an authorized retailer for Black Diamond so it's pretty strange how this happened. Dicks WEBPAGE Ali Express 10mm Static Rope options HERE We tested crap amazon carabiners in this VIDEO Behind the Scenes I had to dance around this as carefully as I could to not get sued. "How could Dicks sue you" you may ask. They could claim defamation of their brand and stick me with false facts like another company tried to do once. This channel doesn't always shine the best light on products - #hownottogetsponsored - But I think that is what makes this unique. Being independent gives me a lot of freedom to just test things that I am naturally curious about or honestly review things. I chose to be a marketing partner for ExtremeGear.org because John doesn't restrict my way of doing this channel even if it rubs against the grain sometimes and he sells most everything so I can review honestly because I don't care what you buy and anything you get from the store supports this channel 10%. So I treated this more of a news report and over used the word allegedly in order to be just the messenger boy. I also think a title with allegedly in it peaks curiosity more. I also made more of the focus of this video about the ropes on ali express which is where the rope clearly came from. After Post Thoughts I think the general consensus is it was a dirty return. Black Diamond authorized retailers are not suppose to resell life supporting climbing gear so if it was a dirty return, Dicks is still in the wrong! And I want to make sure everyone understands, even though I don't like no brand name ali express ropes, I don't think they will break dangerously low. A handful of my videos was an ali express rope I did slacksnap tests on because someone sent it to me and it was my only spare rope and it was super good enough for the tests I was doing since the rope wasn't the focus of the test. BUT THE PROBLEM IS it is a static rope and falling on that could really hurt someone. What do you think? Leave your comment in the video's comment section on youtube.

We broke 8 carabiners in a bracketed system. They all broke above MBS or Minimum Breaking Strength that is printed on the spine of the carabiner. It's fun to watch things break! This video focuses on HMS carabiners or the pear shaped ones and most of that type if not all, are locking carabiners. These carabiners have different gates and we show them to you before breaking them. It's a hybrid between a buying guide and teaching what HMS lockers are and just pure edutainment. I think it helps trust carabiners you trust your life to, when you see HOW they break, not just a number printed on the side. In order to keep these videos from being too long, we did another carabiner showdown for March madness in this VIDEO. Our first and most popular carabiner showdown with wire gates is in this VIDEO Behind the Scenes The first carabiner showdown sounded like a good idea that was simple and easy to test. It was wildly popular. I had 3 cameras running non-stop and that took over 20 hours to edit. I think the combo of a new idea and a well edited video made it popular. Repeating the videos but with locking carabiners was also worth doing but I think transition to a bracketed system is more complex than just putting them straight in line and pulling. After Posting Thoughts People evenly shared they liked straight in line pulls and the bracket system. I think doing them straight in line proved to be more popular but it is harder to showcase each carabiner one at a time without it taking up 5+ minutes of the video before the first snap. I may want to do micro mini carabiners because they don't look strong but they are.