I was skeptical like most, but try clipping one in right before you begin that big a$$ed traverse, and you will probably wind up grabbing another one the next time you are at your local climbing shop.. like I did!

When used properly, these things rock! I rack 10 trad draws + 2 revolvers (on a dogbone with a keeper to keep the pulley in proper alignment) + 1 QD. Stategically placing these things on long wandering routes really cuts down on rope drag. I would say more than just extending a runner. I wish to emphasize that you do need a keeper to keep the pulley aligned. I think some suppliers sell them this way.

Me and my boyfriend have been carrying these around at the Gunks for the past couple of months. Linking those traversing pitches is now a breeze. Slap one of these on at the dog leg in the rope and drag is virtualy non existant. A great option if you don't want the extra weight....or cost....of double ropes.

When some anonymous sailor first placed a high-carbon steel carabiner in the hands of some nameless climber, a single thought probably occurred to that climber: “What the--?!”

It’s possible that he fondled it thoughtfully, before a second thought occurred to him: “Like I need this crap with countless trees and chocks to wrap my hemp rope around.”

“I’ll give it a try,” he might have said. “But I don’t think it’s worth the weight or the price.” Get ready to say the same about DMM’s latest innovation, the Revolver.

The Revolver is two-thirds ‘biner and one-third pulley and yes, it’s both heavy and expensive. But like that nameless climber who gave a funny steel clippy thing the benefit of the doubt and forever changed your rack, don’t pass it up without some consideration. Last summer, when Rockclimbing.com CEO, Michael Reardon, met up with Rock & Ice’s Matt Samet in California’s Needles, Samet produced a handful of Revolvers, much to Reardon’s shock and surprise. “When he handed that thing to me,” recalls Reardon, "I remember thinking, ‘this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.’”

And Reardon was not alone in his skepticism. Writing for Britain’s High Magazine in December, 2004, Andy Kirkpatrick reports, “My first thought was… some kind of pointless rescue or top roping Karabiner.”

But without exception, each reviewer soon changed his mind. Raleigh writes, “Clip a Revolver on a piece of zig-zagged gear and the reduction in rope drag is nearly equal to clipping a full-length runner on the same piece. When your gear doesn’t zag, the self-lubricating roller bearing still pulls heavy duty, minimizing drag and, consequently, wear and tear on your rope.”

If reducing wear and tear sounds OK, how does decreasing the likelihood of a marginal piece killing you make you feel? Says Kirkpatrick, "For headpointing, big walling, ice-climbing and anywhere marginal gear is found having a Revolver could not only make the actual ‘stopping’ difference, but also provide you with a significant psychological boost, especially if matched to a ripper sling (load limiter – J.)."

[img]http://img106.exs.cx/img106/3194/ropedragchanged9xg.jpg[/img]
[size=8]This shot, submitted by braaaaaaaadley, is called Rope drag... ain't it a b*+@#! Not with a couple Revolvers it ain’t![/size]

Reducing rope drag has an upside in every style of climbing, save bouldering and free soloing. Alpine and ice? According to Kirkpatrick, “They are especially noticeable if you’re trying to squeeze the full 60m out of a rope, reducing that ‘walking into a hurricane’ stance often taken by climbers power climbing to the anchors up snow slopes.”

Sport climbing? I have a theory that I call The Thin Line. The Thin Line theory states that if you’re climbing at your true and absolute limit, the overall weight and the resistance you feel draws a line at which success is either won or lost. The line is paper thin. If you come in one nanometer over it, you won’t send; one iota under it and you will. Everything you can do to put yourself under that line directly affects where your limit will be found. So, whether you’re pushing toward a 5.9 redpoint or trying to be the first human to onsight .14c, you must adjust The Thin Line. Take a leak, carry only what you absolutely need, cut your hair, think light thoughts and… minimize rope drag. Revolver time?

But, the Revolver has a few downsides also, and while a rack full of them would certainly be heavy in price and poundage, its cost and weight are the least of its worries. Most troublesome to me are the effects of using a Revolver in the wrong circumstances, such as the first few pieces of gear on any pitch. Before rope drag is really an issue, a Revolver could make the belayer’s job significantly more difficult, so don’t use it unless you have enough rope out to absorb impact force. Though you might think that it would be good for toprope anchors, those who have tried it there don’t care for it. And, to date, I’ve been unable to locate anybody who has actually used it to haul a pig for one pitch, let alone 28.

If, however, rope drag is like your hostile ex who kept your favorite T-shirt and still owes you a C-note from that time you bailed him or her out of the Yosemite pokey, then the Revolver may become your new mistress/boytoy to whom you turn for dirty satisfaction. How many times have you approached the final crux of a wandering trad pitch, only to find that you had to fight for your life against your very lifeline. Just clipping a draggy rope is a nightmare, especially if your stance is tenuous. At the moment when it’s finger-locks-or-pine-box, summit-or-plummet, make-the-clip-or-take-the-whip and your own rope suddenly sides with gravity, how much would you pay for less rope drag? Would you pay Twenty-five bucks for a Revolver? Fifty for two? I sure would.

Add two or three of these babies to your rack; you won’t substantially increase your weight. In fact, if you replace two wire-gated ‘biners with two Revolvers, your net weight increase will be somewhere in the neighborhood of a half ounce. And what the Hell, I have a birthday comin' up. Add two or three to MY rack and you won’t increase your weight at all.

I went to my local shop to get a rescue pully, for an upcoming 20-pitch trad route on Spanish limestone, having a couple of young guns in the team, I thought better to be safe than sorry, and use a pulley to make it easier for them to haul my a$$ if I get stuck.
I never saw the revolver in the flesh before, pictures make it look heavy and clumsy, so I was well surprised to see it was the same size as a normal karabiner, and only weighed a few grams more. I havent used it on a mountain yet, but early trials in my indoor training facility show great promise.
The real beauty of the revolver is its dual use. It can be used to make hauling much easier, but it can also be used to reduce rope drag on routes where there is an unavoidable dog-leg. I was so impressed, I bought two, at 12GB pounds each.
Not for your straight up-and-down climbers, and possible not for sport climbing, but I can see plenty of times when I might be glad of one on long mountain trad routes.