In this respect it is very much like its predecessor, the BD ATC-XP, and innumerable other similar devices. All opinions are his own.The BD ATC-Guide is a tube-style belay/rappel device with friction ridges. Special thanks to AJ at Mountain Life International and Jeremy Ray for their assistance in making the above video.ĭisclaimer: The author bought this item with his own money. Technical Instructions from Black Diamond
#Black diamond atc design free
International Mountain Equipment, North Conway NHĮastern Mountain Sports, North Conway NH Shop Online!īackcountry and adding our favorite Black Diamond RockLock Magnetron Carabiner to go with it gets you to free two-day shipping! You can check it out from the following retailers: Shop Local! We also find the light weight and competitive price of this device to be a compelling reason to add it to your kit. The symmetrical design also makes this device equally effective for those who are right or left handed, something that many similar devices do not do. It’s an excellent choice for a new belayer due to its intuitive use and extra layer of security it provides while maintaining a simple design.
While it’s obvious this would be a good tool for gym and sport climbers we believe it could also earn a place with climbing guides and instructors. The Black Diamond ATC Pilot is a great addition to the growing amount of assisted braking devices on the market. We would likely still carry a traditional belay device like the Black Diamond ATC Belay Device if we were planning on doing a lot of rappelling. Care must be taken as without gloves on your hand will come in contact with the carabiner which will create some heat on a long or fast rappel. While the Black Diamond ATC Pilot is not designed for rappelling it can safely be used to descend a single strand rappel. A brake hand is required 100% of the time.
Regardless the device must not be treated as “auto-locking”. The slightly thicker Black Diamond 9.4 mm used in the video below would hold fast. We found skinny new single ropes like our Sterling Fushion Nano IX 9 mm would slowly slip in a top-rope system (but were easily locked off with proper brake hand position). The amount of braking will vary based on rope diameter and age, along with the amount of friction already in the system (top-rope vs lead catch). In the event of a fall it is highly unlikely for a belayer to keep upward pressure on this lever and intuitive to slide the brake hand back down the strand for a secure catch. With just slight upward pressure on the thumb lever (while keeping the brake hand around the brake strand) slack could be payed out as easily as any tube style belay device and at least one tester felt it could be payed out even smoother than a Petzl Gri Gri+ in experienced hands. Black Diamond ATC Pilot Reviewīelaying a lead climber with the Black Diamond ATC Pilot is quite simple and we found that newer belayers could “keep up” with the lead climber’s progress easier than other brake-assisting devices on the market. The biggest advantage during the lower is the lack of moving parts or levers make this device feel less likely to have an inexperienced belayer defeat the camming mechanism causing an uncontrolled fall and possible injury.
When it came time to lower minimal coaching was required to have the belayer lower the climber. Using the universal belay technique belayers had no problem removing slack from the system.
#Black diamond atc design install
Clear images on the device and a lack of moving parts helped even the newest, and youngest, of our testers properly install the device on the rope.īelaying on a top-rope system is quite simple with the Black Diamond ATC Pilot. Experienced climbers felt that using it felt very similar to operating a regular Black Diamond ATC or Petzl Verso. We found the Black Diamond ATC Pilot to be incredibly intuitive with a quick learning curve to become proficient in both lead and top-rope belaying. Over the test period I had at least 10 different people belay me while lead climbing and top-roping, some as young as 10 years old! More significantly I handed it to my clients and regular climbing partners every chance I could to get their opinions as well as determine really how intuitive this device would be in the hands of both longtime veteran climbers and first-day-ever climbers. We used a Black Diamond RockLock Magnetron Carabiner (our favorite belay carabiner). Over the course of two months I carried the Black Diamond ATC Pilot Belay Device for almost two dozen days of climbing between Rumney Rocks and crags all over Mount Washington Valley along with a couple trips to the Salt Pump Climbing Gym. Provides an added level of security to single pitch belays.
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