Lidl Bargains

I'm using the middle size carabiners on my davit falls lifting a heavy double skinned 8'6" grp tender dinghy and they work fine. The dinghy has a grp hull with a complete top moulding comprising all-in-one deck/twin cockpits/floors/ box buoyancy seats at bow/stern/midships and has two rowlock rowing positions on each gunwhale and a chunky outboard transon so it is heavy, very heavy!

Must be good cheese!
 
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I bet they're made from Chinese cheese metal. I wouldn't trust them to much more than a keyring.

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At that price you could afford to test a couple to destruction and apply your own safe working load (seamans factor of 6) for the others.
 
I'm sure they do work fine. Things like this are fine, until one day they aren't. If it fails, it will fail catastrophically without warning, not gradually degrade.

Your tender is not only very heavy, but also sounds very expensive. A few thousand pounds worth? And you lift it and swing it around in the air held on by carabiners costing 69 pence from a discount supermarket?

I think I would stump up a few extra pounds for ones I could trust a bit more.
 
If Lidl in Gosport's got any left, I'll be getting a set of karabiners, and perhaps the shackles, but I won't be using them for anything where they'd be loaded anywhere near their limit even if they were made of aluminium.

I suspect they'll be fine in non-critical applications, but if my life was going to depend on 'em, I'd want good ones, which probably excludes 50% or more of the average swindleriy's stock too. I just wonder how one tells the difference. I don't know and I'll bet I'm not the only one.

I did notice thet they're 18/10 whch is the same as A4, so I reckon quality should be pretty reasonable.
 
Are you sure you're not Angus Mc DOOM? Seriously, I've put loads on over and above my tender loads, even at my age I'm not totally senile, at least not for another week or so!

Stainless does fail suddenly it's true, but the damage to the tender cannot be anything like the damage I do to it and have to repair after ol'stiff-neck here backs it into piles etc 'cos I can't rotate my head like a parakeet anymore. It wasn't expensive, at least, not to me, although it probably was once. I had it after I salvaged it, turned it in and 6 months later was awarded it as it was unclaimed. Repairs, refit and re-spray later plus running repairs after I kept walloping it and it is a good tender.
 
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I bet they're made from Chinese cheese metal. I wouldn't trust them to much more than a keyring.

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" ... an average stainless steel object is composed of about 60% recycled material, 25% originating from end-of-life products and 35% coming from manufacturing processes."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel

Do any of us really know the quality of our s/steel fittings ?
 
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Do any of us really know the quality of our s/steel fittings ?

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I would agree that it is a problem, and unless we use expensive certified equipment, we are not going to know for sure. However, I would still trust branded kit from manufacturers like Lewmar and Witchard more than unbranded stuff from a discount supermarket.

I would expect that if branded equipment fails the manufacturer is more likely to take an interest than Lidl, who would probably just respond that they never said it was suitable for marine use anyway.
 
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Do any of us really know the quality of our s/steel fittings ?

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I would agree that it is a problem, and unless we use expensive certified equipment, we are not going to know for sure. However, I would still trust branded kit from manufacturers like Lewmar and Witchard more than unbranded stuff from a discount supermarket.

I would expect that if branded equipment fails the manufacturer is more likely to take an interest than Lidl, who would probably just respond that they never said it was suitable for marine use anyway.

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But these days how much of the 'branded stuff is actually marked with the big companies name, once it is off the display card there is nothing to link it to the big name you paid the premium to get.
 
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Relax, the guy thinks he gets what he pays for. The more fool him. Sure, some cheap stuff is rubbish, but some is also simply good value. I have had loads of good stuff from Netto/ Lidl/ Aldi - one simply needs to assess its worth carefully when you see it & only buy if it suits - some does, some doesn't.

My Bresser Night vision monocular & the spotter scope & the waterproof compas binoculars, the LCD TV, Netto's boxes of wine & SWMBO's oilies have all been excellent value.
 
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The more fool him

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Well Mr Searush, thanks very much for calling me a fool just because I think discount supermarket "sailing" hardware costing 69 pence carries a risk that it may not be up to the job on a boat.

Unlike that list of yours of other cheap items, I use shackles to take loads. If your cheap waterproofs fail, you get a wet bum. If my shackle holding my mainsheet to my traveller fails, someone could get the boom in their head at high speed.

I might be a fool in your opinion, but I bet there are others who have similar foolish opinions to mine because they care for the safety of their boat and crew, and consequently think that there is no place for a 69 pence Lidl shackle on a sailing boat bigger than a dinghy.

Anyway, both you and I pay our money, and make our foolish or wise choice. As I seem to be in a minority of one here, I shall say no more.
 
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But these days how much of the 'branded stuff is actually marked with the big companies name

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Wichard stuff is.
 
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having a bit of kit knackered to avoid leaving their berths

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...or leaving their boat with only 1 oar for paddling and 4 knots of Afon Mawddach flow to contend with rushing its way down from Llanelltyd.
 
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But these days how much of the 'branded stuff is actually marked with the big companies name

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Wichard stuff is.

[/ QUOTE ] and good stuff it is too. We've got a pair of trigger release snap shackles for our spinnaker. They're brilliant.
 
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