Editing Self-locking device (section)

===Floating cam ascender===

[[Image:Wren_Industries_Soloist.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The Wren Industries 'Soloist']]A big improvement over the Gibbs-style type 1 ascender was the design of the Wren Industries "Soloist" – the device incorporates a floating cam that is activated by the relative position of the rope to the device frame, with the frame secured between a user's sit harness and a chest harness. The Soloist allows the rope to feed without the need for the soloer to manually feed out between stances – so it allows a 'true' hands-free climb.

Knowledge of the correct device position relative to the rope anchor is critical for the correct operation of the cam devices in a fall as they are mono-directional in operation, and the soloer must be aware that he needs to put in a runner as soon as he sets off above the belay point on a multi-pitch climb, otherwise he can slide to the bottom of the rope in the event of a fall. The Soloist cam profile design allows the belay rope to be "grasped" rather than crushed as in the early cam devices.