Review on 🏗️ ProClimb Twist Steel Scaffold USR 04 C09B by Jeff Westra

Background: I often attach my Air Silks to large welded brackets on ceiling joists. My previous XL Omega offset D carabiner barely fits bulky arms. That means a lot of fiddling from 20 feet to unplug the device. Also, the carabiner's basket is slightly tilted toward the large shackle, resulting in off-axis loading. Also, the shackle is made of steel, which will wear and corrode the aluminum 7075 carabiner. Steel on steel is better. So this scaffold hook is perfect for me because the gate is so big. After many years of using climbing carabiners, the massiveness of the hook was amazing. That's a whopping two pounds of steel and three times the size of any belay carabiner a climber could handle. I would consider buying another one just to impress people. Note. I think this hook is better called "ladder hook" since the typical scaffolding hook has a pear-shaped basket. This basket is more L-shaped for attachment to tubes and rungs such as firefighters might use on ladders. I suspect the major axis is still closest to the spine, but US Rigging should be contacted to be sure. That's why I'm a bit concerned that my apparatus will slip off my spine through the flat basket - that still needs to be checked. At least with D carabiners, the load on the nose only reduces the breaking load by a few kN, so it may not matter. Here the gate alone is designed for 16 kN, so it works for me in any configuration. This hook also seems to be quite strong, its minimum breaking strength (MBS) of "only" 50 kN seems to be underestimated. I would estimate it to be higher and would definitely trust it for a 5:1 (SWL) 10kN safe working load. When it comes to airy silk, nylon fabrics are of course the weaker link, that's not my point. The spring-loaded screw cap also works well. Before ordering, I was concerned about fiddling with the stud screw with one hand in 20ft, but it snaps back and forth easily with two fingers. To do this, the bowl does not have to be sheared, just rotated. As a warning, note that the collar sleeve is very large and will most likely (let's say) snag on a loose shirt when equipped. Note that Omega makes a similar side-swinging bolt hook. This innovation will likely increase the size of this bolt even further, potentially up to 62mm. As a nice bonus, the hook also includes an eyelet locking pin to secure your device to the main axis. It wasn't mentioned in the description but it's a great bonus. I'm assuming the capture pin setting is permanent so I probably won't be setting it. There are no sharp edges anywhere and the zinc coating is beautiful. It arrived with a bit of wear on the trim in one corner so I sprayed some silicone there. Overall I'm very happy to be able to replace my carabiner with this hook and be able to attach it to non-traditional attachment points like bridges or pipes without the need for a set of spans. Please note that in the photo below I have added vinyl pads on the hook to reduce friction between the 8 aluminum trigger. PS Another benefit of the size of this hook is that I have my name and e- mail address can be written directly on the back with a pen!