We're out of town!

We will be out of town from May 3rd until May 12th, or so... 
Adjust your panic accordingly.  If possible, I'll try to check on emails and such, but a reply could be slow in coming.

You can still send in orders and all that other jazz, but you will have to wait on getting a confirmation.

We're Back!

We're Back!
Give us some time to sort through the wreckage and the tons of emails and orders that came in during our hiatus.  If you sent in an order you should have received a confirm by now.  If not, bend our ear about it.

If you have any wall plans for 2012, be sure to order your wall goodies EARLY!  Plan ahead for maximum product enjoyment.

Take it S L O W

We will be mostly closed / out of the office / doing the winter hiatus thing until sometime in late February.  Orders that are in here now will be made and shipped for their due dates.  New orders will be accepted for Spring delivery.  If you need something NOW, you will need to email us to see just how possible that might be.

If you want a Portaledge for the Spring/Summer of 2012, think about getting that order in here now. There is already a list going and production, as always, is limited.

See ya'll in 2012!

Copperhead Sizing

Here is a pic that will help you get an idea on what sizes copperheads come in from FISH.  The smallest is the #1, going up to the #5.  We also make a #6 which is the same components as the number 5, but with no crimp in the middle of the head.  This gives it a fatter body, much like the jump from the #3 to the #4.  We do not make the dreaded "#0", as even in a lab it will only hold about 225lbs.  When you hear about guys running out it out on a string of zeros, they are really on #1's 99.3% of the time.

Here is some more info about copperheads and rivet hangers from our catalog pages.

Spectra Slings and Cord Test

Spectra Slings and Cord Test

Posted on Supertopo.com

Read the entire thread here:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=274304

Lazide Writes:
I also have some 2 year old mammut slings with light fuzzing, and some 5mm spectra cordalettes and at least as old spectra cam slings (5mm cord) - how about those?

Russ writes:
The Mammut cord was pulled to 4200lbs and there was some fiber separation at the points where the biners were. Here are 2 pics:

The Mammut sling is rated to around 4800lbs.... survey says, bomber.

Last chance to order for X-Mas delivery!!

We are getting down to the wire and if you had any dreams of FISH stuff under the tree this season, now would be the time to order.  In about a week, no more orders will be accepted for delivery by Christmas.

There have been a lot of people getting early orders in for Spring delivery, and this is a great way to lock in 2011 prices and make sure you have the goods for those early season walls.  Keep in mind, FISH production will be mostly closed for all of January and well into February of 2012, so plan your orders accordingly.  Email us direct if you have any time sensitive questions.

Vacation and Shipping schedule 2011

Ok... all you Spring order guys should be bailing off your walls already with tons of shiny new FISH stuff.  You Fall Season guys have some time to get your orders in for August delivery.  This rest of this year it is looking like this:

June:  Orders coming in and out as usual, unless it is for Portaledges.  You should order in JUNE, for something like a Mid July or August delivery.  Econoledges can be ordered any time and will ship sooner than ledges with a rain fly.

July:  We will be mostly closed for all of July.  It is too hot to climb anyway, but small items can be ordered and shipped as we are in and out all month.  You can order Portaledges, Haul Bags and big stuff to be shipped in August.

August: Shipping all month as much as we can.  All the June and July portaledges will be going out this month.  Regular orders will be filled as fast as possible, but on August 15th, we will be accepting no more orders for anything, unless they are for delivery in mid October.

September: Full on closed from 8/26 until 10/5.  We will not even be in the country.  Emails will probably not be answered, no confirmations will be going out, and the cone of silence will be lowered.  You can place orders and stuff like usual for delivery sometime in Oct.  All orders with a September delivery or drop dead date will be shipped for a timely arrival.

October:  Back into the office on 10/6 to a mountain of emails, rants, and hate mail.  We will probably be back up with production and shipping about a week after we get back.

November: Start getting your orders in here for Christmas delivery.

December:  The elves will be hard at work making your goodies until about Dec. 15th.  No more orders will be accepted after about the 15th.  The last shipping day will be Dec. 20th for arrival by Christmas.  After the 20th, we will be closed until well into the New Year.

Hope this helps for your trip planning and keeps you in the loop a bit as far as getting some gear for your next project.

Happy ledge customer!

Before vacation we sent out a ton of ledges for mostly visiting British climbers.  The best way to get these goods to international climbers is to ship the product directly to the Yosemite Post Office.  Cheap, easy, and it will be there waiting for you when you arrive.

