Nuts: Metolius Astro Wires
17th Jul 2006
Strange name, but great bit of kit. I would usually associate 'Astro' with something large, not something as tiny and well formed as these nuts are. I'm not going to tell porkies. I have not tested these nuts to their full capacity. Sure I've placed them and can vouch that the tiny curved faces on the larger ones help with secure placements, but I have not fallen or jumped on to them! Call me a half hearted gear tester, but I am just not willing to deliberately throw myself onto such tiny wires in the name of gear reviewing! Rumour has it that the chief buyer for a reputable chain of climbing shops, of larger than average build, took a 6m fall onto a pair of Astro nNts whilst new routing in his local quarry. They held and he bought a load of them! That said I am very happy indeed to carry them on my rack. They weigh virtually nothing, yet give ultimate reassurance that if I were to need micro protection it's there. The key to these nuts is in the metal alloy used to make the nuts themselves. It is a Bronze-Silicone mix designed to give and mould to the surface of the rock, but bite at the same time, not creeping too much. Having said that I haven’t yet fallen onto any of them I have dead-weight tested a couple and can vouch for the fact that the metal deforms a tidsy bit to give a really snug placement that is difficult to remove without the aid of a nut key!
The tiny collars are colour coordinated with the larger Metolius nut ranges.
Cost: £60 for 5.
I liked:
Quality
Weight
Reassurance of having them on my harness
I didn't like:
A bit pricy, but the Bronze-Silicone mix is apparently not cheap.