OK, I know why people put these things on their shrouds. In reality they hasten the corrosion of stainless by restricting the oxygen that stainless requires by trapping moisture. Take a look at your coated stainless lifelines after a couple of years. Go commando. That's all I'm sayin'. Happy New Year.
I would disagree..
as much as long term "lack of oxygen" may be responsible for stainless pitting and corrosion, the experts all seem to agree that wrapping the keepers and pins with rigging tape is a great solution to the problem of keeping the keepers in/not snagging lines and feet on them .... yet that practice almost always lets water in under it.
in addition, the coated lifelines are different in that the water works its way in under the coating by getting between and around the individual strands that make up the wire cable... it wicks its way in.
in both cases, the water remains there for a long time and there is no oxygen to protect the metal...
it is my opinion that the open cover such as shown will allow for less contact with moisture, yet still allow the air to circulate around the hardware and let it dry when it does get wet. a few holes drilled in it will allow air to pass thru it and give it additional drying effect.
the only downside is that you cant visually see if there is a problem developing without lifting the tube.... and the inspeting of it is as simple as using two fingers to slide the tube up the shroud, look and let it drop.... with the tube over it, problems other than normal wear dont usually develop...
so from this, its easy to see I am in favor of the protective tube, and will never understand the reasoning for wrapping the pins and keepers with rigging tape, except as a quick.
temporary fix...
the only thing worse than gouging your foot on a cotter pin, is having a $75-150 line damaged by it.... 'cuz my foot heals faster than my wallet does.
and another advantage of the tubes, they make great spider nursery's, for those people that like spiders
