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Belay devices are
mechanical
pieces of climbing equipment
used to control a rope during
belaying. They are designed
to improve belay safety for
the climber by allowing the
belayer to manage their
duties with minimal physical
effort. With the right belay
device, a small, weak climber
can easily arrest the fall of a
much heavier partner. Belay
devices purposely do not
instantly 'lock' to arrest a fall,
since an instant stop from a
fall during lead climbing would
probably injure the climber or
cause all the protection
devices to fail. Instead, belay
devices act as a friction
brake, so that when a climber
falls with any slack in the
rope, the fall is brought to a
stop over a finite (but
reasonably short) distance.
Belay devices generally have
two modes of operation: In
the first mode, the rope is
relatively free to be payed
in/out by the belayer. The
second mode, which allows
the belayer to arrest a
climbers fall, functions by
forcing the rope(s) into tight
bends where the rope rubs
against the belay device
and/or against itself. This
rubbing slows the rope, but
also generates heat. Some
types of belay devices can
transition between these
modes without the belayer
taking any action, others
require the belayer to hold or
pull the rope in a particular
direction to arrest a fall.
Belay devices usually attach
to the harness of the belayer
via a carabiner, and are
usually made of aluminium or
an alloy. Some belay devices
can also be used as
descenders for a controlled
descent on a rope, that is
abseiling or rappeling. |
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