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Black Diamond nForce Ascender

Black Diamond nForce Ascender description

The Black Diamond nForce Ascender uses a unique four-bar pivot system that places your entire body weight on the cam for excellent grip, even on muddy and icy ropes. The result is 33% better grip than a standard ascender. This same system also reduces cam pressure when you slide the ascender up the rope, which makes the nForce Ascender efficient for jugging long pitches. Because it fits ropes from 8 to 13mm in diameter, this Black Diamond ascender provides a solid choice for everything from big wall climbing to expedition routes on big mountains.

I bought a pair of these at the beginning of this season, put a few ascents under my belt with them. They do a great job and they handle the rope better after about 15' of height. They are easy on the rope, and are beefier than the alternative name brand. I never regretted buying them, and the chicks like em too.

On one ascender I noticed the cam sticks and will not always lock down on the rope. It's especially bad when the dirt and dust gets into the pivot point. It's never been dropped and its only a few months old. I'm returning these to go with the petzl instead.