Arborist Ascenders

Just wondering if anyone out there knows if the ascenders that arborists use are safe enough and function well enough for big wall use? I'm curious because I've seen drastically cheaper ascenders on sale than the typical Petzl or BD ones and wondered if we're getting shafted value-wise.

I think they're all 25% off on backcountry right now. I looked into the arborist ones on ebay, but wound up just waiting to buy climbing specific ones on sale.

Tristan Mayfield wrote:Just wondering if anyone out there knows if the ascenders that arborists use are safe enough and function well enough for big wall use? I'm curious because I've seen drastically cheaper ascenders on sale than the typical Petzl or BD ones and wondered if we're getting shafted value-wise.

You don't want Made in China ascenders when you are doing the high stress things that Big Walls put on them.

1. Hauling

2. Lowering out

3. Potentially falling on them

4. grinding and twisting against the rock when its low angle.

As best as we know, trusting a climbing company is far better than something made to do one thing and one thing only (climb a rope on the cheap) that is way more stressful in the climbing environment than trees.

AFAIK, the handled ascenders that at least Petzl, Yates, and CAMP are all rated for industrial use (i.e. arborist, rope access, rescue, etc.) and are also used in recreational climbing.

I'm an arborist. I don't know what inexpensive ascenders you are referring to, but I use ascenders from reputable manufacturers and so does everyone else I know. Petzl, ISC (they make the Yates), Climbing Technology, CAMP, CMI, Kong are the most common.

King Tut wrote: You don't want Made in China ascenders when you are doing the high stress things that Big Walls put on them. 1. Hauling 2. Lowering out 3. Potentially falling on them 4. grinding and twisting against the rock when its low angle. As best as we know, trusting a climbing company is far better than something made to do one thing and one thing only (climb a rope on the cheap) that is way more stressful in the climbing environment than trees.

This is one of the silliest things I've ever read. You clearly know nothing about Arborists.
An ascender from any reputable company will work fine. If it's not from a reputable company, don't buy it.
I'm also wondering where you came across these cheap ascenders? The Petzl ascender is tied as the second cheapest ascender on my main arb suppliers website. Only one cheaper is CMI's, which is a very reputable rope access/hi-angle rescue equipment manufacturer.

Danforth wrote: This is one of the silliest things I've ever read. You clearly know nothing about Arborists. An ascender from any reputable company will work fine. If it's not from a reputable company, don't buy it. I'm also wondering where you came across these cheap ascenders? The Petzl ascender is tied as the second cheapest ascender on my main arb suppliers website. Only one cheaper is CMI's, which is a very reputable rope access/hi-angle rescue equipment manufacturer.

I agree, any EN, ANSI, CE or UIAA certified ascender is going to be fine. It if is ANSI certified, it's especially fine as ANSI certifications for rope access far exceed the requirements imposed by the UIAA as they require the device hold significantly more weight than the UIAA requires. Also, you absolutely should not be taking falls on an ascender. A top rope fall is arguably okay, but taking a whip on an ascender is an outstanding way to maximize your chance of a short lifespan.

Danforth wrote: This is one of the silliest things I've ever read. You clearly know nothing about Arborists. An ascender from any reputable company will work fine. If it's not from a reputable company, don't buy it. I'm also wondering where you came across these cheap ascenders? The Petzl ascender is tied as the second cheapest ascender on my main arb suppliers website. Only one cheaper is CMI's, which is a very reputable rope access/hi-angle rescue equipment manufacturer.

Maybe you should ask the OP just which "cheaper" arborist ascender he was considering?

Or appraise yourself of the Chinese Made garbage on EBAY that I was referencing?

C'mon man. The dude is looking at "bargain" ascenders. Not CMI's or Petzls.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rock-Tree-Climbing-Arborist-Right-Hand-Rope-Ascender-Clamp-for-8mm-13mm-Rope-/291856998656

Which doesn't meet any international standard as far as I can tell. And looks just like a Petzl.

And you would recommend these for big walling???

Fact of the matter, falls have been taken cleaning aid pitches where an ascender has twisted off or other mishap onto another ascender and a variety of ascenders are used for self belay on TR etc. There is no substitute for tying in short but **everyone** knows that is not done ascending fixed lines 100% of the time. If you are gonna risk your life to something I think we all agree that no expense should be spared, and the product's suitability for the application is the only consideration.

So Calm down.

If it's CE or ANSI rated, it's totally fine. If it's not, it's not an Arborist tool. If I get inspected and I have gear that isn't ANSI approved, I'll get slapped with a fine. If I had an injury on my job site because of a eBay POS that wasn't ANSI approved, I'd be prosecuted. In answer to the OP's original question, retail on Arborist ascender's is as much or often more than rock climbing companies ascenders. They function just as well, if not better. My ascending system is 100 times more efficient than anything you see on a big wall. I ascend somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 feet a year (and we don't even have big trees). If you found some CE or ANSI rated ascenders on the cheap, snatch them up. If they aren't, use at your own risk.

Hey thanks for the replies guys. I'm not necessarily looking to buy cheap gear at the cost of safety, it was just something I was curious about. Just thinking that if other companies sold the same thing, but had better sales or were cheaper generally, it might be something open as an alternate option to our "climbing name brand" vs brands that aren't as recognized in our community.

As for a link, I think King Tut found the cheapest thing I've seen. You can find them on Amazon for $30 amazon.com/Ascender-Climbin…

They claim to be CE certified so they should be sound in theory. But I'm hesitant when voyaging into gear realms I have less experience with.

I would stick to the name brands. Tiny things like screws, springs or cam hardness might be things tweaked to cheapen the production cost, batch testing etc are what the name brands do. None of these things you want to learn they cheapened when the cam isn't grabbing 3 days into a 5 day route.

At that point, $100 saved seems ludicrous.

Look on the bright side: If anything bad happens at least the name brands have deep pockets for your widows and orphans to go after. Random EBAY/Amazon ascenders, not so much.

The eBay jugs that are being demonized are petzl knock offs after the patent expired. Mine are from climb tech look identical cost basically nothing and have had miles of rope pushed through them. I like them more than petzl or bd jugs.

It's fine...