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Macrocender
Microcender, Version A
Microcender, Version B
Rescucender, Version A
Rescucender, Version B
Rescucender, Version C
Rescucender, Version D
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| Macrocender | Microcender v. A | Microcender v. B |
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| Rescucender v. A | Rescucender v. B | Rescucender v. C | Rescucender v. D |
[ Top | Microcender v. A | Microcender v. B | Rescucender v. A | Rescucender v. B | Rescucender v. C | Rescucender v. D | Return to L.C. Ascenders ]
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I acquired my Petzl Macrocender B61 in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection. I obtained a second one, missing the cam cable, from eBay seller mind-me-jacobs in 2022.
The Petzl Macrocender B61 is 114 mm. tall, 90 mm. wide, 53 mm. thick, and weighs 335 g. The frame and cam are milled from aluminum. The frame’s rope channel is square rather than U-shaped, and the cam face is not contoured either. Neither of these aspects hurts the ascenders performance to any significant degree. The inside of the shell has a milled depression that the cam forces the rope into. This spreads the load on the rope, and may increase the holding power of the ascender. It is claimed to help reduce rope damage under shock loading, but I can't confirm this. The top of the rope channel is rounded off so that the rope does not bend over any sharp corners.
The cam radius increases from 12 to 41 mm. over an angle of 122°, giving a 30° cam angle. The cam has six grooves in the face giving five distinct teeth. It rides on a pin that gas both a spring-loaded ball and a backup clip that fits through a hole in the end of the pin.
The frame has three holes in the back, drilled from side to side. The lower one is for a 2 mm. stainless steel cable that acts a keeper for the cam axle. The middle one is unused. The upper one houses a roll pin that retains two wire cables that leave via another hole drilled through the side of the shell. The other end of one cable enters a hole in the top of the cam, where another pin fitted in a cross hole retains the cable end. This cable acts as a cam keeper, but is also a surprisingly good cam spring. This Rescucender is unlikely to slide down the rope when unweighted. The other cable retains the clip.
One side is stamped with a up-pointing arrow, the Petzl logo, "12≤Ø≤19mm," ’1/2"≤Ø≤3/4,"’ "EN567," "CE0197," a cam icon, and the "Reading-Is-Dangerous" icon. The other side is stamped with "00244L." There is a "↖" milled on one side of the cam.
This ascender is essentially the same as the Rock Exotica Large Rescucender. It is designed for the 5/8 to 3/4 in. (16 to 19 mm.) rope that some authorities believe is necessary for all rescue applications. Although this ascender is obviously derived from the Rescucender, it has some differences in design in addition to the size differences. The first unusual thing I noticed was that the upper portion of the shell was rounded with two grooves, as if the ascender were really designed for double 9 mm. rope.
The arrow stamped on the cam that doesn't point to anything that I figure out.
The cam rides on a pin that has a ball-bearing retainer to keep it from backing out. The pin is attached to the frame by a small stainless steel cable, and an external retaining ring fitted into a turned groove keeps the pin from being over-inserted. Apparently someone felt that the ball-bearings would not guarantee that the pin would remain in place (heaven knows why, I almost need a hammer to get mine out), so a truly obnoxious clip is provided to fit into a hole drilled in the end of the axle pin. Why a hitch pin clip wasn't used instead is beyond my comprehension, because the one chosen is awkward at best.
This ascender is nicely made, but too big because it was designed
for ropes with the same deficiency. It should appeal to the "bigger is better"
crowd, but not to the general caver and climber.
[ Top | Macrocender | Microcender v. B | Rescucender v. A | Rescucender v. B | Rescucender v. C | Rescucender v. D | Return to L.C. Ascenders ]
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I acquired my Petzl Microcender, Version A from Tom Furey in 2012.
The Petzl Microcender, Version A is 76 mm. tall, 57 mm. wide, 43 mm. thick, and weighs 159 g. The frame and cam are milled from aluminum. The frame’s rope channel is square rather than U-shaped, and the cam face is not contoured either. Neither of these aspects hurts the ascenders performance to any significant degree. The inside of the shell has a milled depression that the cam forces the rope into. This spreads the load on the rope, and may increase the holding power of the ascender. It is claimed to help reduce rope damage under shock loading, but I can't confirm this. The top of the rope channel is rounded off so that the rope does not bend over any sharp corners.
The cam has 8 rounded teeth. It rides on a pin that is held by a novel spring-loaded cross pin. The frame has a raised area with a groove that protects the cross pin, and a small hole for the cross pin to engage. The hole is large enough for mud to clear under most circumstances. The combination is relatively secure.
