Check your Bianchi Speedstrips

[Fastbolt]

Yep, I started to see the "tab" end snap off a couple of my older strips, and then one day when I went to remove a strip from my pocket, this (and some loose rounds) is what I had to clean out of my pocket.



To the best of my memory I figured most of my speedstrips were approaching 18-25 years old, so I felt I'd gotten my money's worth out of them and replaced them.

 

[Flattop5]

Those strips are just rubber as far as I know and rubber while durable does eventually break down.

Im not sure the temperature or other conditions this particular speed strip was kept in but 10 years of just sitting in a box could cause the rubber to just break down.

As you said speed strips arent expensive. If that is your preferred method maybe it would be a good idea to buy new ones every year to carry for "defensive" purposes and use the "old" ones for around the house, range use.

Speed strips do wear out and loosen over time as well so replacing them periodically isnt a bad idea.

Rubber and plastic become hard over time. Keeping them in tight Ziplock bags helps. Mineral oil occasionally wiped on them (and then off them as well) also helps.




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[Walter Rego]

Fastbolt, your photo looks exactly like what happened to my speedstrip. I have a few of the Quickstrips made by Tuff Products which I like as they come in many different case head/caliber sizes and round counts. We'll see if they too suffer from degradation over time.

TUFF Products - E.D.C. - QuickStrips™ - TUFF Products

 

[Stevens]

I checked the one for my "truck gun" this morning. Sure enough, there is a crack between the tab and the working part, which is still pliable, of the strip. It is about 8-9 years old and has through some sweltering heat, so I'm not too surprised about it failing. I'll keep an eye out for a replacement of some sort.
Thanks for the heads up!
Steve W

 

[Practical]

My older speedstrips disintegrated last year. They have no spring and were no older than 10 to 14 years old. They were exposed to temperature extremes from 20s to 80s when not on my person but I would guess 90 percent of time was at room temp around 72

 

[S&Wrevolverfan]

Made me go check my 10 year old speed strips, so far they still look good.

I have a question about the verdigris though, if it forms on the outside does it form on inside as well ?

While looking at the speed strips I found an old box of Speer 9mm 115 grain jhp, that I forgot about that's at least 30 years old in the original yellow 50 round carton they used to come in and the nickel cases are loaded with this verdigris. It comes off easy and I'm going to shoot some just for fun, but I was wondering if it's inside the case as well. Thanks

 

[GerSan69]

I ordered some of these based on a review by another forum member and I've been very impressed with them. They're made from a polymer and hold the rounds quite securely. They make a traditional speedstrip style and a speedloader style too. I like both.
Zeta6™ | Speed Loaders/Speed Strips that Really Fit & Really Work.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

While looking at the speed strips I found an old box of Speer 9mm 115 grain jhp, that I forgot about that's at least 30 years old in the original yellow 50 round carton they used to come in and the nickel cases are loaded with this verdigris. It comes off easy and I'm going to shoot some just for fun, but I was wondering if it's inside the case as well. Thanks

My experience is the verdigris is only on the exterior. That is based on 120 year old 43 Spanish left over from Teddy Roosevelt's war. But the brass thickness was so thin, some rounds rotted all the way through. Use a bullet puller, and see if your worst example is still good inside, before you experience is worse than mine! (usually ammo that is only 30 years old, shoots like new, but even I would check it out first)

Ivan

 

[old tanker]

Apropos of nothing whatsoever, I'll just add that I've worked with "rubber" materials now pushing 33 years at current company.

We utilize elastomeric (my engineers say this is really the correct term) materials for O-rings, gaskets, etc. My basic experience? True "rubber" meaning BUNA N is very impervious to oils, yet not good with ultra high temps inside our high pressure hot water pumps. A material called EPDM (Etheleyne Polypropelene & something more) is very good at ultra high temp situations, but breaks down & crumbles after exposure to ultraviolet rays (i.e. sunshine). For this reason all EPDM O-rings and seals, etc. are packaged in light proof packaging, vacuum sealed and still once opened shelf life is drastically reduced and they do become brittle, and crumble when handled.

Maybe the speed strips are something like that combination of materials that "age out" due to handling (finger oils, gun oils, ammo case lubes,) or UV rays.

I seem to recall one of my uncles telling me, "Rubber's the only thing that get stiffer with age." It is scary when you find engine compartment hoses that have been on an airplane since the thing left Wichita...during the Eisenhower administration.

 

[Steve912]

If you've got any Safariland holsters & gear
made of "Safarilaminate", check that stuff
too. Pulled out some old holsters recently, and
they were all crumbling like Lil Debby oatmeal
cookies (but not as tasty).

 

[gman51]

I would say speed strips lasting that long is really good. Here is a report of serious material break down.
I bought two pairs of shoes from Wally's World on the same day. One pair I had wore maybe once within 6 months. The second time I wore them pieces of the sole and heel started coming off in chunks as I walked only about 50'. In a matter of minutes walking there was hardly anything left of the soles and heels. I didn't have the receipt to return them so I just trashed them.
The second pair I hadn't yet wore in a years time. I decided to wear them to a wedding. Big mistake! I walked 50' to my car and drove to a friends house to pick her up. Walking from car to her front door I noticed chunks of rubber had come off. Walking in her house I noticed more rubber chunks on her floor. We went to the wedding and my shoes literally were falling apart. Within a short time there were chunks of rubber wherever I walked and the heels were all but gone now and the soles were even coming apart. By the time the wedding was over and I walked to my car I was walking almost flat on the ground.
I then remembered when I bought the shoes I read they were made of recycled rubber. I read once that old tires couldn't be recycled to make new tires because the old rubber wouldn't mix well with the new rubber and would fall apart. I guess the shoes proved that. Two pairs of shoes made from recycled rubber and both totally fell apart.
I had new tires on a truck that was driven maybe 100 miles a year and within 5 years the tires failed inspection because of tire rot cracks. They were not cheap tires either. The tread was still like new but they were all cracked from weather rot.
I guess speed strips lasting even 10 years is pretty good especially considering how thin the material is.

 

[Buford57]

I have a half-dozen that are 30 years old or more. They rode in my shirt pocket, pants pockets and one was in a pouch on a nylon ankle holster through many sweaty years. Never had one fail.

Bought some of the Tuff products version in the larger calibers and they seemed to work well, too, although the oldest only has about 5 years in it.

The way to make shoes from tires was perfected along the Rio Grande many years alone and WalMart can't improve on the concept.

 

[old tanker]

The way to make shoes from tires was perfected along the Rio Grande many years alone and WalMart can't improve on the concept.

I remember these as Ho Chi Minh sandals

 

[ContinentalOp]

"Rubber's the only thing that get stiffer with age."

I don't know. I think my joints will have to disagree with you on that one.