Submited By: Chris Brain on 05/12/2010
I have used this device for a few years now and have only moved away from it in the last 18 months after getting a reverso 3. The BRD feels reassuringly chunky in the hand, the retaining cable is burly and overall the device does have a very solid feel to it. I have used this device on ropes ranging from 8.6 halfs to thin singles and chunky wall ropes. The main feature that makes this different from the others on the market is that it offers significantly higher levels of friction for holding falls and lowering climbers. It does this by having an angled machined groove on the base of the device where it comes into contact with the karabiner. This means that the rope gets firmly jammed against the krab and the device and provides hugely improved friction over sick plates such as the Black Diamond ATC and similar devices. However this does come at a cost as the rope is much harder to feed smoothly and can occasionally lock. I found that it just took a bit of practice and patience to get it right. The element karabiner works really well with it too and is the right size to work with the BRD. Overall a great device that I have really enjoyed using. Very worthwhile if you regularly climb with someone heavier than you, or use thinner ropes or just feel like your current device doesn’t give enough friction. Its worth learning how to feed it smoothly, but this is the only aspect of it that lets it down.
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