I acquired my Advanced Base Camp from On Rope 1 at the 2007 NSS Convention.
Like most chest ascenders, the Advanced Base Camp ascender is left-handed. The ascender is is 103 mm. high, 75 mm. wide, 37 mm. thick, and weighs 141 grams.
The ascender shell is subtriangular gold anodized shape bent from 3.9 mm. aluminum sheet. The rope channel is formed by bending the right side of the ascender into a U. The rope channel is 15.3 mm. in diameter. The main sling attachment point is located below the cam and behind the rope channel. A second attachment point is located above the cam, also behind the rope channel. The shell is bent backwards at both points to provide clearance between the attachment slings and the main rope. This accounts for the rather large thickness of this ascender. The lower attachment point is a pear-shaped opening that measures 19.7 mm. high by 123.7 mm. wide. The upper is shaped like a rectangle with semicircular ends; it is 14.4 mm. high by 24.4 mm. wide. The left side of the shell is bent on an inclined axis to form another U. A hole drilled through both sides of the U accepts a roll rivet. The cam and cam spring are mounted on this rivet. The head of the rivet is on the front while the roll sits into a stamped depression on the back of the cam. The pivot is centered 49 mm. from the inside of the rope groove. There is a stamped cam stop near the cam pivot.
The cam is a plated skeletonized steel casting. The cam radius, measured from the pivot, increases from 41 to 57 mm. over an angle of 40°, giving a 26° cam angle. The cam has number of small conical teeth, all of which have their axes approximately parallel to the lower surface of the cam. The tooth pattern is (2.4)(1H1.2)^3(1.2.2). The H stands for a 4 mm. wide, 6 mm. wide inverted subtriangular hole. A spring-loaded manual safety is mounted mounted on an axle riveted to the center of the cam. The normal action of the spring holds the safety against the cam. The safety has a large D-shaped finger opening and a safety tab. When the cam is opened, the shell interferes with the safety tab, thus preventing opening the cam. If the safety is moved away from the cam (opposing the spring), the tab will clear the shell and the cam will open. At full open the safety can be released and the spring will hold the tab against the back of the shell, locking the cam open.
The front of the ascender has a screened rigging illustration and "ROPE 8<Ø<13 mm." The rear has book icon with an included "i," "Made in EEC 0206," a CT logo, "Patented," the "advanced base Camp ABC logo, "CE0639", "EN 567," and the UIAA logo.
The Advanced base Camp is well-made and a number of Frog climbers have told me that they like how smoothly it functions. My limited testing supports their experience. The cam closing stop contacts the cam at the same time that the cam face contacts the inside of the rope groove. In any case, the stop only functions when the ascender is off rope, so I consider it to be superfluous. The holes in the cam are intended to reduce the risk of ascender slippage due to mud-caked cam teeth. The design appears superior to some, but most ropes muddy enough to stop other ascenders will stop the this one too.
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©2008, Gary D. Storrick