When should a plane test be performed?

• A. Once a month, when receiving new climbers and when gaffs have been sharpened.
• B. Daily, before each climb.
• C. Only after a failure.
• D. Never.

Answer: (A)

The test is about keeping gear safe and reliable through regular, situation-specific checks. A monthly plane test acts as a routine reliability check to catch wear, corrosion, or minor damage before it becomes a problem. It’s also sensible to run it when bringing in new climbers, because their experience and gear can introduce new variables or hidden faults that wouldn’t be caught otherwise. And when gaffs are sharpened, a plane test helps ensure that sharpening hasn’t altered the gear’s fit, balance, or edge quality in a way that could cause an unsafe situation.

In short, this test is done on a regular schedule and whenever gear changes hands or undergoes maintenance to reduce the chance of equipment failure during use. Daily checks would be overly burdensome and still not catch issues that developed between uses, while waiting for a failure or never testing would leave you vulnerable to avoidable accidents.