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Chest Ascender Kit
Chest Cruiser
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| Chest Ascender Kit | Chest Cruiser | Uni Cruiser | Windup |
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The Edelrid Chest Cruiser is 113 mm. tall, 76 mm. wide, 39 mm. thick, and weighs 337 g.
The Kit consists of the ascender proper, a permanently-attached webbing sling, a large harness ring, and a fixed locking carabiner.
The ascender shell is subtriangular, bent
from 3.8 mm. aluminum sheet, and anodized black. The rope channel is formed by
bending the right side of the ascender into a U. The rope
channel is 15 mm. wide. The left side of the shell is bent on an
inclined axis to form another U. A hole drilled through both
sides of the U accepts a semi-tubular rivet. The cam and cam spring
are mounted on this rivet. The head of the rivet is on the front
while the roll sits on the back of the
shell. The pivot is centered 47 mm. from the inside of the
rope groove. There is a stamped cam stop above the cam. The upper webbing slot is 43 mm. wide. The lower carabiner attachment hole is 21 mm. wide and 19 mm. tall.
The cam is a stainless steel casting. The cam radius increases from 30 to 46 mm. over an angle of 40°, giving a 31° cam angle. The cam has number of small conical teeth, all of which have their axes approximately parallel to the lower surface of the cam. The tooth pattern is (3.2)(2.1H1)^3(2.3.2), where the "H" stands for an oval hole. The top and bottom holes are 4.4 mm. tall and 3.5 mm. wide, while the center hole is about 0.3 mm. smaller in both directions. A spring-loaded plastic manual safety is mounted on an axle riveted to a tab on the bottom of the cam. The normal action of the spring holds the safety against the cam. When the cam is opened, the shell interferes with the safety tab, thus preventing opening the cam. If the safety is moved away from the cam (opposing the spring), the tab will clear the shell and the cam will open. At full open the safety can be released and the spring will hold the arm against the back of the shell, locking the cam open.
An inverted captive locking D carabiner is attached to the lower carabiner hole. A folded flap of 45 mm. webbing is sewn through the upper slot and through a 55 mm. i.d. harness ring. The stitching at the lower end of the flap captures a loop of 12 mm. webbing that is reinforced by a sewn cloth cover. This loop passes through the captive eye of the carabiner.
The front of the ascender is printed with a climber and rope icon, "UP", and "↑." The rear of the ascender, hidden by the webbing, is printed with "CHEST ASCENDER KIT," " "edelrid", the Edelrid "e" logo, a book-with-an-"i" icon. CE0123," "P 2015 0036 795," "MADE IN GERMANY." "Ø 9 mm - 12 mm," and "Only for CORE TOP / TOP 361." The harness ring is printed with an "A." One side of the carabiner is printed with "EDELRID" and "kN↔ 22↕10@7" where "@" represents an open carabiner icon. The other side is printed with a book-with-an-"i" icon, "3788," "EN 362:2004-A/T," "CE0333," "14-281-0396," and "MADE IN EEC."
The Chest Ascender Kit is a massive unit apparently designed for professional Rope Access Technicians, as I can see no reason why anyone else would choose such a massive unit. The fixed carabiner and permanently attached webbing and harness ring remove much of the flexibility associated with most "normal" chest ascenders. A Frig System built with this ascender is likely to be far less efficient than a well-designed rig using a more traditional ascender.
The webbing loop connecting the harness ring and carabiner is curious, and I can find no explanation for this choice. It is almost as if Edelrid wanted to ensure that the harness ring wasn't lost if the ascender breaks, but that makes absolutely no sense to me. I'm stumped, it must be a "bigger-is-better" concept.
The cam and safety are essentially identical to the ones on the Alpidex Olymp.
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| Front View: Closed | Rear View: Closed | Side View: Closed |
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I acquired my Edelrid Chest Cruiser from CanyonZone.com - Gertjan van Pelt in 2022.
