Leeper Z Pitons
Leeper Z Pitons were first created in 1962. I was able to find some of the Z pitons from the 1962 set where on the photo to the right shows the early piton eye cuts, shown as the upper yellow Z Piton, is different than the later ones shown lower. The 1962 set was a slightly thinner steel than the Z pitons made in the 1970s. |
The Z pitons were offered in 7 different sizes, 3 being short and 4 being long. Taking the information shown in the Leeper catalogs, only one of the many Leeper Z Pitons presently in the museum match what the catalog shows as blade length measurements and piton weight. So there were many different Z pitons made from 1962 to 1982 when they were discontinued. Showing the Leeper Z Piton short version. |
I am not sure what climbing magazine this advertisement is from but at some point Ed Leeper started creating the Z Pitons, or Z Section Pitons, or Z Superpitons with a slightly thicker metal being .080" thick. So overall there were three sets of seven Z pitons created. The 1962 set - thinner metal The late 1960s/1970s set - thinner metal The 1970s/early 1980s set - thicker metal |