I have two ideas that will blow your mind.. idea one you pay for a 3rd party testing lab to do a few drops… drop a) drop a 220 lbs dummy as intended with a screamer as a secondary. And a force meter. You’ll see a fully designed and functional screamer. Then drop B) you use it as the primary means of connection and drop ithe same dummy with the meter. Will this produce a different result??? Then drop C) you ask them to leave the dummy sitting up on the pole completely weighted into the screamer as the primary attachment and complete the drop with the same dummy and meter approximately 4-8 hours later. Will those results be the same? What if you wet the screamer since it rains and we sweat while hunting….? Now drop d) is the case study drop… you drop the same dummy with same meter hooked into a normal tether and prusik so you have the standard force to base your data on. Each drop test only costs around $400 so for about $1600 you can have all that data you’d ever want my friend.
Idea number two is even easier. You email customer service at Yates. Tell them the screamer model you use, tell them that you use it in a tree as the primary (only, or main) attachment for dynamic loading. Tell them that you are using it as your lanyard and ask them for the data you want since you know it exists. Maybe they will give you an email back that says absolutely our screamer is plenty strong enough and designed to be used under a continuous working load and as the primary means of absorbing a fall. Then post a copy of that email on here for all of us. At that point I will concede that your point of view is correct
I have conceded twice now that testing after screamers have been loaded then subjecting them to falls probably doesn't exist.
I've been quite clear. I'm saying that thread strength is a known quantity. And thread degradation due to forces being applied to it is available.
This data can be used to figure out how to make a functional screamer - how do we know? Screamer testing shows consistent results.
We can take those consistent results, and do some basic equations, being quite conservative, on how much the thread will degrade after being subjected to loads below their break strength. And use that to draw conclusions about a screamer being useful for our purposes after being exposed to loads below it's thread breaking threshold.
I'm asking if you've done these equations. My guess is no. And of course you wouldn't, there's been no reason to. My other question, is are you so familiar with thread degradation rates due to being subjected to loads that you can make such a definitive statement as to the outcome of subjecting a screamer to constant loading? You might be. Again, I've been asking you to please share if you've got some information from your experience in the field to help us understand. But again, it doesn't sound like you do. Also ok, as why would this be useful to you?
I'm simply trying to close the gap between some information, and some conclusions drawn from it. That's all.
It seems to me, that if screamers were this sensitive, there would be warnings slapped all over their packaging and websites that stress that if they've been subjected to loads below their thread breaking threshold for any period of time, they will not function properly. But you don't see that. All I can find are the default answers of "if you fall on one, replace it" or "replace after X years" just like every other piece of equipment.
Let me ask a simpler question.
Best case scenario, a screamer is kept in an airtight container out of UV light, and under complete slack until the moment its exposed to the forces of a fall.
Worst case scenario a screamer with an activation threshold of 2kN is held under tension at 1.9kN indefinitely until all the threads weaken and pop and its' now useless.
Now take a screamer exposed to sunlight, sweat, rain, dirt, and a person subjecting it to 1.5kN of force for a total of two hours over the course of a dozen climbs in a hunting season. It's then subjected to the forces of a 3' fall. Do you think the results of this are closer to the best case scenario or the worst case scenario?
And then a second question. Do you think the answer is knowable?