The Edelrid Chest Cruiser is 80 mm. tall, 65 mm. wide, 40 mm. thick, and weighs 162 g.
The ascender shell is subtriangular, bent
from 3.8 mm. aluminum sheet, and anodized black. The rope channel is formed by
bending the right side of the ascender into a U. The rope
channel is 16 mm. wide. The left side of the shell is bent on an
inclined axis to form another U. A hole drilled through both
sides of the U accepts a semi-tubular rivet. The cam and cam spring
are mounted on this rivet. The head of the rivet is on the front
while the roll sits on the back of the
shell. The pivot is centered 40 mm. from the inside of the
rope groove. There is a pin cam stop above the cam. This is riveted through a shouldered spacer on the rear of the cam. This slides into a slot in a secondary rear plate. A 5 mm. screw passes through this plate and into a slotted nut on the inside of the main shell, holding the auxiliary plate in place. The auxiliary plate has two 29 mm. wide, 4,9 mm. high slots. A sewn piece of 27 mm. webbing with eyes ate top and bottom fits through this slot, forming the main anchor points.
The cam is a stainless steel casting. The cam radius, measured from the axle axis, increases from 37 to 57 mm. over an angle of 40°, giving a 31° cam angle. The cam has number of small conical teeth set ito a recess in the cam face. The top four rows of teeth have their axes approximately parallel to the top of the cam, and the bottom three rows are perpendicular to the cam face. The tooth pattern is (3)(4.H)^2(3.H)^2(3.2.2). A spring-loaded manual safety bar is mounted on the bottom of the cam with a steel semi-tubular rivet. The normal action of the spring holds the safety against the cam. When the cam is opened, the shell interferes with the safety bar, thus preventing opening the cam. If the safety bar is moved away from the cam (opposing the spring), it will clear the shell and the cam will open. At full open the safety can be released and the spring will hold the safety against the back of the shell. This provides a means of locking the cam open.
The front of the ascender is printed with "CE2777," "EN 12841-B:2006," •Ø10-13mm," "150 kg," "EN 567:2013," "Ø8-13 mm," " ⤸" with "2 Nm" underneath, "UP↑" and a book-with-an-"i" icon. The rear is stamped with "CRUISER" and printed with a factory icon and "2020 10 U01." The rear of the auxiliary plate is stamped with "EDELRID," "CHEST" (aligned with "CRUISER" on the shell), and"EDELRID Achener Weg 66,88316 Isny I.A.. [sic] Germany." It is printed with a factory icon and "2020 10 U01." The webbing has a tag printed with EDELRID, the Edelrid "e" logo, "EDELRID | Achener Weg 66," "88316 Isny im Allgäu," and "Germany | www.edelrid.de."
The Chest Cruiser is a small chest ascender that is not configured for a conventional frog system harness typically used by cavers. The auxiliary plate can be removed and replaced with another to form a Uni Cruiser.
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| Front View: Closed | Rear View: Closed |
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| Front View: Open for Rigging | Rear View: Open for Rigging |
I acquired my Edelrid Uni Cruiser from CanyonZone.com - Gertjan van Pelt in 2022.
The Edelrid Uni Cruiser is 106 mm. tall, 65 mm. wide, 32 mm. thick, and weighs 124 g.
The ascender shell is subtriangular, bent
from 3.8 mm. aluminum sheet, and anodized black. The rope channel is formed by
bending the right side of the ascender into a U. The rope
channel is 16 mm. wide. The left side of the shell is bent on an
inclined axis to form another U. A hole drilled through both
sides of the U accepts a semi-tubular rivet. The cam and cam spring
are mounted on this rivet. The head of the rivet is on the front
while the roll sits on the back of the
shell. The pivot is centered 40 mm. from the inside of the
rope groove. There is a pin cam stop above the cam. This is riveted through a shouldered spacer on the rear of the cam. This slides into a slot in a secondary rear plate. A 5 mm. screw passes through this plate and into a slotted nut on the inside of the main shell, holding the auxiliary plate in place. The auxiliary plate has a 31 mm. wide, 20 mm tall subpentagonal eye at the bottom and a 16 mm. wide, 15 mm. tall eye at the top.
