Cougar bridge near miss! (and Liger mod)

B Diggedy

It is what it is..
Joined
Sep 1, 2014
Messages
40
Location
Valley Of the Sun, AZ
Whats up guys, so I came up on some extra $ to spend on some climbing gear and decided I'd Liger up my Cougar saddle. Some climbs ago I had discovered the recalls concerning the rope bridges on Cougars. I looked into if my saddle was from these batches and behold, it was. After looking into the details on which rope bridges are the bad ones, I determined that the seller replaced it(though i did not specifically contact them, ebay seller). The suspect bridges were red with a black cover or checkered if i remember correct, mine was orange with a black cover. Distinctly NOT red, so I was satisfied, or so I thought...
EDIT: I took another look at the old recalls, this bridge was NOT the recalled one.
After all this speak of these spliced bridges failing on this saddle I've had it interfer with my climbing in the form of paranoia. Realizing I have lost confidence with this part of my system, it was now time to invest in my peace of mind. And good thing I did, juicy high res pics to follow....

One thing supporting my perceived paranoia was this spot that felt a tad "compressed" where the pulley sits..
cougarropebridge06.png


On the left side where it girths to the ring, it was like this underneath. I dont think its dirt, the right side is "clean"...
cougarropebridge05.png


So now I decided to dissect my old rope bridge, look at this shit....

This was on the top of the bridge where the pulley would sit... :O
cougarropebridge02.png


cougarropebridge04.png


cougarropebridge01.png


cougarropebridge03.png


It was at this point i realized it was not paranoia, but my instinct calling. Ive only climbed 10-11 times and i've been incredibly gentle to my gear. Obviously there is no way this is normal wear for even a rope bridge..

I kind of feel like i survived an attempted assassination..:lol:

On the realeo though, I find this to be unacceptable. The saddle itself is legit, however I will never do a girth hitched rope bridge ever again. My first close call should at least be at a jobsite, not while im taking my time to learn while using safe/proper techniques. I could have been destroyed before ever working a day in tree care, sad that would be.

I'll give weaver the benefit of the doubt, they don't make the rope bridges and im sure they're just as pissed as I/others was/were. Trust is obviously important in this industry.

Anyways, enough of the justified angryness. My Cougar is now as it should have been, and my confidence is restored:D

ligersetup01.png


ligercloseup01.png


This post should also serve as a reminder. If it don't feel right, there's a reason. Don't ignore it!
 
Great passing along the info..your experience can help other folks.

Glad you gave in to those instincts...an important part of tree work or other dangerous activities.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9
Negative, I bought it new. The batch my saddle was apart of was in the recall(the date on the leather patch) but it didn't have the same bridge the recall described. I figure they sent a recall notice to the dealers and they replaced them. This was before they came out with the webbing bridges.
 
My saddle has a rope bridge, I just replace it often with any 12 strand line so it is easy to inspect. I feel comfy with it
 
Just replaced my TM rope bridge a week or so ago with samson velocity hot 24strand....bought in bulk, change it out often, cheap, no worries
 
eBay seller...not an arborist supply store?
One wonders if they got hold of a batch of recalled harnesses for resale...
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #15
The seller was an arborist supplier with a good seller rating. I'd post a link but my purchase history doesnt go back that far..
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #16
Went up to the usual spot I mess around at earlier today to try out the mod to my saddle. Very nice is all I can say. It does sit a tad differently, but not in a bad way at all. Felt great to hang on the rope without any concerns about my gear failing for once. Perhaps this will motivate me to climb more..
 
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