D4 Design Portaledges--Update from BigWallGear

D4 Design studio has been busy!

The D4 system of portaledge design is proving to be the fastest, lightest, strongest, simplest framed portaledge system ever.  The latest D4 inspirations are the new tapered frame designs.  All D4 designs are now open source (Creative Commons with Attribution) and tons of new info for designing and building your own D4 design portaledges is on the following sites:

• http://bigwalls.net  (general big wall reference for 30 years)

• http://bigwallsforum.com  (forum to share DIY big wall info)

• http://bigwallgear.com (all the lastest fashions in portaledge design).

(yeah, pretty much all the "big wall" domains).

Delta2p News:
The Delta2p has been used on a remote high altitude big wall by Chuan He who provided very good reviews and writes: "My partners are include Bin Sun and Rocker who is the photographer. We feel the (new route on Putala) is about 600m, 5.9+, A2+, 15 pitches. It took us 5 nights on the wall. Wet and frozen wall cause hail on the first day and heavy rain on the fourth day inspired us to keep fighting."

Haig Rice used the Delta2p for a Salvos Sleep Out high above Hobart.  And the Delta2p was featured in the Australian print magazine Wild during a Tasmanian forest aerial blockade.  See bigwallgear.com for more pics on the Delta2p page.  The Yosemite testers have been awesome, and huge kudos for the product feedback, which is just making the design better.  

Next batch available Spring 2021, but note: if you are doing an interesting trip that needs this cutting edge tech, get in touch at deuce4@bigwalls.net and maybe I can get one made sooner, especially if it will get used with fotos and feedback in time for the next batch!. Custom design work and consulting available too.

OPEN SOURCE NEWS:
Below a list of some of the D4 design features, new to the world of portaledges, and the basic principles (updated on bigwalls.net).
All D4 design info and plans are available online.  The D4 system is really the best system to make a collapsible ("porta") ledge, so it's best if all the manufacturers move to this better design.  
D4's motto is "Better Design for Better Climbs"™

Delta 1p Open Source
Adding to the D4 portaledge design family is the new Delta1p.  This is a very efficient, light ergonomic, and fast set-up one-person portaledge design.  Videos of instant set-up (less than a minute including tensioning the bed) on instagram @bigwalldeuce
Full specifications are posted on bigwalls.net.  Fun with this design included coming up with a new D4 tensioning system, which  went from very vague idea an amazing way to tension the big end of a D4 delta frame. Full Details.  

Activism:
D4 continues to support peaceful protest in the rainforests of Australia, a dwindling resource.  An article was published in Forbes (google "forbes portaledge").

Do-it-Yourself (DIY) Portaledge designs:
John Middendorf continues to support DIY builders with portaledge design information.  The latest is a series of videos  to make a simple, $100 portaledge using only locally available aluminium tubing and inexpensive but high quality eBay tube benders.  This DIY ledge design is similar to the old A5 design, but with curved corners, and does not feature any fancy D4 features, like D4 joiners or hybrid-diameter frame, but it is a simple, easy-to-build first portaledge project.  Tube bending is a bit of art and a bit of engineering, lots of info posted on http://bigwallsforum.com

If you have time, check out the Bob Brown Foundation's coverage of the Big Canopy Campout this weekend.  Saturday night Aussie time 6pm, there will be live coverage of the event.

That's it for now.  Thanks for catching up this far! If you don't want this kind of news of D4, I understand and will not feel jilted in you click the unsubscribe link.  It has been a fun and creative time developing the D4 portaledge system.  Check out  progress on instagram @bigwalldeuce

Cheers and Kind Regards,
John Middendorf
--from the worldwide D4 headquarters in sunny Tasmania.