B-52 Belay Device

Comments about Trango B-52:

I work as a climbing instructor for the University of Minnesota Duluth. I was the first on climbing staff to get this device, and everyone on staff that tried it was amazed with it's performance. A few of staff even went to order one after they tried it.

We have used many devices, and I spend most of my time when working belaying people... Taking up slack is insanely fast, and lowering is smooth and controlled. You can grip the device and tilt it forward when lowering the climber to slow them. So much so that you can actually stop them and let go of the rope (NOT RECOMMENDED TO DO).

When belaying a leader, it is almost impossible to short-rope them. It will solidly catch a fall. If the climber is much heavier or using a very small rope, it does slip some, but not so much that it is a problem.

*Con: Advanced uses can be complicated and takes practice to understand and use efficiently but once understood, not a problem.
The autoblock is solid, but can be hard to take up slack. Works great as an emergency ascender, and easy to use, once you understand how to set it up right.

I HIGHLY recommend this device.

Comments about Trango B-52:

The retaining cable popped out after 6 months use. Luckily it did it on the second to last rappel instead of 10 pitches up

Comments about Trango B-52:

I haven't found any downfalls to this piece at all. Other pieces will slowly slip even on full break while holding a climber, the rockered bottom on this piece rarely lets that happen. easier on the hands when holding a reluctant buddy while he scopes the wall. But for all its holding power when the pal gets going above his lead clip, the B-52 immediately unlocks and feeds smooth like butter. I use this for outdoor sport and gym climbing. In a very long fall, the hard break might give a harder fall than you'd want. but it's been just fine for me. thumbs up.

Comments about Trango B-52:

I've used XP, XP Guide, Reverso 3, and a bunch of tube devices. The B-52 is by far the best I've tried.
MUCH smoother on rappel than the XP/XP Guide. More than adequate friction. The way the device slides the biner against the friction side when braking is just cool :-)
Easiest device to load the rope through that I've seen. Very smooth in auto block mode. To the poster who couldn't figure it out, just clip a biner through the rope slot, that's why it's so big. Which brings up the one big drawback. In autoblock mode if you want to bring up two climbers you have to clip a biner in each rope slot to keep the device from tipping sideways.

Great device and the only one I'll use until some clever guy comes up with something better.

Comments about Trango B-52:

I used a B-52 for several years and recently decided to replace it with the ATC-XP Guide. After two or three climbing trips with the XP Guide I'm going back to my B-52. The B-52 is much smoother on lowering, requires less force when taking up slack in autoblock mode, and provides adequate friction when belaying a leader.

The higher-friction ATC-XP takes a little less work when holding a fallen climber but is a pain in autoblock mode. The Reverso is a little smoother on autoblock, but doesn't provide enough friction when belaying a leader or toproper, rappelling, or lowering a climber. The B-52 strikes the best balance for me.

Comments about Trango B-52:

I thought this device is terrific. It's fast on feeding out rope to a leader or taking in slack. It's not a good device for hang-dog ascents but excels for fast climbing. I don't have much experience with it in autoblock mode, but in response to the other reviewer - just read the instructions for how to set it up.

Comments about Trango B-52:

Takes too much friction from the belay hand to hold a static load. Haven't caught a whipper on it yet so can't say under a dynamic load but suspect it will run. Looking to replace it.
And autoblock ? How is that ? It's just a standard plate design.