Smart Alpine Large
Description
The alpine version of the award-winning Smart can also be used with half ropes as well with single ropes, making it the ideal companion for all alpine rock and ice pursuits. When it comes to belaying, the Smart Alpine offers the same excellent qualities as the Smart: dynamic braking of the climber in an accidental fall, and locks even at low levels of force exerted by the user. The Smart Alpine can also be used to independently belay one or two second climbers in an autolocking mode from the fixed point. The device is also ideal for abseiling. Black-red version for use with rope diameters of 8.7 to 10.5 mm.
The alpine version of the award-winning Smart can also be used with half ropes as well with single ropes, making it the ideal companion for all alpine rock and ice pursuits. When it comes to belaying, the Smart Alpine offers the same excellent qualities as the Smart: dynamic braking of the climber in an accidental fall, and locks even at low levels of force exerted by the user. The Smart Alpine can also be used to independently belay one or two second climbers in an autolocking mode from the...
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Device Type |
Brake Assist - Tube |
| Weight (g) |
135 g |
| Belay Brake Assist |
Yes |
| Rope Options | 1 rope only |
| Guide Mode |
Up to 2 followers |
| Teeth |
No |
| Rope Range (mm) | 8.9 mm - 10.5 mm |
| Certification |
|
The Smart Alpine is a heavier than an ATC or Reverso, but I really like the additional safety that the autolocking feature provides. As a belayer, you try to always be ready for the big fall and big catch, but the autoblock gives you a bit of a back up just in case you screw it up. When fatigue sets in at the end of a long alpine day, it’s good to have that extra assist from your belay device.
Mammut bills its Smart device as a tool for gym and sport climbers, and this no-frills “auto-locker,” designed to brake at even low levels of force, will work for those applications. The $50 price tag will further entice frugal climbers looking for the convenience and safety of traditional auto-lockers, which typically cost nearly $100. I used the Smart a lot last summer and quickly realized that it locks more readily than other devices, and lowering, rappelling or feeding slack can be jerky until you master the technique. After a few test runs I had it down, but the Smart was never as easy to operate as a Grigri. That said, the Smart offers advantages over other auto-lockers that extend beyond sport and gym venues. For example, the Smart weighs five ounces less than the Grigri, and I enjoyed the weight savings on multi-pitch outings where I could rig it at the anchor and more easily hold my partner if he fell. Like the Grigri, the Smart doesn’t work with double ropes. The Smart works with thin ropes—from 8.9 to 10.5 mm, though the Faders Sum also takes ropes down to 9.1 mm. In the final analysis, this single-rope device doesn’t quite deliver the smooth-as-butter action of traditional auto-lockers, but is serviceable and light, and the price is right.
For all that this belay device does, Mammut should charge twice as much. For a start, the Smart Alpine can handle double-rope rappels and auto-block mode to belay one or two seconds; it’s equally at home on single-pitch and multi-pitch routes, unlike most assistedbraking devices. It feeds slack smoothly (once you get the knack), and locks up quick and tight under load. This device is half the price of most assisted brakers, and it weighs less than 5 oz. The Smart Alpine comes in two sizes, one for 8.9mm to 10.5mm ropes, and a leaner version for 7.5mm to 9.5mm ice climbing and alpine cords.
Lowering and rappelling were a bit jerky, but not unreasonably so. In field tests, it didn’t lock up quite as automatically as the Grigri 2 or similar devices, but this is a plus for trad and ice, where it’s important to give softer catches. As we said in our full review in the March issue (No. 293), “at a modest price, and with all its benefits, this is an amazing tool.”
Most of the devices reviewed here are well-suited for single-pitch rock routes or gym climbing, but offer much less to multi-pitch or alpine climbers. Enter the Mammut Smart Alpine, which brings unprecedented versatility to an assisted-braking device. New for 2011, the Smart Alpine is a two-slot version of Mammut’s Smart device ($29.95). Two slots allow you to belay with double or twin ropes, and to accommodate such skinny ropes, the new Alpine version comes in two sizes. Two channels also means it can be used for double-rope rappels (or a doubled single rope), unlike any other device in this review. Mammut stresses you shouldn’t count on the assisted-braking effect as a rappel back-up, but in our limited tests, it did stop a climber who let go of the rope. The Smart Alpine also can be rigged in autoblock mode to belay one or two seconds directly off an anchor. Mammut suggests the Smart provides a more dynamic belay than other assisted-braking devices, which would be beneficial for trad and ice climbs, but the difference seemed marginal—the device locked up quickly and tight. While belaying leaders and seconds, we found the Smart feeds and takes in slack smoothly; it was slightly less smooth than other devices for rappels or lowering. But as one of the lightest devices in this review, at a modest price, and with all its benefits, this is an amazing tool.
Long but informative video, it shows how the Smart Alpine Belay Device works and discusses all the features in details. it's well worth watching.