The frame has three holes in the back, drilled from side to side. The lower two are unused. The upper is threaded for an Allen screw. This hole intersects another hole drilled through the side of the shell.
The rear is stamped with a up-pointing arrow, "EN567," "9≤Ø≤13mm," ’3/8"≤Ø≤1/2,"’ "CE0197," a cam icon, the Petzl logo, and the "Reading-Is-Dangerous" icon.
This ascender is missing the cable spring and keeper cord that Version B has. I asked Tom about this, and he replied, "The Petzl ascender is as original and hasn't been used."
[ Top | Macrocender | Microcender v. A | Rescucender v. A | Rescucender v. B | Rescucender v. C | Rescucender v. D | Return to L.C. Ascenders ]
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I acquired my Petzl Microcender, Version B in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection.
The Petzl Microcender, Version A B is 76 mm. tall, 57 mm. wide, 43 mm. thick, and weighs 160 g. The frame and cam are milled from aluminum. The frame’s rope channel is square rather than U-shaped, and the cam face is not contoured either. Neither of these aspects hurts the ascenders performance to any significant degree. The rope channel is 14 mm. wide. The inside of the shell has a milled depression that the cam forces the rope into. This spreads the load on the rope, and may increase the holding power of the ascender. It is claimed to help reduce rope damage under shock loading, but I can't confirm this. The top of the rope channel is rounded off so that the rope does not bend over any sharp corners.
The cam radius increases from 11 to 27 mm. over an angle of 125°, giving a 23° cam angle. The cam has 8 rounded teeth. It rides on a pin that is held by a novel spring-loaded cross pin. The frame has a raised area with a groove that protects the cross pin, and a small hole for the cross pin to engage. The hole is large enough for mud to clear under most circumstances. The combination is relatively secure.
The frame has three holes in the back, drilled from side to side. The lower hole has a 3 mm. cord that serves as a pin keeper. The middle hole is unused. The upper is threaded for an Allen screw. This hole intersects another hole drilled through the side of the shell. A 1.7 mm. stainless steel cable secured by the allen screw emerges from this hole and enters the top of the cam, where it is secured by a pin entering the cam from the side.
The rear is printed with an up-pointing arrow, the Petzl logo, "9≤Ø≤13mm," "3/8≤Ø≤1/2 in," a cam icon, "11257UC," "0088," "CE0082," "EN567," a book-with-an-"i" icon, and "MICROCENDER."
The Petzl Microcender is essentially identical to the Rock Exotica Microcender.
The Microcender came with Allen wrenches to fit the screws, but these are dirt cheap and everyone has a set anyhow.
[ Top | Macrocender | Microcender v. A | Microcender v. B | Rescucender v. B | Rescucender v. C | Rescucender v. D | Return to L.C. Ascenders ]
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I acquired my Petzl Rescucender B50, Version A in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection.
The Petzl Rescucender B50, Version A is 113 mm. tall, 75 mm. wide, 46 mm. thick, and weighs 251 g.
Version A’s frame and cam are milled from aluminum. The rope channel is 14 mm. wide. The frame’s rope channel is square rather than U-shaped, and the cam face is not contoured either. Neither of these aspects hurts the ascenders performance to any significant degree. The inside of the shell has a milled depression that the cam forces the rope into. This spreads the load on the rope, and may increase the holding power of the ascender. It is claimed to help reduce rope damage under shock loading, but I can't confirm this. The top of the rope channel is rounded off so that the rope does not bend over any sharp corners.
The cam radius increases from 11 to 39 mm. over an angle of 157°, giving a 25° cam angle. The cam has 8 rounded teeth. It rides on a pin that is held by a novel spring-loaded cross pin. A pin pressed into the shell provides a small hole for the cross pin to engage. The hole is large enough for mud to clear under most circumstances. The combination is relatively secure.
The frame has three holes in the back, drilled from side to side. The lower one is for the keeper cord for the axle & cross pin assembly. The middle one is unused. The upper one houses a roll pin that retains a wire cable that leaves via another hole drilled through the side of the shell. The other end of the cable enters a hole in the top of the cam, where another pin fitted in a cross hole retains the cable end. This cable acts as a cam keeper, but is also a surprisingly good cam spring. This Rescucender is unlikely to slide down the rope when unweighted.
One side is stamped with an up-pointing arrow, "EN567," "9≤Ø≤13mm," ’3/8"≤Ø≤1/2 in,"’ "CE0197," a cam icon, the Petzl logo, and the Reading-Is-Dangerous icon. The other side is stamped "98239L."
