Petzl makes a nice family of pulleys with the surname “Traxion”. They all share a few common design elements: a spring-loaded toothed cam that lets the rope (or device) move in one direction but not the other, and a high efficiency, sealed bearing steel pulley wheel (aka sheave).

Technically they are a “progress capture” pulley, which means when hauling a load, when you let go of the rope, the load doesn’t slide back down. That might sound like a one trick pony, but these little devices are helpful for lots more than just that!

You can use them as:

• an ascender

• a progress capture in any sort of hauling rigging

• the rope grab in a mechanical advantage system

• the “far end haul” for big walls

• part of the set up for a Tyrolean traverse

• top rope solo rope grab

• belaying your partner from above (I don't recommend this! But I know people do it so I'll mention it.)

• and more!

Here's a related article I wrote, comparing the Nano and the Mini.

A few Traxion tips . . .

It's best to use Traxions on an oval or HMS locker, and not a D shaped locker. Often with a D locker, the Traxion doesn’t hang straight down. With an oval or pear-shaped HMS locker, you usually get a nice vertical hang up the pulley.

When hauling, you can pre-thread the pulley onto the rope. Doing this lets you set it up faster and lowers the chance of you dropping it.

Traxions in a variety of sizes, prices, weights and best uses, so let's take a closer look!

Purchasing links below go to HowNOT.com, an online gear store run by my friend Ryan Jenks. These are not affiliate marketing links. I provide them as a courtesy to you so you can easily buy one if you'd like to support Ryan and his work.