What ascenders to buy?

What kind of ascenders do you like best and why? Which ones do you NOT like? What are the strengths and weaknesses of models you choose? SRT climbing is gaining more favor with the professional climbers as they discover the advantages of looping a rope over any number of branches and gaining the top of a tree in literally minutes. Share with professional arborists what you think is a good climbing system using different ascenders.

At the end of the summer I bought a set of CMI Ultrascenders, the large ones. I've only used them a few times, but they are great. I got them through New Tribe and added their strap system to it, which is also a nice product. I was thinking of going with the Petzl ascenders, but had heard bad things about the teeth on them. The Petzl's have teeth that are sharp and point down, so there exists the possibility of ripping rope if you aren't careful. The CMI's have short, blunt teeth that come straight out, so the risk of damaging ropes is non-existent. That fact was enough to convince me to go with CMI over Petzl. Plus, Tim Kovar recommended the CMI's because they fit larger hands better. Good luck.

I have used the CMI Ultra for years from New Tribe. However, the plastic spring loaded locking toggle breaks after a certain amount of use. I have broken about 6 ascenders with normal use. CMI is lax in that they never say this can happen and I hear of repair kits but no one advertises them. When the toggle breaks, it is easy to push the ascender right off the rope. A very unwelcome surprise when you are aloft!!

I've had my pair for about 10 years now. I used them for positioning doing window washing for most of that time. About two years ago I broke the thumb tab on the left one. I called cmi looking for replacement parts and they told me to send them the ascenders and they would replace them. I've not done that yet, but I plan to before christmas. They are really proud of their product and said they will stand behind it.
I will say that though they are 10 years old they still work as good as the day I bought them. I love them, the only problem is that during long ascents the pinky finget can get cramped alittle, no big deal.

I've found one great use for the tiny Wild Country Ropeman. When taking a kid (maybe 8 years old) up a tree for the first time, it makes a good attachment for a foot loop. I put them on with the blakes or distel, then put on the acender attached to a sling. I've seen a couple kids have trouble with the concept of pushing up a prussik while their foot is in it. They've seemed to get confused about when things should push, or pull, release, etc. It makes more sense for them, somehow, when there is an ascender instead of the prussik.

love
nick

It seems that cammed ascenders (my favorites) are less available than are toothed ascenders. Why is that?

love
nick

I have been using the CMI ascenders for 10years, and just had the tab break about 2 months ago, I called the place where I bought them (10yrs ago) and they said no problem we will send you a repair kit for them. I did look around from other dealers about repair kits and everyone that I looked into said they can get me a kit, free of charge.
I give these ascenders an A+

I've been playing with the tibloc lately and am finding it very useful for multi-tasks.
Anyone else using tiblocs??

Yes. I use a tibloc. I keep it on my keychain. People always ask what it is. It is a good tool to open peoples eyes to the world of climbing.


Just kidding. There are a lot of good uses for it. You can't beat it's simplicity. I like to use mine when setting up pulley systems as a way to keep rope from getting pulled back into the system.

love
nick

Tibloc is French for "little, cool looking tool that shreds ropes"

Can you tell that I'm not enthralled?

You have to be very careful w/the Tibloc or it will pick and shread your rope. Also, read the instructions VERY carefully!!! This is one of the rope tools that have very specific rope/biner sizes. I think that the T needs a round cross section biner to work the best.

My preferance is to use closed shelled ascenders in trees. I feel that open faced ascenders are too likely to get their mechanisms jammed with twigs or debris. Using a cammed ascender is much safer and they're more compact too.

Tom

Most of the handled ascenders have a hole at the top near the cam that can be used when pulling along the ascender. This is a good place for a round carabiner which goes through this hole and around the rope. It prevents your handled ascender from ever getting pushed out of angle. Try it, its a great safety bonus and easy to do.

Could we please re-visit this topic, especially Treeman's original questions? I'm trying to research as much as I can about ascenders before buying some, so I don't have to buy on a whim or a guess.

Are CMIs, especially the Ultrascender, most often picked for SRT in trees? Any other types that people could recommend? Dr. Gary Storrick has great reviews on many different ascenders on his website, and he seems to give the most glowing report on Jumars. Anybody here use them? Of course, Dr. Storrick is talking about SRT in caving, does this make a huge difference in what features to look for? Obviously trees are quite different from vertical caves, but how these differences affect ascender choice is not obvious to me.

Tom and Nick both prefer cammed ascenders, and I think I might too, since friendliness to ropes is a big concern. Do you guys use handled and cammed ascenders? Is there such a thing? I think all the handled ones I've seen have teeth. Just how necessary are handles? Is it a problem to ascend with compact rope-grab style devices? What styles of these ascenders are recommended for regular SRT climbing?

Are ascenders among those consumer goods that are all so equal that the choice need only be made according to personal ergonomics and esthetics (or price or availability), or are there ones that should be avoided?

Please help me on this, I hate making uninformed purchases!

Thanks,
Brad

When I first began ascending ropes I was doing so as a vertical caver. At that time the original jumars were the best things going and that was what I learned on. That was much longer ago than I would like to talk about.

I am still using the jumars today and can report that I have never had a problem with them. I have from time to time tried other ascenders and personally own several different types. I always go back to my "Old Reliables".

The thing I like most about them is that I can use them with one hand while placing them on and taking them off the rope. The same thing can be said for the CMIs.
The Petzls, on the other hand, have always been a problem for me. Maybe it's just that I don't practice with them enough, but I have never had a Petzl ascender that I found easy to remove from the rope. Most of the time I become frustrated, drop everything else, and go at it with both hands. As far as ascending is concerned I find most of them to be equally efficient and reliable.

I will concede that my choice of the Jumars is as much sentimental as practical
but I have never had a problem going up, downclimbing, or removing them quickly from the rope with only one hand. The only problem I have ever had has been when foliage and/or small vines found their way into the system and caused me to take a break while I removed the stuff. Even in this situation the jumars did not slip, it simply became more difficult to slide them up the rope.

I thought of the Tibloc as a nice item to hang on the side of my harness to have around as a backup in the event that an emergency device was ever called for. I have never placed it on my rope so I cannot comment on the thing. I agree with Tom that the thing would probably do a great job of shredding a rope if not used very carefully. My assessment of the Wild Country device is similar.

Here's my 2 cents. I also prefer the CMI Ultras. They take some getting used to in the beginning and you might fwap your fingers a few times releasing the spring, but that builds character. I had heard of the spring-loaded plastic piece breaking ala Peter, but that has not happened on mine as yet. When it does, I'm hoping New Tribe will be of assistance in getting CMI to fix.

I've also used the foot ascender in place of the prusik foot loop with the super system on group climbs, but while it may be easier for climbers to advance, it is more difficult for participants to detach and lower or clip-on. Also, if that plastic piece breaks, I'd rather it be when I'm using it and not one of my climbers.

My tibloc was a gift from Tim and I find it a fun, simple, elegant toy that I need to experiment more with. It works well for me with the fixe pulley attached between the Blakes and the stopper. When used with the recommended size rope and shaped biner, I haven't seen any damage.

Harv

Should have mentioned above that I was using the tibloc for DRT ascent.

All four climbers in this family own CMI ascenders. Our collection includes both sizes, and honestly, they both work fine - hand size and personal preference are the determining factors in that choice. I have climbed Jumars and Petzl. I'd rank 'em; CMI first, Jumar second, Petzl third. The cam release for Petzl - while clever - is just more awkward for one hand operation.