Tuber (Tubular belay device)

Tuber
Other names	Tubular belay device, ATC, Reverso, Guide
Use(s)	Belay, abseiling, rescue techniques, ascending (atypical)
Pros	Well-tested and optimized, super-easy to give slack, useful for belaying of the second climber (guide mode), lightweight, can be used with double/twin ropes, multi-purpose
Cons	Does not provide assisted braking function, can bite into skin of the brake hand index finger if used inappropriately, in majority of the devices the setup for lowering of a second climber is cumbersome

Tubular belay devices are the most commonly used belay devices during training of advanced climbing and rescue techniques, multipitching and management of twin/double ropes. In some countries/clubs, they have been replaced by assisted tubular belay devices for single-pitch training. They are prohibited in some gyms due to alleged security concerns (for details, see the security concerns section).

Belaying risks

Always hold/control the break strand at least with one hand and keep the break strand downwards unless giving or taking the slack. Keep your hand at least a few centimeters from the belay device to avoid pinching of the skin. Do not lift your hand too high (above the device) while giving the slack. One of the commonly seen bad habit is keeping the hand raised for a prolonged time during belaying.

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  Always hold the break strand downwards unless feeding/taking the rope

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  Feed or take the rope from the front of the device

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  Not holding the break strand can result in fatal injuries

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  Holding the break hand too close leads to belayer risk of pinching the skin of the index finger.

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  Do not lift the break hand unnecessary high during the break strand manipulation.

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  Do not leave the hand in the upper position if not taking or giving the slack.

Belaying from the harness

Slack taking

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  Start in the resting position

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  Feed the slack through the device by simultaneously moving both hands

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  Move the belay hand back into a fully blocking position

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  Tunnel up the rope by the belay hand to the resting position

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  Final resting state, repeat the steps if you need to take more slack

Slack feeding

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  Tunnel down

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  Feed the slack through the device by simultaneously moving both hands

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  Put the belay hand back into the safe resting position

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  Final resting state, repeat the steps if you need to give more slack

Belaying from the anchor

Belaying second climber - tuber with guide mode

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  Setup for belaying second climber with a guide-mode tuber

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  Taking slack is done by simultaneously moving both hands

Belaying lead climber - tuber with guide mode

TODO

Belaying second climber - tuber without guide mode

TODO

Belaying from harness at the anchor

Redirection of the sharp end of the rope for belaying from harness at the anchor

During belay from harness at the anchor point redirect the rope through the anchor till the first two pieces of the running protection are placed. Otherwise if the climber would fall, belayer would be pushed downwards and at the same time the tuber would not block as both the break strand and the live strand would be pointed the same direction.

Abseiling

TODO (redirect to technique page)

Tuber as an ascender

TODO

Security concerns

TODO