mammut alpine smart review

one very important note ... it is very hard if not impossible to release the device without a 10 mm or less dyneema sling or a thin cord to thread through the release hole

for the ATC guide and reverso you can release it 3 ways

- biner pump
- carabiner through the hole and lever it
- sling in the hole and release it, with the proper backups

the biner pump doesnt work very well, if at all ... and the plastic hole wont take a carabiner ...

mammut has a diagram of pushing up on the lever in autoblock to release the load .... under full bodyweight this doesnt work at all IME at least with thicker ropes

so in self rescue situations you better have a thin sling or cord handy if you want to release/lower off it ...

also the usage of a higher redirect to backup the lowering off autoblock like you would do with a reverso doesnt work too well either as the handle gets in the way ... the only practical solution IMO is to use a munter (or prussik) off the belay loop as a backup when lowering off autoblock

all these things become evident when you practice self rescue scenarios with the device

as to wear ... 3 years of constant daily use will wear the inside plate to a sharp edge eventually ...

i doubt the device was a failure for mammut ...its likely the second most popular assisted braking device after the grigri ...

not to mention that there is a sudden rash of companies putting out devices based on the same concept ... imitation is a sign of success and flattery



;)