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

Technical Details

I acquired this S.E.Peak SA-208 from copelandmacd-11 in 2024

The S.E.Peak is 106 mm. tall, 77 mm. wide, 35 mm. thick, and weighs 137 g. Like most handleless eccentric cam chest ascenders, the S.E.Peak is left-handed.

The ascender shell is subtriangular anodized shape bent from 4.3 mm. aluminum sheet. The rope channel is formed by bending the right side of the ascender into a U. The rope channel is 16 mm. wide. The upper sling attachment point is a 26 mm. wide, 16 mm. high subtriangular hole located above the cam and rope channel. The lower sling attachment point is a 26 mm. wide, 20 mm. high subtrapezoidal hole located below the cam and to the left of the rope channel. The shell is bent backward at the top and bottom so that slings through the holes will not be badly abraded by the main climbing rope.

The left side of the shell is bent on an inclined axis to form another U. This U is stamped with reinforcing ribs, and the top is turned inward, providing more reinforcement. A hole drilled through both sides of the U accepts a standard rivet. The cam and cam spring are mounted on this rivet. The pivot is centered 46 mm. from the inside of the rope channel. There is no cam stop.

The cam is a plated skeletonized steel casting. The cam radius, measured from the pivot, increases from 39 to 56 mm. over an angle of 34°, giving a 31° cam angle. The cam has number of small conical teeth, all of which have their axes approximately aligned with the cam pivot. The tooth pattern is (3.4)(1S1)^2(2S2)(1S1^2)(2.3.4.3) where the S stands for a single vertical slot. A spring-loaded plastic safety is mounted on an axle riveted to 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. At full open the safety can be released and the spring will hold the tab against the back of the shell, locking the cam open.

The front of the ascender is printed with "↻" with "UP" inside, "SA-208," and the manufacture date "2304." The rear is printed with the S.E.Peak logo with "S.E.Peak," "EN567:2013," and "Rope Ø8-13mm 100KGS."

Comments

This is a nicely-made ascender. Not only does it function as a chest ascender, but I find that it makes a nice hand ascender as well. The top of the cam support is turned inward, giving a rounded form that is more comfortable than the abrupt edge found on most stamped hand ascenders.