Black Diamond ATC-Sport

September 25 2008,

After using many self blocking devices these last months, belaying with Black Diamond's ATC-Sport doesn't send me a couple of years back to the origin of climbing.
Getting a devices as small and usefull is really worth it as long as you use it in the correct way. In other words for ordinary climbing. For my part, I used it when I was climbing indoors or outdoors.

Belaying on lead / climbing indoors:
In every gym we can find quite many different ropes. Soft, new, some are destroyed and others ar hard like cables. After a couple of tests in regular and high-friction mode, we quickly notice the best situations for the ATC-Sport. With a new rope and a relativly light climber (65kg) a quite strong braking was needed for the belaying. Imagine what it could be like with a bit too much slack even while toproping. A piece of advice, belaying with the most friction possible on a new or thin rope.
The rope slides perfectly in the belay device, better than the self blocking systems and other devices of other brands. This for giving and taking slack. This because it is small and light and that it is very stable since it is suppose to be made for single ropes.

For indoor climbing, I find the 8 dangerous and too old to be a belay device. I advise every gym to use the ATC-Sport to replace it with a safebiner, but this is the wrong point.
It's at Klimax II (worldcup wall of Puurs) that I tested the device for lead climbing. What I already noticed was comfirmed: with a too thin or too new rope the sliding of the rope gives too few friction. Giving quickly slack becomes harder and harder and blocks the device when the rope is too large or too hard. This because the ATC-Sport is very small. Still it is maybe the best belaying device except self blocking systems. In the climbing community, still many people don't like this one. Mainly in school where people avoid using it.

On the Meuse's bank, near Dinant and on the Ourthe's bank, I took the device each time. Me and my partners tried it in every possible way. And each one of us was very enthousiast of the little brothers of the ATC who are used for double ropes. The rope slides perfectly in the device, and gives an optimal friction depending on the chosen level (regular or high-friction) and giving and taking slack is remarkably easy.
On the opposite of the ATC that can be used on double ropes, the sport version is much more stable in the hand. With a small problem, that is its bad point on rock, we can't use it for rappelling. We never know when we'll have to rappel for a random reason. This can happen even when climbing one pitch routes on a single rope... In this case, 2 more Euros for a basical ATC to be able to use it on a double rope and to rappel aren't too much, and you can use it on a single rope and have the same good rope sliding... This is why using an ATC is clearly better if you want to do more than single rope climbing or rappelling. No need for that? Buy the ATC-Sport, this device is wonderfull.

The ATC-Sport is in the end a very good belay device for indoor and outdoor climbing if you want use something else than self blocking systems. Try it first in normal mode with a back-up because on thin and new ropes it goes terribly quickly, sometimes even too quickly. The device holds well in the hand and seems pretty solid. Use it only on single ropes, it is made for that. Since it is marked on the packing you'll directly know what you can and can't do.

Rudi

Technical details

	Manual	Advised for	Rope diameter	Comfort	Weight (60g)	Braking mode	Public advised price
	English/ French/ German	Single ropes	7.7 > 11mm	+++	+++ aluminium	Normal / extra friction	20 €
FOR	/	Perfect for indoor climbing	For every hand starting at 10mm	Supple, small, stable	/	Controlled in no time	Cheap
AGAINST	In Dutch?	You can't rappel	Much strength needed for small ropes	Used and think rope block the device	/	Need to find the best braking position for every situation	Put 2 extra Euros to get a device for double ropes of the same brand