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Pro Guide
Pro Guide Lite, Version A
Pro Guide Lite, Version B
Pro Lite
VC Pro
VC Pro II
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| Pro Guide |
Pro Guide Lite Version A |
Pro Guide Lite Version B |
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| Pro Lite | VC Pro | VC Pro II |
[ Top | Pro Guide Lite v. A | Pro Guide Lite v. B | Pro Lite | VC Pro | VC Pro II | Return to Belay Tubes ]
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I acquired my Wild Country Pro Guide from Backcountry Gear in 2012.
The Wild Country Pro Guide is a notched belay tube. It is forged from aluminum alloy and soft anodized. Mine is 40 mm. long, 100 mm. wide, 90 mm. high, and weighs 89 g. It has two slots with ribbed v-grooves and a plastic-covered cable keeper. The slots are 35 mm. long and 14 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 23 mm. below the ends of the slots.
One side is printed with "WILD COUNTRY" and the Wild Country logo. The other side has a book-with-the-intenational-danger-signal icon,"MAH," a hand-holding-a-rope illustration, "Pro Guide," and a climber illustration.
The Wild Country Pro Guide is one of the following closely-related belay tubes:
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Each of these is 97±4 mm. long and 41±2 mm. wide, but their weights range from 72 to 100 g., quite a span. Their slots are all 35±1 mm. long and 14±1 mm. wide. They all have plastic-covered cable keepers, with the Black Diamond and Salewa keepers being and stiffer than others.
The Black Diamond ATC-Guide was the first of these to appear, by many years. Version A was an improved version of their Black Diamond ATC-XP. From there, the basic design evolved and similar devices appeared from others.
These extend the ATC-XP and equivalents by adding a carabiner hole at the
one side and a cord hole beneath the jaws. When belaying a second
from above, a guide can clip the device to an anchor sling
with a carabiner passed through the carabiner hole, belaying in
an autostop mode, much like one might with a Kong
Gi–gi. One can release a jammed device by passing a cord
through the cord eye and pulling on the cord - possibly by looping
it through a carabiner and applying body weight - but don't let
go of the braking end of the rope! All in all, I like these devices
Each of these has V-slots to give additional friction for belaying or rappelling. Each side of each groove has three V-shaped slots, giving the grooves "teeth" to grip the rope more effectively. These teeth act to guide the rope deeper into the slot, in much the same manner as the teeth on the Wild Country Hand ascender work. The teeth do not have the narrow angle found on the Trango Jaws or its equivalents, so they do not create the same wedging action. For this reason, I find these less effective than the Jaws family. On the other hand, the teeth on these devices provide a larger bearing area for the rope, which helps reduce localized heating. These are more massive than many belay tubes, but will still overheat on long rappels.
Some of these have a thin sidewall, a hole in the sides, or an opening in the sides and the central rib. When present, these reduce the device's weight, but also reduce the devices' surface area for rejecting heat. They weight savings is small and offset by heavier keepers on the Black Diamond devices.
I do not see any difference between the field performance of the round vs. pear-shaped eyes.
My slight preferences from this set are the Salewa Alpine Tuber and the Wild Country Pro Guide Lite, Version B These are the lightest of the group and have the stiffer keeper; however, they require closer thermal monitoring on rappel.
[ Top | Pro Guide | Pro Guide Lite v. B | Pro Lite | VC Pro | VC Pro II | Return to Belay Tubes ]
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I acquired my Wild Country Pro Guide Lite, Version A from Alpine Sports in 2014.
Version A is a notched belay tube. It is forged from aluminum alloy and soft anodized. It has two slots with ribbed v-grooves, a carabiner eye, a release hole, and a plastic-covered cable keeper. Mine is 100 mm. long, 39 mm. wide, 91 mm. high, and weighs 76 g. The slots are 35 mm. long and 14 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 21 mm. below the ends of the slots.
One side is printed with "7.7 < Ø < 11.0" and the Wild Country logo. The other side has "PRO GUIDE LITE," a hand-holding-a-rope illustration, and "EN15151-2." The eye end has a climber icon, a book-with-the-intenational-danger-signal icon, and "OAF."
The side and rib openings make the Pro Guide Lite 13 g. lighter than the Pro Guide. The price is somewhat poorer heat dissipation.
The Wild Country Pro Guide Lite is one of the following closely-related belay tubes:
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|
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Each of these is 97±4 mm. long and 41±2 mm. wide, but their weights range from 72 to 100 g., quite a span. Their slots are all 35±1 mm. long and 14±1 mm. wide. They all have plastic-covered cable keepers, with the Black Diamond and Salewa keepers being and stiffer than others.
The Black Diamond ATC-Guide was the first of these to appear, by many years. Version A was an improved version of their Black Diamond ATC-XP. From there, the basic design evolved and similar devices appeared from others.
