In reply to john arran:
> A manufacturer's life expectancy surely will be derived based on the assumption that the cams will receive at least light usage during that time. Remaining sealed in the packet for that duration certainly wouldn't count as light usage, and unless somebody could come up with a reason why any degradation at all could happen while still packaged as new, I'd have no issues at all with treating them as new. To do otherwise would seem to me to be pretty bonkers level concervative thinking.
Most lifespan recommendations I see from manufacturers will give you some guidance on age vs wear and the maximum lifespans are often assuming the product has not been used and has been stored correctly. One of my harnesses for example has a table running from never used (10 years) to almost daily (less than 1 year). We recently had to throw out 10 mountain bike helmets, still in their packaging because they had reached the 3 year life span (or 5 I can't recall) the manufacturer set before we got them into use. I would wear one myself, however the foam will have deteriorated to some degree and who are we to put a customer in one and say it's safe?
This is the text I was referring to from the camelot manual: "Inspect your gear before and after each use, and retire it when it fails inspection or when it reaches its maximum lifespan, even if unused and properly stored".
I don't think anyone is suggesting it would be unsafe to use, just that you should buy a new one after 10 years! It is unfortunate, because if you use equipment for work, then you are taking a risk by deciding to ignore the manufacturers decision on lifespan. Most people don't care if it's yours and your partners own personal use, however I think attitudes tend to trickle down from industry to the public and I wouldn't be surprised if in 10 years time, having a climbing partner turn up with software that is over 10 years old might be a problem for some people, regardless of condition.
Post edited at 11:10