Black Diamond ATC-XP Belay Device - 2011 BCS

This just a great all around piece of equipment. Always have one in your kit. Friendly to new comers and a stand by of experts. Has worked for me in all conditions, wet, dry, and icy. Make sure you have one. Controlling your pace is a breeze.

Awesome belay device for single pitch and gym climbing. Teeth make for solid lock offs and safe repelling.

I use my GriGri2 and my ATC-Guide for different aspects of climbing and work, but in the end this is as simple and easy as it gets and I will always have it in my bag. doesn't wear out on the long raps, the grooves really do help, especially for locking off while your partner works section of the route or on wet and icy ropes.

This is a vey nice belay device, I originally had the basic model but the extra friction is better to have especially for me because my climbing partner is a little heavier than me :) and it is better on rapples. Great belay-device.

I've tried a few others and this belay device really made a difference. I go to the gym with my gf who weighs 110 soaking wet and she has no problem holding that rope straight down through the friction teeth and keeping me in place. Works great, smoother lowering, I recommend it.

easy to use on 8 to 11mm ropes...
Pleanty of friction on everything but the 7.7s.

This is a pretty straightforward device, and I can't believe more people haven't reviewed it. High friction mode has just enough extra bite, and the standard mode is like any other tube device out there. Lead falls are caught nicely with the toothed side, and lowering is pretty straighforward. IMO should be on everyones rack as another option.

Great belay device. I definitely Prefer it over the GriGri, for simplicity in lowering and ease of rope flow for rapping and belay. Recommend to anyone new or experienced to climb.

This ATC has great teeth that help slow decent when rappelling, also the finish seems to resist wear more than others. I would recommend this device to anyone who is looking for long lasting equipment.

The BD ATC-XP is an easy to use, yet very effective belay device. With this, it was much easier to belay larger climbers. Definitely would pick one of these babies up if looking at belay devices.

The old saying goes "The bigger they are the harder they fall" and when using the XP it really doesn't matter anymore.

if your belaying a climber who weighs over two hundred pounds you have two options don't eat for a few weeks and buy a Grigri or find 20 bucks and get your self one of these bad boys.

One of my climbing partners is a big guy and when lead belaying him this thing really comes in handy in stopping him before hitting the ground which was just about happening when using a non-friction ATC.

For indoor climbing where the ropes are not your own, not in the best of shape and typically your no higher than 40 feet at the top of the route this ATC is a life saver.

I was lucky enough to find this thing at my local crag lying in some tall grass. My original belay device (Wild Country VC Pro) is a lot less bulky and a lot more easy to push my rope (10.2) into. However I did notice that the ATC-XP doesn't get nearly as hot on long rappels. I gave this to my lady so she can catch my falls easier and she enjoys it much more than the VC Pro. I would personally go for the cheaper one.

The ATC XP does the trick controlling your descent and allowing for smooth rappels. I hear it is tougher to use on ropes smaller than 8mm (have not done this) and it is pretty slow on 11mm ropes (usually a good thing). One interesting note, this thing can heat up, especially on larger ropes so be careful at the end of the line

This is a great ATC design by BD and it works great! The grooved high friction end is very nice for those long rappels in slot canyons.
I only gave this 4 stars because I like the Wild Country VC Pro 2 Belay Device better because it is the same design but has a curved side so you can have it on a low friction setting when at the top of your long rappel, then simply move the rope to the high friction side when you need more friction at the bottom of your long rappel. You can't do that with this one. For climbing use thought I would give it 5 stars.

Love the ATC-XP versatility with options to add more friction to rope with different diameters. It even works well with SRT on thin ropes if you add an extra biner. Yet it’s easy to take in rope while on belay.