Version C
Version C[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | #1 | Return to E.C. Ascenders ] #209
I acquired Version A from Thomas Kopp in 2007.
The shell is bent from 3.2 mm. aluminum sheet and then anodized gold. The internal width is 16.6 mm. The shell has an 8.4 mm. through hole for the cam axle located 29 mm. from the inside of the shell groove. There is a 4.9 mm. through hole near the top of the shell. One side of the top through hole has a roll river that hods the cam and pin keepers.
The cam is cast aluminum. It has nine teeth on a spiral face that increases in radius from 14 to 33 mm. over about 89°, giving a cam angle of about 28°. The red cord cam keeper fits into a countersunk hole drilled in the top of the cam, and emerges from a hole in the side, where a knot secures it.
The cam axle is a 7.8 mm. quick release pain with a 25 mm. active length. The pin keeper is six links of flat chain attached to the pin by an 18.8 mm. split ring.
Each side of the shell is stamped with "Gibbs®." The quick release pin is stamped "AVDEL PAT. PEND." and "PUSH BLS5B10S."
The early quick release pin Gibbs had some problems in muddy conditions, but a change to the quick release pin seems to have eliminated most of the complaints.
[ Top | Version C | Version A | #1 | Return to E.C. Ascenders ] #65
I acquired Version B in the early 1970s.
This version differs from Version A by having a braided keeper that is similar to a piece of flat boot lace. A round head screw fastens and washer hold the cam, and the other end of the web is riveted to the shell.
Each side of the shell is stamped with "Gibbs®." The quick release pin is stamped "AVDEL PUSH" and "BLS5B10S."
I don't like the web as much as the cord. Although I've broken cords, the web feels awkward, probably only because it is shorter than I would like.
One of my Version B ascenders has a cylindrical depression cast in the side of the cam, but this mught just indicate that the mold was not filled properly.
[ Top | Version B | #1 | Return to E.C. Ascenders ] #66, 113
Version
CI have two of Version C. I don't have records of where I acquired the first one. Geary Schindel gave me the second one in 1992. It was still a current model at that time.
The shell is similar to the shell on Version A, but it has two extra holes. These have no effect on this ascender, but allow using the same shell for this model and spring loaded Version D. The inner width is slightly larger (17.5 mm.) and the axle hole sits slightly farther out in the groove (31 mm.).
The cam is hard anodized. It has nine teeth on a spiral face that increases in radius from 16 to 33 mm. over about 84°, giving a cam angle of about 28°. The red cord cam keeper fits into a countersunk hole drilled in the top of the cam, and emerges from a hole in the side, where a knot secures it.
The cam keeper is 120 mm. piece of 12.8 mm tubular webbing screwed to the cam and riveted to the shell. The pin keeper is a piece of 1.6 mm. steel cable with eye loops crimped at each end and a short (13 mm.) plastic covered central section. One eye passes through a hole in the pin, the other attaches to a teardrop shaped aluminum tab riveted between the shell and cam keeper.
Each side of the shell is stamped with "Gibbs®." The quick release pin is stamped "AVDEL PUSH" and "55207-1."
The differences in cam and shell dimensions between this and Version A are insignificant.
Gibbs ascenders start to slip when the cam wears down to about the seventh tooth. The hard coated cam will last much longer than the uncoated cams. I still prefer to cut the two largest teeth (#1 and #2) off my Gibbs because they do create noticeable drag, especially on a foot cam at the bottom of a pit. I don't climb on oversize ropes, and these teeth serve no useful purpose on thinner ones.
I like the web keeper more than the "shoe string" of Version A or the "boot lace" of Version B. I don't like the pin keeper as much because it is stiff enough to sometimes impede setting the pin, but this is a very minor nit-pick rather than a serious criticism.
This hard cam earns this Gibbs a star .
[ Top | Version B | Version C | Return to E.C. Ascenders ] #205
I acquired this Gibbs from Inner Mountain Outfitters in 2006.
This Gibbs has a new cam design (the same as the one on the Gibbs #2 Version C). At first glance it appears to be mulled from plate, but closer inspection shows a parting line in the middle. My guess is that it is forged, and then the eye and pivot holes are drilled. The edges of the eye are sharp. The cam is hard anodized. It has nine teeth on a spiral face that increases in radius from 15 to 33 mm. over about 97°, giving a cam angle of about 27°.
The shell has the dimples introduced on Gibbs #2 Version B. That version is a much larger ascender so it does not belong on this page.
The quick release pin diameter was increased to 9.3 mm.
One side of the shell is stamped with an arrow pointing up and "UP," the Gibbs logo, and "NOT FOR SELF BELAY." The other side is stamped with an arrow pointing up and "UP," the Gibbs logo, and "USE ONLY ON NON-METAL ROPE FROM 7/16 TO 1/2."
Overall, I think Version C was better designed and better made. I suspect the changes were made to better fit the more lucrative and bureaucratically controlled industrial market rather than the caving market where Gibbs Products planted their roots.
[ Top | Version B | Version C | #1 ]
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©2007, Gary D. Storrick