ATC Guide

Comments about Black Diamond ATC Guide:

This is a really great ATC. I use this a lot to belay some of the heavier guys that I climb with. The angled rope grips create a lot of added friction and holding power with little effort. It is a little hard to feed a large diameter rope through it though, as long as you keep it under 10.2 mm it's great.

Comments about Black Diamond ATC Guide:

This Belay device is awsome. Light and simple. The only complaint i have is that when belaying from an achor (outdoor multipitch) it is hard to lower somone but i have only ran into this problem once. I would say buy this over any similar model unless its on sale.

Comments about Black Diamond ATC Guide:

I use the ATC Guide for outdoor sport and multipitch. The extreme braking mode is great for heavier climbers. It locks very effectively when belaying a seconding climber. Although a bit heavier than a regular ATC, it definitely is worth it's extra weight.

Comments about Black Diamond ATC Guide:

excellent all around use, has better small rope range than the reverso. however, I like the reverso better because it feeds larger ropes better. had the autoblock feature lock up on me trying to bring up a second on a 10.5mm rope and it was more than a little frustrating.

Comments about Black Diamond ATC Guide:

small enough, great for guiding (especially with 2 clients), simple. belays and raps well, even with small ropes.

Comments about Black Diamond ATC Guide:

This thing belays, catches falls on thin modern ropes, and handles multiple belaying tasks with ease, an all rounder

Comments about Black Diamond ATC Guide:

I've only used this in standard "ATC" mode so far, but I did purchase it for the autoblock when bringing up a second. The intent was to replace a Reverso that has developed a sharp edge from rope friction.

The ATC-guide provides more friction and a better lock in its normal mode than either a standard ATC or the reverso.

Comments about Black Diamond ATC Guide:

I've used my ATC guide about 10 days now and I like it. I previously used the Petzl Reverso, but found it hard to hold heavier climbers especially on my 8.6mm double ropes. The ATC guide works great for belaying, rapping, and in autoblock mode with thin rope. My only issue is that it takes some energy to feed thicker (10.5mm) ropes through the device.

Comments about Black Diamond ATC Guide:

I own a number of similar devices: Trango B-52, Trango Magic APD, Mammut Matrix, Petzl Reverso and Reversino, the latter being my previous favorite. One of the most appealing features of the Guide is that the ATC Guide will work over a wider range of rope diameters than the competition. It isn't as smooth on rappel as the Reverso, but it's not as grabby as many of the older tube type devices. As you descend it gets increasingly smoother.