Front View: Closed	Rear View: Closed
Front View: Open for Rigging	Rear View: Open for Rigging

Technical Details

I acquired my Wildken ascender from Amazon.com in 2021.

The ascender is left-handed, as are most chest ascenders I have seen. The ascender is 110 mm. tall, 71 mm. wide, 39 mm. thick, and weighs 121 g. The ascender shell is subtriangular blue anodized shape bent from 3.3 mm. aluminum sheet. The rope channel is formed by bending the right side of the ascender into a U. The rope channel is 13 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 attachment points appear to be ovals distorted by the stamping operation. The lower attachment point measures 21.9 by 19.8 mm. and the upper 24.0 by 16.4 mm. 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 pivot is centered 42 mm. from the inside of the rope channel.

The cam is a stainless steel casting. The cam radius increases from 38 to 54 mm. over an angle of 35°, giving a 31° cam angle. The cam has number of small conical teeth, all of which have their axes approximately aligned with the cam axle. The tooth pattern is (3.2)(1S1)^3(2S2)(1S1)^3(3.4.3). A spring-loaded plastic safety is mounted on the bottom of the cam with a stainless steel 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 rope channel is printed with a hollow up-pointing arrow with, "UP" inside and "ROPE110≤Ø≤13 mm." The rear is printed with the Wildken logo, a reading-is-dangerous icon, "ABDR," "EN12841:2006B," "CE1282 EN567," and "1Ø10-13mm - MAX 100kg."

		Fraudulent Certification Warning: Notified Body #1282 marks on Chinese vertical equipment are fraudulent. Notified Body #1282 is Ente Certificazione Macchine. Ente Certificazione Macchine does not certify this type of gear.

Warning: The weight ("100kg") printed on the shell can easily be less than the weight of a fully loaded caver.

Comments

This is another well-made ascender. All sharp edges have been removed. The cam is very well made with sharp, well-formed teeth. The plastic safety resembles those on some of the later Petzl Crolls.

The weight rating ("100kg") printed on the rear of each ascender can easily be less than the weight of a fully loaded caver. Although I know what this means, American courts may not, so I cannot recommend this ascender for heavier cavers or for expedition caving.

The Wildken ascender is essentially identical to the Camnal Ascension.