The cam is a stainless steel casting. The cam radius, measured from the axle axis, increases from 37 to 57 mm. over an angle of 40°, giving a 31° cam angle. The cam has number of small conical teeth set ito a recess in the cam face. The top four rows of teeth have their axes approximately parallel to the top of the cam, and the bottom three rows are perpendicular to the cam face. The tooth pattern is (3)(4.H)^2(3.H)^2(3.2.2). A spring-loaded manual safety bar is mounted on the bottom of the cam with a steel semi-tubular rivet. The normal action of the spring holds the safety against the cam. When the cam is opened, the shell interferes with the safety bar, thus preventing opening the cam. If the safety bar is moved away from the cam (opposing the spring), it will clear the shell and the cam will open. At full open the safety can be released and the spring will hold the safety against the back of the shell. This provides a means of locking the cam open.
The front of the ascender is printed with "CE2777," "EN 12841-B:2006," •Ø10-13mm," "150 kg," "EN 567:2013," "Ø8-13 mm," " ⤸" with "2 Nm" underneath, "UP↑" and a book-with-an-"i" icon. The rear is stamped with "CRUISER" and printed with a factory icon and "2021 09 U02." The rear of the auxiliary plate is stamped with "EDELRID," "CHEST" (aligned with "CRUISER" on the shell), and "EDELRID Achener Weg 66,88316 Isny I.A.. [sic] Germany." It is printed with a factory icon and "2021 09 U02."
The Uni Cruiser is a small chest ascender that is configured for a conventional frog system harness typically used by cavers. Unlike most chest ascenders, the eyes are not twisted. This is not important dor the upper eye, which usually just has webbing passing through it, but the flat lower eye makes it impossible to have the Uni Crusier and its attachment maillon both sit flat against the climber's body.
The auxiliary plate can be removed and replaced with another to form a Chest Cruiser.
[ Top | Chest Ascender Kit | Chest Cruiser | Uni Cruiser | Return to E.C. Ascenders ]
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| Front View: Closed | Rear View: Closed |
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| Front View: Open for Rigging | Rear View: Open for Rigging |
I acquired my Edelrid Windup from Amazon.com in 2019.
The Edelrid Windup is 107 mm. tall, 76 mm. wide, 37 mm. thick, and weighs 147 g.
The ascender shell is subtriangular gold anodized shape bent
from 3.9 mm. aluminum sheet. The rope channel is formed by
bending the right side of the ascender into a U. The rope
channel is 15 mm. wide. The main sling attachment
point is located below the cam and behind the rope channel. A
second attachment point is located above the cam, also behind
the rope channel. The shell is bent backwards at both points to
provide clearance between the attachment slings and the main rope.
This accounts for the rather large thickness of this ascender.
The lower attachment point is a pear-shaped opening that measures
19.5 mm. high by 21.0 mm. wide. The upper is shaped
like a rectangle with semicircular ends; it is 14.2 mm. high
by 24.5 mm. wide. The left side of the shell is bent on an
inclined axis to form another U. A hole drilled through both
sides of the U accepts a semi-tubular rivet. The cam and cam spring
are mounted on this rivet. The head of the rivet is on the front
while the roll sits into a stamped depression on the back of the
shell. The pivot is centered 48 mm. from the inside of the
rope groove. There is a stamped cam stop near the cam pivot.
This ascender uses a standard Climbing Technology cam found on many of their handled and handleless eccentric cam ascenders. The cam is a plated skeletonized steel casting. The cam radius, measured from the pivot, increases from 38 to 57 mm. over an angle of 40°, giving a 31° cam angle. The cam has number of small conical teeth, all of which have their axes approximately parallel to the lower surface of the cam. The tooth pattern is (3.2.4)(1H1.2)^3(3.2), where the "H" stands for a 4 mm. wide, 6 mm. wide inverted subtriangular hole.
