Front	Rear	Open for Rigging

Left	Right	Top	Bottom

		DO NOT CLIMB SOLO! Nothing can make solo climbing safe.

		If you are reading this then you do not have the necessary expertise.

Do not even think about learning anything about anything from an internet web site.

Technical Details

I acquired my Ben's Climbing Gear (BCGP Freebell from Ben Kitchen in 2025. It was offered through a Kickstarter program in April of that year with the initial orders shipping in September. I was one of 295 project backers, including 124 from the U.S.A. and 29 from the U.K.

The BCG Freebell is 132 mm. long, 84 mm. wide, 24 mm. high, and weighs 346 g.

The BCG Freebell body is milled from 7075 aluminum alloy and hard anodized. The cover is made from anodized aluminum and pivots from the lower left to allow rigging. There are two mechanisms inside the Freebell, as follows:

1. A speed activated centrifugal wheel/cam to pinch the rope during a fall, and<
2. A simple progress capture rope grab to help hold the weight of the rope allowing your primary belay device to feed freely.

A stainless steel wire keeper loop passes through a small hole in the body.

The front plate has a printed rigging illustratioin and "FREEBELL" The rear is printed with "Ø8.5-10.5mm," "THIS CLIBING DEICE IS NOT CERTIFIED," "SOLO CLIMBING IS A DANGEROUS SPORT," "USE THIS DEVICE AT YOUR OWN RISK AND RESPONSIBILITY," the BCG logo, "Designed by Ben Kitchen," "LOAD ROPE AS SHOWN - BIDIRECTIONAL SERVICE," "CLOSE COVER AND CHECK ROPE ONLY FEEDS TOWARD BELAY DEVICE," "PULL QUICKLY IN FEED DIRECTION TO CHECK SPEED MECHANISM," and "ATTACH WITH LOCKING BINER TO RATED HARNES POINT/SLING AROUND WAISTBELT."

Comments

The Freeball simple speed activated backup device with an integrated progress capture rope grab to help make Lead Rope Solo climbing safer and easier. Safer does not mean safe - lead rope solo climbing cannot be made safe.

The Freebell is designed to be easily disassembled for inspection and replacement of the internal components. While this would be terrifying for U.S. firm lawyers, it is a desirable feature that is less threatening in countries with more ethical tort liability systems. My Freebell came with several small spare parts to make such maintenance easier.

I know of no standards for solo belay devices and so I am not surprised that the Freebell is not certified. Ben carried out development testing to the best of his abilities using the standard EN15151-1, which may or may not easy your mind. The Freebell is not a primary belay device for solo climbing and should never be used as one.

DO NOT CLIMB SOLO! Nothing can make solo climbing safe.