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Auto-Belay Technology explained..

Wall Specification

This auto-belay system is globally recognised and approved by ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials). It is accepted as being the most advanced, safest and user friendly design on the market. As well as on Vertical Reality climbing walls the design is currently used by ‘Cirque du Soleil’, ‘ESPN’ and ‘Universal Studios’ and in many commercial applications.

With the auto-belay devices doing all of the belay work and ensuring safety, the person(s) operating the wall act more like a coach offering encouragement and direction. The design uses a pressurized air/ hydraulic oil system that automatically controls the rate of descent when a climber falls or chooses to come down off the wall.

Each of the belay systems on this Mobile climbing wall are manufactured with two hydraulic cylinders for every climber. Two cylinders mean that a redundant system is in parallel, which will ensure that if one hydraulic cylinder fails, a second system will take up the slack and function in a safe manner.

The intended function is to take up the slack in the climbing cable as the person climbs. As a climber ascends the wall, they will take weight off of the cable, at which point the positive air pressure in the hydraulic system causes the cable to retract or to functionally take up the cable slack. This works by air pressure forcing the hydraulic fluid into the pistons and the whole sequence is reversed for the controlled descent of the climber.