Gear Review: ATC Guide - Just The Ticket

Brand: Black Diamond
Model: ATC Guide
Category: Tube Style Belay/Rappel Device
Class: Autoblocking

Today we’re looking at the Black Diamond ATC Guide. The Guide is a tube style belay device belonging to the ‘Autoblocking’ class. It has both a standard function and an autoblocking function. In its standard function, it can be used to belay a leader or to rappel. In it’s autoblocking function, it can be used to belay a follower or as an emergency ascender. It works with one or two rope systems, belays from above with one or two followers, claims a min and max rope diameter of 8.1-11mm, and weighs 80g.

Standard Mode
For either top rope or lead belaying the ATC Guide is smooth and provides a reliable catch in either the high friction or low friction orientations. Low friction, (grooves up), is helpful when belaying on a thick fuzzy top rope. I use high friction (grooves down) for everything else. When belaying a leader on todays 9.something mm ropes, the Guide is easily the best device to pay out rope quickly. Rappelling is also smooth on both one or two ropes systems. Don’t forget to back up your rappel!

Autoblock Mode
Belaying a follower on a multipitch climb is where the ATC Guide really shines. Clipping the large guide ring on the back of the device directly to the anchor allows for progress to be captured. As the second ascends the belayer takes in slack. When the follower falls or weights the rope, the load strand pinches the break strand, stopping the fall. Due to the large parallel rope slots, the ATC Guide takes in slack with less friction than any other tube style device on the market, (a feature the 2019 model claims to have improved even further with an asymmetrical guide ring.) It can’t be expressed enough how valuable this is. If you’re climbing on single ropes 9mm and larger, you’ll feel a dramatic difference in your shoulders, especially leading a party of three — ugh.

Defeating the Autoblock
The small nose hole on the nose of the device is designed to flip the device and defeat autoblock mode. Hooking it with a thin nosed carabiner or threading a thin sling to leverage upward works well enough, but there are better methods. I prefer using a method called the Load Strand Direct, leveraging the rope to defeat the autoblock. As far as I’m concerned, they could lose this hole all together. (Many accidents occur around defeating or lowering from autoblock mode. This is not a tutorial; don’t forget to backup your systems!)

Emergency Ascender
The guide ring can be clipped to your belay loop for use, in tandem with a foot prusik, as an emergency ascender. While this is not an easy method for ascending a rope, it works in a pinch and the Guide performs this function more efficiently than similar devices. This makes it an important part of my self rescue kit.

Light, Not the Lightest
Petzl Reverso(57g) vs. BD ATC Guide (80g)
A direct comparison with the Petzl Reverso shows a clear winner in the category of weight. The 23g difference is commonly sighted as the defining reason for preferring the Reverso, and this is a huge mistake. The comparative difference in the size of the rope slots proves far more important.

The Black Diamond ATC Guide has notably. longer wider rope slots.

The Petzl Reverso has shorter thinner slots—not a problem with uber skinny singles or half or twin ropes.

If you’re multi-pitch climbing, the ATC Guide is the ticket! It does the job smoother than any device in its class, which makes it an essential tool on my harness. Use it with the BD Pearabiner carabiner for the best low friction combination.

Note: The ATC Guide does have several failure modes and is easy to use improperly. Check out the failure modes here and of course, seek professional training.