Best Jumar?

Wasn't sure whether to post this in the aid climbing forum or not, and I ever did a search, but no results :(.

I've heard nothing but good things regarding the Petzl ascenders, and some mixed reviews about the BD jumars. A buddy of mine owns the camp ultralite jumar, and they seem to get the job done well enough even though they're fairly basic (read: crappy). I have experience using the BD ascender, and haven't experienced any serious issues yet although I have heard of people having issues with them, but could never pin point what it was.

Opinions?

Alright I found 1 post post regarding jumars, but I'm not satisfied.

I've been using the Petzl ascenders for 15 years, and have yet to find anything I don't like about them.

Have the same pair of Clog Wales ascenders I bought 31 years ago. I like them. No complaints. Don't know if they're still sold.

Comparing only the BD and Petzl ascenders there is no question that Petzl ascenders are much, much better. Recently climbed the Muir wall with a partner who had the BD's and I unfortunately had to jug a few pitches with them. They are in my opinion the worst product BD has ever made.

First you have to flick your wrist to get them to consistently engage on the rope. If you don't they will slip every 5-10 moves, this is annoying but not a huge deal if you know to expect it.

Second the release mechanism is over-engineering at it's worst. Trying to pass a piece of gear by removing and replacing your jumar is such a PIA after a while you just don't do it and deal with removing your rope from the gear first.

Third and worst is that the camming action takes at least 2-3 times the weight of rope to overcome it's tendency to grab the rope. What this means to you is that where your lower Petzl Ascender will start to slide up the rope with about 15 feet of rope below it the BD ascender will not slide with 30 or more feet. So basically if you tie backup knots in the rope you can count on feathering the release on your lower jumar for the entire pitch.

If it had not been in the Valley I would bet my partner would have chucked his BD ascenders at the top of the cliff after their first wall. I have used three generations of Petzl Ascenders and they have all been awesome. They are hard to beat OMHO.

I've heard the same thing about the BD jumar's in terms of over engineering, and the over 'theres to much going on' way of things.

You mean ascenders I'm sure. Jumar is a brand name and refers to a specific ascender. I still use my Jumars, but like the Petzl a lot as well. The handled ones, mind you. The basic isn't as easy to use.

Search SuperTopo - there are many stories of the nForce sucking, although none specific enough to really satisfy me. The Petlz is universally acclaimed as "the best you can buy right now, I guess". Not exactly glowing reviews, but maybe people just hate jugging, and the years have made it seem better back in the day (on old ascenders).

Most long for original Jumars or, perhaps more popularly, Clogs. Which seem to pop up fairly often on eBay:

cgi.ebay.com/New-Pair-Clog-…

Still have my original Jumars, and only complaint was the handle needed to be larger to accomodate thick gloves or mittens. They still work great, although I do have a BD ascender too in my gear collection.

Woodchuck ATC wrote:Still have my original Jumars, and only complaint was the handle needed to be larger to accomodate thick gloves or mittens. They still work great, although I do have a BD ascender too in my gear collection.

Also, with the orignal Jumars(thats was I have) you never want to clip the hole on the bottom as they have been know to fail when twisted in a bind. You should tie a runner to the top to clip into. I can post a pick if interested in the how to.

So comparing the Clog's to the Petzl Ascension it seems as if the overall machincal design is very similar. I just went and played around with the Petzl, and the design is very straightforward. I like the simplicity that the Clog/Petzl employ in their designs. I'd rather pick up a brand new pair of Petzl Ascension's than an old 'new' pair of Clogs off e-bay personally, although I do appreciate the advice! Thanks for all the help guys, I think I'm going to get a pair of Ascensions.

England wrote: Also, with the orignal Jumars(thats was I have) you never want to clip the hole on the bottom as they have been know to fail when twisted in a bind. You should tie a runner to the top to clip into. I can post a pick if interested in the how to.

Done. had supertape' on there for many years long ago, attached just for that purpose.

The Petzl's are a great simple ascender. The BD's are total overkill.

I have both the grey and yellow jumars but perfer the Petzl's. They are much more comfortable to jug with.

The best ones are the ones that fit your hands. Petzl makes good ones, but they are too big for my hands. My old CMIs work great because they fit.

PT