Lone Wolf
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: jstephens61
14-Oct-20
Sitting 30’ up a tree this morning in my 15 year old LW climber, I was wondering at what point I should change out the belts. Up a tree would not be the best place to find out it was past time. How often does anyone one replace the traction belts.
From: Supernaut
14-Oct-20
I have no advice to offer but will be keeping an eye on this thread. I've been using climbers for about 36 years and this is my first year in a Lone Wolf (Assault hand climber). It took a few practices run in the yard to get used to be I can say for me it is the quietest, safest and easiest to use climber I've ever had.
From: Gileguy
14-Oct-20
I changed mine when I noticed the rubber start to crack & show the cable running through it. Tried asking Lone Wolf about it but couldn't get them to respond, maybe due to liability.
From: BillyD
14-Oct-20
Posed this very same question to myself last year (10yr LW Assault). Simply decided there was no downside in replacing the straps and went ahead and did so. Imo, reasonable capital commitment for peace of mind.
From: APauls
14-Oct-20
I tried cutting the belt on one because it was too long for my trees. For the life of me couldn't get it cut. So the innards are incredibly tough. Don't need to worry about it snapping imo. You would notice insane wear before it was brittle enough that all the teeth simply fell off and the belt slipped through. I'd say you're safe until you notice wear getting bad.
From: 35-Acre
14-Oct-20
I'm on 22 years with mine. Haven't changed them. No signs of wear.
From: jstephens61
14-Oct-20
And I’m down 30# from last year, so that should help too.
From: stagetek
14-Oct-20
30' wow. That's a hell of a climb. What does LW advise ? I'll bet they would tell you to change it.
From: WV Mountaineer
14-Oct-20
Any metal cable wrapped in rubber is going to turn into a rusted metal cable. Heat changes would cause this too. The danger isn’t in snapping it. It’s in it rusting and eventually snapping.
From: EIStone
14-Oct-20
I changed mine about two years ago and also went to the larger belts so I can climb larger trees.
From: Two Feathers
14-Oct-20
I changed mine after 20 years. It broke climbing a skinny tree. I replaced both belts with the longer belts they offered for sale.
From: Candor
14-Oct-20
Lone Wolf customer service apparently sucks. They seem unable to respond to anything.
Signed,
Disenchanted Customer
(apologies for corrupting your thread)
From: sticksender
15-Oct-20
A long time ago LW would state that the belts should be changed every 5 years. They even mentioned to write the date of purchase in magic marker on the belt so as to remember when to get new ones. They seem to have gotten away from making any kind of recommendation about that nowadays. IMO it would depend on how much usage the climber receives. You might climb with it once a season, or use it 100 times a season, and that would probably impact on how fast the belts "wear out". My latest replacement belts are now 5 years old but look great so I'm not changing them for a while.
From: pa10point
15-Oct-20
My lone wolf belts have a date stamped on them from lone wolf. They used to say change them every 5 years. Guessing legal issue probably reason they won't say now, in case one would break before 5 years.
From: Cheesehead Mike
16-Oct-20
I have a sit and climb that I think is from the first year they built them. It has the transparent belt. I use it a lot every year and have never changed the belts and they show no sign of wear.
From: So467
16-Oct-20
I was having the same thoughts this past week about my LW climber some good info. I don’t use mine but a few times a year. But at 42 dollars a belt seems like I should buy new ones.
From: Bake
16-Oct-20
Sorry for the thread hack, but has anyone replaced the grommets, or whatever they call that hold the belts? Mine are stiff and hard to move. I keep thinking I should replace them and the belts. Even though I rarely use it anymore
From: Bowfreak
16-Oct-20
I'm not sure how the belt could rust? I would think that the rubber would have to be cracked to allow moisture to seep in?
From: skipmaster1
16-Oct-20
Bake- I replaced mine with the kit they sell after using it at least 60x a year for 10 years. I replace the belts every 5 years or so. I use a hand climber and keep an xl of the top abs a regular on the bottom and flip them for bigger trees.
