When selecting protection placements, what is the difference between crack-friendly gear and edge-friendly gear?

• A. Crack-friendly gear sits in cracks, taking advantage of internal friction; edge-friendly gear sits on edges or knobs with different grip and load characteristics.
• B. Crack-friendly gear sits on edges or knobs and relies on friction; edge-friendly gear sits in cracks using internal friction.
• C. Crack-friendly gear is always stronger than edge-friendly gear.
• D. Crack-friendly gear and edge-friendly gear have identical grip and load characteristics.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is how protection interacts with the rock feature it sits on. Crack-friendly gear is designed to sit inside cracks, where the load is transferred along the crack walls and the piece wedges or tightens with friction as it’s loaded. This uses the rock’s internal contact surfaces to hold, so friction within the crack plays a big role in keeping the gear in place. Edge-friendly gear, on the other hand, is placed on sharp features like edges or knobs, where the grip and load path depend on the geometry of that edge and how the rock and gear meet it, which can behave quite differently under load.

That’s why the described choice is the best: crack-friendly gear sits in cracks, taking advantage of internal friction to hold, while edge-friendly gear sits on edges or knobs with distinct grip and load characteristics. The other statements misrepresent how these placements behave—swapping environments, claiming one type is always stronger, or saying their grip is identical.