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AscendersFor convenience, I've divided the ascending
devices in my collection into a number of categories. Although
there are more rigorous methods to classify ascending devices,
I've chosen an informal approach that I think will be easier for
most people to follow than some purely academic method.
The tables include some numerical data:
| ID | This is just my catalog number so that I can keep these straight |
| Weight | Weights are in grams. Webbing, slings, etc. are not included. |
| Height, Width, Thickness | I've given the dimensions in millimeters. The measurements are in perpendicular directions. I've chosen to measure the maximum dimensions instead of the most obvious dimensions. Sometimes this leads to numbers that are more than what you would expect - for example, the thickness of a bent plate would be more than the thickness of the unbent plate. |
| Standard Volume | The standard volume is just the product of the height, width, and thickness divided by 1000. This gives a volume in milliliters of a box that the device will fit into. Odd shaped devices are penalized by this formula, but since they are generally harder to pack, this number might be useful. |
| Channel Diameter | This is the diameter of the rope channel in millimeters. On most of these ascenders the dimension varies a bit depending on where it is measured. |
| Cam Angle | Most eccentric cam ascenders use an equiangular spiral for the shape of the cam, although some use a circular arc and others use more complex patterns (e.g., two spirals). I've given the equivalent cam angle that I measured. I believe this is accurate to within about ±2 degrees. |
| Tooth Pattern | The tooth pattern is best described by example: (F)(2.H)^2(3.2) would have, starting at the top, a flat area (F), a row of two teeth, a hole (H), another row of two teeth, another hole (the ^2 means the pattern is repeated two times), a row of three teeth and finally a row of 2 teeth. In other patterns, "S" stands for a single longitudinal slot, and "Z" stands for wide "Z"-shaped (not conical) teeth |