Reports of success are starting to filter in from this latest batch of wall climbers:

by David Coley on 09:47 Tue
Russ, bye the way the Fish ledge arrived on time at the post office just like you said it would. Thanks.
We got hit by a rain storm on Lurking Fear in mid September and spent a night with three of us on a double whammy, so who says Fish ledges are too small. And unlike a BD one, you can put it up in the dark by yourself.

Portaledge waterproofing

From an email exchange a while back.  Good info:

On May 4, 2010, at 11:07 AM, Hoffman, Dan F wrote:
Fish,
My 5-season fly is pretty old (10+years) and I tested it in the backyard with a hose and it is no longer waterproof

Portaledge Flagging cont.....

To further rant on this subject.... I just finished repairing a ledge that was flagged for a couple of walls.  Slow ascent style walls.  Out all day for weeks kinda walls.  The UV exposure to this ledge had shrunk the bed to the point where a hammer was needed to get the ledge together, and something like a come-a-long to get it apart.  I had to cut off over an inch off of each tube to get the ledge working again as it should.  Food for thought.....

Portaledge Review

Below is a link to a good overview of available portaledges from a year or so ago.  Big Wall Kate put this together for a project she was working on, I think for one of the magazines.  Anyway, it has tons of good info in there, some wall tips, and photos.  As a "by the way", Kate has changed over and is now using a FISH ledge for all her ascents.

Portaledge Review

If you ordered a portaledge right now...

Production and delivery for April is full.  The next delivery window for ledges ordered RIGHT NOW is late May at the earliest!  So, if you are planning a trip and need a ledge, I'd get on that train pronto.

Some new info!!!

Here is some updated info:

Our mailing address has changed!

Do not send anything to our old P.O. Box 995.
Send everything to:
FISH
HC1 Box 696
Joshua Tree, Ca. 92252
Phone number is 760.362.4697
Fax number is 760.666.3950
email is info@FishProducts.com


If you are sending us something via UPS or FedX, email us for a street address.

Back to business

We are back from our Winter Hiatus, and after going through about 400 emails, we will be ready to serve.  Thanks for hanging in there and we'll be responding and shipping just as soon as we can.

Merry Christmas and see ya next year!

Thanks for the skate board Santa!!

Thanks for all the orders and hopefully they have all arrived in time to get under the tree.  There is no more time to make and ship orders for Christmas, so please don't beg.  Orders not needed for Christmas are always welcome, but your confirmation email might be a bit late since we are going to be out of town until after the New Year.  See ya in Twenty-Eleven, hopefully with all sorts of new goodies and a new and improved FISH web site.  Keep checking back here for a launch date.

Do you FLAG your ledge??

I've posted this Q over on SuperTopo, but you can answer here as well.  These were the questions:

How many people actually flag their ledge these days?

How many flagged ledges do you voyeurs see up on El Cap, as a percentage of total ledges seen?

And if you don't, why don't you flag your ledge?


Thanks for any feedback. As for 2011 there is probably going to be some portaledge changes since the 2010 prototype ledges outfitted specifically for flagging were a big hit.
Let me know about it!


Here is some more info on flagging from Climbing Magazine:  Flagging your Ledge


Here is a previous blog post I made in May about ledge flagging and how it will damage your ledge.

Christmas!

Production schedule is pretty darn full.  If you wanted anything, you might have a couple more days to order, then lights out.

Orders not needed by 12/25 are still welcome.

D5 Hammer Production

photo by Vershke Group

At last, the cool new D5 hammers are freshly minted and ready to pound some iron!  This is the long running  (5 years from concept to fruition?) project from over on Supertopo.  All FISH did was tack up some slings, so toss out a big hand to Theron Moses, Joseph Healy, Conrad Anker and a bunch of other SuperTacoites that made it happen.
Here are links to the whole story:


Who's in?

Who's in II?

I want one list of people!

Actual hammer Production

Hammer Time announcement

You  can order your hammer right here from The Vershke Group

Closed for Thanksgiving

FISH will be closed for Thanksgiving starting today, and will back in action on Dec. 1st.

If you have any wild dreams of getting some FISH stuff under the tree for Christmas, I would suggest ordering right now.  There are already a bunch of Portaledge orders in here and production time is getting short.  The last day to order for Christmas delivery will probably be around Dec 10th.  After that all bets are off for getting your goods on time.

John "the Gambler" Rosholt has been found.

Johns remains have been recovered in Red Rocks.  Many posts, stories and pics can be found here on SuperTopo and over on Mountain Project.

Here is an article by Pete Takeda that will supply the back story and some history on John: The Gambler