These extend the ATC-XP and equivalents by adding a carabiner hole at the
one side and a cord hole beneath the jaws. When belaying a second
from above, a guide can clip the device to an anchor sling
with a carabiner passed through the carabiner hole, belaying in
an autostop mode, much like one might with a Kong
Gi–gi. One can release a jammed device by passing a cord
through the cord eye and pulling on the cord - possibly by looping
it through a carabiner and applying body weight - but don't let
go of the braking end of the rope! All in all, I like these devices
Each of these has V-slots to give additional friction for belaying or rappelling. Each side of each groove has three V-shaped slots, giving the grooves "teeth" to grip the rope more effectively. These teeth act to guide the rope deeper into the slot, in much the same manner as the teeth on the Wild Country Hand ascender work. The teeth do not have the narrow angle found on the Trango Jaws or its equivalents, so they do not create the same wedging action. For this reason, I find these less effective than the Jaws family. On the other hand, the teeth on these devices provide a larger bearing area for the rope, which helps reduce localized heating. These are more massive than many belay tubes, but will still overheat on long rappels.
Some of these have a thin sidewall, a hole in the sides, or an opening in the sides and the central rib. When present, these reduce the device's weight, but also reduce the devices' surface area for rejecting heat. They weight savings is small and offset by heavier keepers on the Black Diamond devices.
I do not see any difference between the field performance of the round vs. pear-shaped eyes.
My slight preferences from this set are the Salewa Alpine Tuber and the Wild Country Pro Guide Lite, Version B These are the lightest of the group and have the stiffer keeper; however, they require closer thermal monitoring on rappel.
[ Top | Pro Guide | Pro Lite | Pro Guide Lite v. B | VC Pro | VC Pro II | Return to Belay Tubes ]
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| Front | Rear | Top |
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| Left | Right | Bottom |
I acquired my Wild Country Pro Guide Lite, Version B from Dasher Deals in 2021.
Version B is another notched belay tube. It is forged from aluminum alloy and soft anodized. It has two slots with ribbed v-grooves, a carabiner eye, a release hole, and a plastic-covered cable keeper. Mine is 102 mm. long, 38 mm. wide, 95 mm. high, and weighs 70 g. The slots are 35 mm. long and 14 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 23 mm. below the ends of the slots.
One side is printed with "7.7 < Ø < 11.0" and the Wild Country logo. The other side has "PRO GUIDE LITE," a hand-holding-a-rope illustration, and "EN15151-2." The eye end has a climber icon, a book-with-tan-"I" icon, and "01A0417."
Version B changes the shape of the eye.
The Wild Country Pro Guide Lite is one of the following closely-related belay tubes:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Each of these is 97±4 mm. long and 41±2 mm. wide, but their weights range from 72 to 100 g., quite a span. Their slots are all 35±1 mm. long and 14±1 mm. wide. They all have plastic-covered cable keepers, with the Black Diamond and Salewa keepers being and stiffer than others.
The Black Diamond ATC-Guide was the first of these to appear, by many years. Version A was an improved version of their Black Diamond ATC-XP. From there, the basic design evolved and similar devices appeared from others.
These extend the ATC-XP and equivalents by adding a carabiner hole at the
one side and a cord hole beneath the jaws. When belaying a second
from above, a guide can clip the device to an anchor sling
with a carabiner passed through the carabiner hole, belaying in
an autostop mode, much like one might with a Kong
Gi–gi. One can release a jammed device by passing a cord
through the cord eye and pulling on the cord - possibly by looping
it through a carabiner and applying body weight - but don't let
go of the braking end of the rope! All in all, I like these devices
Each of these has V-slots to give additional friction for belaying or rappelling. Each side of each groove has three V-shaped slots, giving the grooves "teeth" to grip the rope more effectively. These teeth act to guide the rope deeper into the slot, in much the same manner as the teeth on the Wild Country Hand ascender work. The teeth do not have the narrow angle found on the Trango Jaws or its equivalents, so they do not create the same wedging action. For this reason, I find these less effective than the Jaws family. On the other hand, the teeth on these devices provide a larger bearing area for the rope, which helps reduce localized heating. These are more massive than many belay tubes, but will still overheat on long rappels.
Some of these have a thin sidewall, a hole in the sides, or an opening in the sides and the central rib. When present, these reduce the device's weight, but also reduce the devices' surface area for rejecting heat. They weight savings is small and offset by heavier keepers on the Black Diamond devices.
I do not see any difference between the field performance of the round vs. pear-shaped eyes.
My slight preferences from this set are the Salewa Alpine Tuber and the Wild Country Pro Guide Lite, Version B These are the lightest of the group and have the stiffer keeper; however, they require closer thermal monitoring on rappel.
