Welcome back to The Rope Access Channel.
In this video we will continue with the gear series and talk about one of the most important parts of our complete kit. The best rope access backup device.

The best rope access backup device is

As with the harnesses there a dozens of different types of backups. Each with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. The one essential thing they should be able to do is arrest your fall as soon as possible. Now, I could tell you about a lot of different models:
-Kong backup
-Singing Rock Locker
-ISC Red
-duckR
But since we are filming this in the Netherlands and the most widely used backup device here is the Petzl ASAP, we will focus on that one for now. In my opinion it is one of the safest backup devices around. Let me tell you why.

The Petzl Asap Lock

The reason the Petzl ASAP Lock is the best rope access backup is its idiot proof design. As long as you put it on the rope correctly and attache it to your rope access harness in the right way, you are golden. In case of a main or working line break it will always stop your fall. 

A lot of backup devices depend on a camming or squeezing  lever action of the device to stop the slide down the rope. This means that if you grab the device it can not perform that action and you will slide down the rope. When we as humans are presented with an unexpected and sudden fall, we tend to grab whatever is closest. In this case our backup line or device, as can be seen in this video by the company Sambar in a perfect test example. (no affiliation whatsoever)

Because of the teethed wheel design of the asap and the body around it, grabbing it does not influence it’s function. It will stop your fall as you can see in the beginning of the video above.

There are 3 models available
The OG. The old version. After that Petzl released two more versions. The basic model, and the rope access model
Attach the Petzl ASAP Lock to the top ring of your .
And because a video speaks a 1000 more words than a photo, you’d best head over on YouTube and watch the complete instruction

As I said in the beginning of the video there are a lot of different backup devices. If you would like me to make a video on a specific one, leave a comment underneath the Youtube video and tell me which one and I will make it.

Next time!

Next time we will get into the

See you there and STAY CONNECTED

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Sponsor

This video and post are sponsored by: Industrieel Klimmen
Your one stop shop for all things rope access.