The ascender body is milled from an aluminum block, and it is heavier and more rugged than stamped-shell ascenders. It is slightly heavier than the Gibbs, but rugged to extremes. This is extra weight is undesirable for individual cavers, but the bigger-is-better crowd should love the rugged construction.
[ Top | Macrocender | Microcender v. A | Microcender v. B | Rescucender v. A | Rescucender v. C | Rescucender v. D | Return to L.C. Ascenders ]
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I acquired this Petzl Rescucender B50, Version B from Mark Lamonica in 2023.
The Petzl Rescucender B50, Version B is 113 mm. tall, 77 mm. wide, 46 mm. thick, and weighs 253 g.
Version B gas a larger cam eye (19.9 mm. ID) than Version A (15.9 mm. ID).
One side is stamped with an up-pointing arrow, "EN567," "9≤Ø≤13mm," "3/8≤Ø≤1/2 in," "CE 0197," a cam icon, the Petzl logo, and the Reading-Is-Dangerous icon. The other side is stamped with "07113UE0272."
The larger eye comes with a tiny increase in size and adds two grams - neither is enough to notice.
[ Top | Macrocender | Microcender v. A | Microcender v. B | Rescucender v. A | Rescucender v. B | Rescucender v. D | Return to L.C. Ascenders ]
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I acquired my Petzl Rescucender B50, Version C in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection.
The Petzl Rescucender B50, Version C is 113 mm. tall, 77 mm. wide, 46 mm. thick, and weighs 253 g.
Version C gas a larger cam eye (19.9 mm. ID) than Version A (15.9 mm. ID).
One side is etched with an up-pointing arrow, the Petzl logo, "9≤Ø≤13mm," "3/8≤Ø≤1/2 in," a cam icon "14153UM," "0066," "CE0082," "EN567," a book-with-an-"i" icon, and "RESCUCENDER."
Version C has etched markings instead of the stmped markings found on Version B..
[ Top | Macrocender | Microcender v. A | Microcender v. B | Rescucender v. A | Rescucender v. B | Rescucender v. C | Return to L.C. Ascenders ]
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I acquired my Petzl Rescucender, Version D from Inner Mountain Outfitters at the 2016 NSS Convention.
The Petzl Rescucender, Version D is 109 mm. tall, 82 mm. wide, 36 mm. thick, and weighs 254 g.
Petzl’s Rescucender’s frame and cam are milled from aluminum. The frame’s rope channel is square rather than U-shaped, and the cam face is not contoured either. Neither of these aspects hurts the ascenders performance to any significant degree. The rope channel is 34 mm. wide. The inside of the shell has a milled depression that the cam forces the rope into. This spreads the load on the rope, and may increase the holding power of the ascender. The top of the rope channel is rounded off so that the rope does not bend over any sharp corners.
The cam radius increases from 11 to 35 mm. over an angle of 128°, giving a 28° cam angle. The cam has 8 rounded teeth. It rides on a pin that is held by a cross pin mounted on a stamped lever. The ends of the pin fit into L-shaped grooves milled through the sides of the shell. A spring-loaded plastic retainer on each side is held in place by a riveted steel plate. The retainer holds the cam axle in the working position in the grooves. A pin pressed into the shell provides a small hole for the cross pin to engage.
One side is engraved with an up-pointing arrow labeled "UP." That side has the Petzl logo printed on the shell. On the same side, the plate is engraved with a book-with-an-"i" icon and "Rescucender." The other side has a scanner code and "16C0012901859" printed on the shell. That side’s plate is engraved with "Pat. Pend.," the UL "Classified" logo with "45YF," "Meets NFPA 1983 (2012 ED.), "T MBS 5kN," "10≤Ø≤13mm," "EAC," "CE0082," "•EN12841:2006B," "10≤Ø≤13mm - 140 kg," "EN567:2013," and "9≤Ø≤13mm."
I'm glad that cavers don't have to pay attention to long lists of codes and standards. My opinion is that this design, although clever, is too large, heavy, complex, and bulky for my personal recreational use. I'm leaving this one for other communities, and letting them form their own opinions.
The cam axle seems to be relatively secure, but the plastic retainers do not look like they inspire confidence. I haven't tried them in muddy conditions, but on clean rope in the light of day, the mechanism works smoothly.
[ Top | Macrocender | Microcender v. A | Microcender v. B | Rescucender v. A | Rescucender v. B | Rescucender v. C | Rescucender v. D | Return to L.C. Ascenders ]
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