[ Top | Pro Guide | Pro Guide Lite v. A | Pro Guide Lite v. B | VC Pro | VC Pro II | Return to Belay Tubes ]
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 |
| Front | Rear | Top |
 |
 |
 |
| Left | Right | Bottom |
I acquired my Wild Country Pro Lite from Backcountry Gear in 2017.
The Wild Country Pro Lite is a notched belay tube. It is forged from aluminum alloy and soft anodized. It has two slots with ribbed v-grooves and a plastic-covered cable keeper. 21 mm. long, 25 mm. wide, 86 mm. high, and weighs 59 g. The slots are 35 mm. long and 14 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 24 mm. below the ends of the slots.
One side is printed with "7.7 < Ø < 11.0" and the Wild Country logo. The other side has "PRO LITE," a hand-holding-a-rope illustration, and "EN15151-2." The end has a climber icon, a book-with-an-"I," and "01A0115."
This is one of the lightest notched belay tubes. Like the heavier VC Pro, it can be rigged with the notches in use or for less friction without, as the user desires. My preference is to use them. The teeth do not have the narrow angle found on the Salewa Tubus, Singing Rock, or Trango Jaws, so they do not create the same wedging action, but at least the teeth a larger bearing area for the rope, which helps reduce localized heating.
[ Top | Pro Guide | Pro Guide Lite v. A | Pro Guide Lite v. B | Pro Lite | VC Pro II | Return to Belay Tubes ]
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| Front | Rear | Top |
 |
 |
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| Left | Right | Bottom |
I acquired my Wild Country VC Pro on eBay in 2006.
The Wild Country VC Pro is a notched belay tube. It is forged from 6061-T6 aluminum alloy and then clear anodized. Mine is 56 mm. long, 45 mm. wide, 95 mm. high, and weighs 65 g. The slots are 34 mm. long and 15 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 12 mm. below the ends of the slots.
The design is similar to the Black Diamond ATC-XP, Black Diamond ATC-Guide and Mad Rock Paradox in that it has V-grooves on the side to provide additional friction for belaying or rappelling. Each side of each groove has three V-shaped slots, giving the grooves "teeth" to grip the rope more effectively.
The keeper is flexible cable covered by plastic. The keeper is stiff enough to keep it from catching on the rope and being sucked into the device, but flexible enough to fold over easily for tight packing.
One side of the VC Pro is etched with the Wild Country
Logo and "WILD COUNTRY." The other side is etched with
"VC Pro." The back is etched with the batch code
"FWC," the "Reading
is Dangerous" icon, and "8-11Ø."
These teeth act to
guide the rope deeper into the slot, in much the same manner as
the teeth on the Wild
Country Hand ascender work. The VC Pro is rigged with
the V-slots on the brake hand end of the rope. Alternately, the
user may reverse the VC Pro to disable the V-slots. Wild
Country recommends the first arrangement for 9.2 mm. ropes
and smaller, while recommending the second for belaying or rappelling
on single 11 mm. or double 9 mm. ropes.
The teeth do not have the narrow angle found on the Salewa
Tubus, Singing Rock, or Trango Jaws, so they do not create
the same wedging action. For this reason, I find the VC Pro
to be less effective. On the other hand, the teeth on the VC Pro
provide a larger bearing area for the rope, which helps reduce
localized heating.
[ Top | Pro Guide | Pro Guide Lite v. A | Pro Guide Lite v. B | Pro Lite | VC Pro | Return to Belay Tubes ]
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 |
 |
| Front | Rear | Top |
 |
 |
 |
| Left | Right | Bottom |
I acquired my Wild Country VC Pro II from Mountain Gear in 2008.
The Wild Country VC Pro is a notched belay tube. It is forged from 6061-T6 aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 62 mm. long, 45 mm. wide, 96 mm. high, and weighs 81 g. The slots are 35 mm. long and 14 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 13 mm. below the ends of the slots.
The design is similar to the VC Pro in that it has V-grooves on the side to provide additional friction for belaying or rappelling. Each side of each groove has three V-shaped slots, giving the grooves "teeth" to grip the rope more effectively.
The keeper is flexible cable covered by plastic. The keeper is stiff enough to keep it from catching on the rope and being sucked into the device, but flexible enough to fold over easily for tight packing.
One side of the VC Pro is etched with a rigging diagram, the Wild Country Logo and "WILD COUNTRY." The other side is etched with "VC Pro II." The back is etched with the batch code "GKK," the "Reading is Dangerous" icon, "1/2 Ø>7.7"and "1 Ø>9."
The VC Pro II is heavier than the VC Pro, which should help
with heat dissipation, although it is still light enough to get
rather hot in use. Most of my comments on the VC Pro apply to
the VC Pro II as well.
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[ Top | Pro Guide | Pro Guide Lite v. A | Pro Guide Lite v. B | Pro Lite | VC Pro | VC Pro II ]
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