Page 114 - Rappelling
P. 114

Today’s modern plates, made from high-strength   They are used mainly by professional climbing
                     aluminum alloy, are a variation on the same basic   guides as a lightweight autoblocking plate used to
                     design, consisting of an oval shaped plate with two   belay a follower directly from an anchor.
                     rope slots. The two most popular devices are the   The Advanced Base Camp company currently
                     OBO (manufactured by Camp) and the Gigi (man-  sells a “Spring Plate Belay Device” that is similar to
                     ufactured by Kong). These plates lack the friction   the old Sticht plate, touting that “the spring acts like
                     and smoothness of the tube devices (like an ATC),   a mini shock absorber for smooth rappels.” I guess
                     so they’ve never become popular for rappelling.   good designs are timeless.




















































                     . . . additional friction,
                     right.


                                                                             Rappelling Methods and Devices   103








            Rappelling_i-174_3pp_CS55le.indd   103                                                         7/24/13   10:17 AM
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