BELAY DEVICES

Aspiring Enterprises has a range of three very different belay devices, to suit different styles of climbing. The Ibex and Multigrip are tubular devices which are suitable for rock or alpine climbing on either single or double ropes, while the Trango Cinch is a specialised device, primarily for sport climbing.
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CT Ibex belay deviceIbex belay device

The Climbing Technology Ibex tubular belay device is a standard belay device which can be used for virtually any climbing application.

The Ibex has two rope slots which are wide enough to accommodate even the thickest ropes, as well as being functional on light-weight 8.5 mm alpine ropes. A wire loop retains the Ibex on the belay karabiner.

The Ibex is anodised in several different colours, and is priced more at the level of the traditional belay plates than the tubular type devices.

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CT Multigrip belay deviceMultigrip belay device

Also from Climbing Technology, the Multigrip belay device is a more sophisticated tubular device, which has notches raised on one side. The control ropes emerge on this side, and the notches greatly improve the control of the rope. Less effort is required to exert a greater braking force on the rope. This is particularly useful if you are belaying a much heavier person.

The enhanced control of the rope is particularly noticeable when used for abseiling, where minimal pressure on the rope is sufficient to maintain perfect control.

Despite its advanced design, the Multigrip is better priced than many of the ordinary belay devices on the market. The Multigrip is anodised in various colours.

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Trango Cinch belay deviceTrango Cinch belay device

The Cinch  is a unique belay device from the innovative American company Trango. It is designed to give automatic braking with single ropes, and is intended for use in sport climbing. It also performs well as a self-locking abseil device.

The Cinch is designed so that leverage from the rope applied to the device rotates the rear plate, thereby locking the rope against a node on the front plate. It has a positive locking action, and gives good control when lowering the leader from the climb. A retracting lever operates against the rotation to enable lowering of the climber, and is also used for controlling friction when abseiling.

The Cinch is a highly intuitive device, because when the front plate is pivoted out to open it, the user naturally feeds the rope from the load side on the left to the control side on the right, where the braking hand will hold the free end of the rope.

The Cinch is a truly multifunctional device. Because the locking of the rope is governed by its pivoting action, it is easy to pull rope back through the device, so it can be used a basic ascender. It can therefore be used in a variety of applications apart from climbing, including rope access and light rescue.

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Copyright Aspiring Enterprises, revised 9 March 2005.
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