At ISPO 2018, which took place in Munich 28th- 30th January, the world's leading brands showed their new gear to the outdoor world. We'll be bringing you updates on the latest clothing and equipment over the next few weeks.
However, many fine items attracted the attention of the team of specialists from UKC / UKH and one of them is Climbing technology CLICK-UP PLUS.
The Click- Up has undergone another development from the version which was announced after the summer OutDoor Trade show in June. In testing the interim device didn't perform as wanted, it seems, so CT have gone back to the drawing board and come up with something which looks to be even better while adding a few extra safety features too.
The device has been slightly elongated and tapered at the end, fitting better in the hand and making it easier to lower with more control, since you have slightly better leverage. The one moving part - a small spring loaded lever - has been replaced with a new double spring loaded system in a slightly different position. The result is a device with an incredibly smooth and easy rope feed.
A UKC/UKH team compared the new and previous versions on the stand, and it really was quite striking how smooth the rope feed was from a device which, it has to be said, was always amongst the smoothest feeding devices on the market anyway.
Climbing Technology have also added the V- Proof system. This consists of a small plate that flips between the two ropes where they exit the device, which acts to keep the ropes apart in the event of the bad belaying practice of holding both ropes upwards when trying to hold a fall.
If you do this with the original device there is some slippage although the device does lock eventually. With the V-proof system the device locks straight away as normal, even when used incorrectly. Overall this looks to be a significant improvement to the already impressive original device that won the Best in Test award from UKC/UKH in Assisted Braking Belay Devices comparison review of May 2017.