A spring-loaded manual safety is mounted on an axle riveted to the center of the cam. The normal action of the spring holds the safety against the cam. When the cam is opened, the shell interferes with the safety tab, thus preventing opening the cam. If the safety is moved away from the cam (opposing the spring), the tab will clear the shell and the cam will open. At full open the safety can be released and the spring will hold the arm against the back of the shell, locking the cam open.
The front of the ascender has a printed rigging illustration. The rear has"88941," "EDELRID," "CE0333," "Made in IT," "EN 12841:2006-B," "17-19 -0241," "ROPE 8<Ø<13 mm," "05 16," and a book-with-an-"i" icon.
The cam has "I1" stamped into it and the piece holding the safety is stamped "I2."
The Edelrid Windup is one of the following group of closely-related chest ascenders:
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Obviously, the same people (Climbing Technology Ltd. of Cisano Bergamasco, Italy) made all of these ascenders. These are all well-made and all function smoothly. All sharp edges have been removed.
The Advanced Base Camp Version A is well-made and a number of Frog climbers have told me that they like how smoothly it functions. My testing supports their experience. The large ring on the safety is easy to grasp.
The Advanced Base Camp Version B and Singing Rock, Version A use a pin on a small safety tab. This reduces bulk, but is not as easy to grip.
The small-loop finger opening used on the remaining ascenders is not as bulky as the one on the Advanced Base Camp Version A, but some people may not like the smaller ring because it is harder to operate. I find that my fingers tend to slip off the safety. The end of the safety that locks the cam open is longer than on Advanced base Camp Versions A and B, making the lock-open more secure but also more difficult to engage or release. The shape interferes so the small-loop ascenders not have quite the smooth opening characteristics that the Advanced base Camp Versions A and B have. It also keeps this ascender from opening as far when sliding the ascender up rope. Overall, I prefer the Advanced Base Camp Version A, but John Harman, who has used these more than I have, has an opposing view. John writes:
"The "new" ABC design is much better than the old. The old design seemed to come off rope almost too easy. I never had it inadvertently come off but it never felt as secure as the Petzl. The new design has a much larger tongue that fits up inside the body and makes it much more difficult to come off rope unintentionally."
Neither of us has seen if come off accidentally, but John makes a good point about the relative security of the designs.
The small pin on the cam safety (near the rope channel) performs an interesting function: pushing down on the ring (or post) causes the safety tab to lever the cam open, but not enough to let the rope free. This provides an alternate way to "thumb" the ascender.
The cam closing stop contacts the cam at the same time that the cam face contacts the inside of the rope groove. In any case, the stop only functions when the ascender is off rope, so I consider it to be superfluous. Its only purpose is to achieve a higher strength in artificial tests prescribed by various standards.
The holes in the cam face are intended to reduce the risk of ascender slippage due to mud-caked cam teeth. The design appears superior to some, but most ropes muddy enough to stop other ascenders will stop the this one as well. If you climb muddy ropes, expect to encounter slipping problems with any eccentric cam ascender.
The Climbing Technology Chest Ascender HC has a hard-coated shell that should resist wear better than a standard anodized shell. I don't climb frog often enough to test whether this is a real advantage in the worst cave mud conditions, but it would be worth considering if you are buying a new chest ascender.
The differences between these ascenders are minor, and any of these would be a good choice. for caving. The Advanced Base Camp Version A is currently my preferred chest ascender for the rare times that I climb frog. I like the larger ring on the cam safety, but my decision is also influenced by having a spare that I can dedicate to caving use. If I were a frogger who did not have a chest ascender and needed to buy one, I would consider sacrificing the larger ring on the Advanced Base Camp Version A and choose the Climbing Technology Chest Ascender HC for the hard-coated shell.
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