CT Up You Go Review: Innovative rescue kit put to the test

DESCRIBED by CT (Climbing Technology) as being designed for rescue manoeuvres in typical rope-access environments to allow the lifting and lowering of an injured operator or to tension a system, we were excited to see how the CT Up You Go could be adapted to the arb world.

Our test product was supplied by Carr’s Billington Safety (formerly Workware). From an internet search, the product does not look readily available from UK suppliers at the moment, but can be purchased from Europe for around £150–200.

The system comprises of CT’s Up Lock double sheave pulley, compliant to EN 12278 (pulleys) and EN 567 (rope clamps) and its Up Roll double sheave pulley (EN 12278), both with bearings instead of bushings. Attached to this with a stitched termination is the option of an 8 mm, 1 m length of EN 564 accessory cord (the version we used), a 2 m or a 5 m 9 mm EN 1891-A rope. This combination ensures PPE compliance, although the main uses we found for it were as an addition to existing life-support systems.

Its first job was to haul our 60 kg training dummy into position for an aerial rescue course, replacing our previous system of a homemade 3-to-1 and lots of hard work. Due to its potential to create a 5-to-1 advantage, this was easy, particularly with the Up Lock’s toothed cam making one-handed use an option. It is simple to use for the inexperienced, particularly when combined with the CT Sparrow, a product we previously reviewed and have found a brilliant addition to our kit.

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Next we took it into the tree for casualty hauling, to lift a ‘stuck’ casualty up through an awkward branch fork (something rarely practised, but an important skill). It performed very well here, the only downside being the short reach of the 1 m version. The 5 m option would have allowed for a longer pull. 

To fully test the product and its capabilities we then used the Up You Go for rigging. The WLL of 600 kg meant it could handle pre-tensioning lines, raising loads (particularly when combined with double-blocked timber) and also tensioning speed lines with some substantial loads on the trolley.

Our method of attaching it to small-diameter ropes was with Petzl’s Basic rope clamp.

For large-diameter rigging ropes we used a prussic, although any suitable rope clamps would work well. 

As with the CT Sparrow, the CT Up You Go is a welcome addition to our kit, easy to use and really effective in the situations we tested it out in. The 1 m version is a very compact system, so doesn’t take up much space in a kit bag or on your harness.

Although obviously not as compact, the 5 m version is now on our shopping list as we feel it would be great to also have this as an option.