Being a fairly frequent visitor to the Alpkit website, I'd noticed previously that they were selling Fixe Chest and Handled Ascenders at very reasonable prices.

After the latest round of negative information regarding the latest Croll, I decided to get one to replace the wife's 'Deadly Croll'. At ?26 including postage it's not a great loss if it turns out to be crap. As usual with Alpkit purchases, the item turned up very quickly, and on first impression the Fixe Ascender seems pretty good for the money.



As can be seen from the photo, the Fixe is very similar to the old style Croll.



The cam is slightly longer on the Fixe than the Croll



The Fixe seems fairly well made. The only slight criticism I've could give is that whilst the attachment holes have no burrs, they have square edges (not radiused or chamfered).
This is not a major issue, but it may lead to premature chest strap wear if you don't use a Maillon on the upper attachment point. Five minutes with a round file would solve this (and damage the anodising), but in reality this is an oversight on Fixe's part.

I can't comment on it's operation as it's not yet been used, but for someone on a budget it could prove a decent buy.

It looks almost identical to this one.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Climbing-Arborist-Carving-Chest-Ascender-Gear-Equipment-for-8mm-12mm-Rope-/391495418713?hash=item5b26f20359:g:R0gAAOSwzJ5Xc5h4

I've taken an interest in Fixe because their resin anchors have appeared installed anonymously in British caves.

Fixe have appeared to be very cagey about the failure of their chain anchors and that sowed seeds of doubt in my mind.
http://www.abcwalls.co.uk/news/fixe-tech-rock-hangars-info/

From Fixe's 'About Us' page - "After 20 years of doing business we are still a very small operation, I work with my customers daily and try to field as many questions and phone calls as possible. Every customer I have is very important to me and most know me by name at this point." Notice the use of the first person singular.

Watch his videos and ask yourself, does he sound like an engineer?
http://www.fixehardware.com/shop/fixe-videos

Simon Wilson said:

It looks almost identical to this one.

Click to expand...

Except that is from China with no legitimate CE markings or mention of working loads.
The Fixe claims to be rated to CE008, same as the Croll but at 4kN.
Looks like a nice robust piece of kit Madness, I'll be ken to hear what you make of it in practice

Except that is from China with no legitimate CE markings or mention of working loads.
The Fixe claims to be rated to CE008, same as the Croll but at 4kN.

Click to expand...

Can you tell me definitively where the Fixe ascender is manufactured? It does look very similar to the Ebay one.

Can you tell me definitively where the Fixe ascender is manufactured? It does look very similar to the Ebay one.

Click to expand...

I have no idea, I was just pointing out that whilst they look identical, the Fixe has all the proper test markings.
I imagine the Fixe is manufactured in China, to correct standards. The Chinese factory will then use the same patterns to manufacture knockoff kit after the batch is done, similar thing happened with petzl kit.

It could be the CIC
http://storrick.cnc.net/VerticalDevicesPage/Ascender/EccCamPages/EC1974.html

or the Climbtech
http://storrick.cnc.net/VerticalDevicesPage/Ascender/EccCamPages/EC1938.html

or the NTR
http://storrick.cnc.net/VerticalDevicesPage/Ascender/EccCamPages/EC2015.html

All CE marked - just make up a brand name and sell them cheap - why not?

Kong?
http://storrick.cnc.net/VerticalDevicesPage/Ascender/EccCamPages/EC0009.html

Whilst I'm on a roll

why not a Singing Rock Cam Clean
http://www.singingrock.com/cam-clean

or an ABC
http://storrick.cnc.net/VerticalDevicesPage/Ascender/EccCamPages/EC0225.html

or a Climbing Technology
http://www.climbingtechnology.com/en/professional-work/pulleys-and-rope-clamps/rope-clamps/chest-ascender-evo

Tell me they weren't all made with the same tooling.

Well spotted Simon. The Fixe does look identical to your first four links, which suggests that they are all made in the same factory in China.

Now I have nothing against Chinese made goods providing they have been reliably tested to make sure they achieve the required standard.

What I do need to check is where Fixe claim that this ascender is made. The Alpkit website states that the country of origin is Spain. Is that the same as the country of manufacture?

I have no pretensions of being the expert on this so will stand correction if wrong, but am wondering, if assuming they are all one and the same, if Fixe are marketing the device after a program of proper testing and evaluation?

I might add that my opinion of the new Croll is so low I think a couple of clothes pegs would be an improvement.

crossed krabs?

royfellows said:

I have no pretensions of being the expert on this so will stand correction if wrong, but am wondering, if assuming they are all one and the same, if Fixe are marketing the device after a program of proper testing and evaluation?

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Having looked at the leaflet that came with the Ascender, Fixe claim that it is 'Made in Spain'.

