Page 110 - Rappelling

Tube Devices There are a wide variety of tube-style devices
To rappel with a tube device, thread a bight of both on the market. Whichever device you purchase,
strands of rope through the device and clip them study the instructions carefully, and use it only per
into a locking carabiner attached to your belay the manufacturer’s recommendations.
loop. Keep the cable on the device clipped into the My two favorite tube-style devices are the Black
carabiner while you do this, so you won’t drop the Diamond ATC XP and the Petzl Reverso. The Black
device. As you thread the ropes through the device, Diamond ATC XP has two different friction options.
position the brake strands down, toward your feet. One side of the device has two V-shaped grooves (I
This will allow the rope to feed smoothly through refer to it as the “teeth” side; Black Diamond refers
the device with no twists. to it as the “high friction mode”) and the other side

For decades the Black Diamond ATC has Black Diamond ATC XP in high-friction mode.
been one of the most popular tube devices for
rappelling.

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