I have emailed Alpkit to the effect that Fixe may be making false claims as to where their equipment is manufactured, and that if that is the case their claims that their products comply with the relevant standards may be spurious. It's too early to expect a reply from Alpkit.

I have dealt with Alpkit quite a bit and I genuinely believe that they are not trying to mis-lead anyone, I think Fixe are taking Alpkit for a ride.

I have asked Alpkit to ask Fixe for a copy of the test report on the Ascender when it was tested to acheive the relevant standards. I will not be holding my breath on this one!

I really don't care where a product is made providing it has been tested by a reputable body to prove that it acheives the necessary standards. However, I do take exception when people start making false claims about their products, whatever that claim may be.

Thanks to Simon for pointing out the similarity between different Ascenders.

Section 9 of the COO labelling guide
?goods shall be deemed to have been manufactured or produced in the country in which they last underwent a treatment or process resulting in a substantial change?.
only applies to certain foods I believe.

Well done Madness. I was thinking of emailing Alpkit with the same question.

Fixe goods are supplied in Europe by Techrock who also supply Roca, Faders and Alien. http://techrock.es/

Techrock do appear to have manufacturing and testing facility in Spain and it will almost certainly be them that have the expertise to provide CE certification. They appear to do some manufacturing but mainly 'branding' of Chinese goods. The CE certification will be bona fide.

What I really don't like about all this is that companies like Alpkit (and many other similar companies) try to put themselves across as something other than what they are. They are clearly a marketing company that specialises in cheap gear. There's nothing wrong with a lot of cheap Chinese stuff but you might as well just buy the same thing from Ebay.

Such as this really neat looking ultra light "Alpkit" stove. https://www.alpkit.com/products/kraku

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Outdoor-Portable-Camping-Stove-Lightweight-Mini-Cooking-Butane-Gas-Stove-Furnace-/232034912504?hash=item36065bc8f8:g:wEkAAOSwdzVXqxyf

Simon Wilson said:

What I really don't like about all this is that companies like Alpkit (and many other similar companies) try to put themselves across as something other than what they are. They are clearly a marketing company that specialises in cheap gear. There's nothing wrong with a lot of cheap Chinese stuff but you might as well just buy the same thing from Ebay.

Click to expand...

May be, may be not. A year or two ago I bought a little Aplkit headlight for general pottering about, I like it and it works well, it has even been underground a few times as a spare. A couple of months ago I saw a very similar looking light in ASDA for a few quid so I bought one. It's quite interesting to compare them. The are the same case in different colours and the same switch but that the Alpkit has 3 white LEDs whereas the ASDA one has 1 "white" LED that is very blue and two basic red ones. Now I suppose the ASDA one could be a cheaper copy of the "Alpkit" one but if it is from another manufacturer why would they make an identical copy of the case tooling, might as well make it slightly different?

My guess is that the manufacturer can offer a range of product options from cheap and nasty LEDs to something better - it's just a different spool in the pick'n'place machine. And so buying a similar looking  but cheaper product might not be the same and companies like Alpkit might actually be doing more than just badging whatever comes out of the factory, they might be putting in a bit of thought and QA.


Oh! and regarding that CE marking, we can forget all that now, we've left Europe    :halo:

TheBitterEnd said:

Oh! and regarding that CE marking, we can forget all that now, we've left Europe    :halo:

Click to expand...

What has Farage been up to now, has he attached massive turbines to the East coast and sailed us out into the Atlantic! :O

Simon, (or anyone) do you have much knowledge of what a CE mark actually relates to? Struggling to find any definitions on the web.
For example, the Fixe and Petzl Croll are both CE 0082, whereas the Climbtech and NTR is CE 1019, the Kong is CE 0426!

Joe.Bones said:

Simon, (or anyone) do you have much knowledge of what a CE mark actually relates to? Struggling to find any definitions on the web.
For example, the Fixe and Petzl Croll are both CE 0082, whereas the Climbtech and NTR is CE 1019, the Kong is CE 0426!

Click to expand...

The numbers refer to the Notified Body - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking

The standard for "rope clamps" is CE EN 567. Which the Croll, Turbochest and CT all have. They also all have UIAA approval which is higher.

http://www.theuiaa.org/upload_area/Safety/Standards/Safety-Standards/UIAA_126_Rope_Clamp_March_2013.pdf

CE0082 appears to denote the Notified Body "Apave" in France. Not a standard.

Alpkit have replied to my email.

Perhaps predictably they have pointed out that the Ascender is etched with the CE number and the printed leaflet contains all the relevant CE information.

They apparently have been assured by Fixe that the Ascender is manufactured in Spain.

I have suggested to them that Fixe might not be telling the truth on this one and have requested they ask Fixe for test results from the independent body who awarde the CE mark.

I don't expect this to be forthcoming.

I will however still be using the Ascender

Do you still have the leaflet?