CAMP Safety
From a blacksmith's forge in Premana, 1889 — the brand that made professional PPE light enough to forget you're wearing it.
CAMP has been obsessed with weight for longer than most of its competitors have existed. It started as a village blacksmith's forge in the Italian Alps in 1889, moved into climbing gear in 1920 making ice axes for the army, and has spent the century since removing grams. The Safety range brings that discipline to professional PPE: the Goblin, the Druid, the Turbo ascenders — compact, light, and built by people who think an extra hundred grams on your harness is a design failure.
In 1889, a blacksmith called Nicola Codega set up a forge in Premana, a village high in the Italian Alps with a long tradition of working metal.
For thirty years he made wrought-iron goods. Then in 1920 his son Antonio took the business into climbing equipment, starting with ice axes for the Italian army. After the war, the four Codega sons expanded into crampons, pitons and nuts — with input from Riccardo Cassin, one of the great names of Italian alpinism, who lived nearby.
The company is still in Premana. It is still run by Codega’s descendants. And it is still, fundamentally, about metal and weight.
The obsession is grams
Every manufacturer says its gear is light. CAMP has been genuinely fixated on it for a hundred years, to the point that it’s the company’s defining characteristic rather than a marketing line.
That discipline is what the Safety range inherits. The Goblin is a backup fall arrester that rope access technicians keep choosing after trying the alternatives — not because it does something no other device does, but because it does the normal thing well while weighing very little. The Turbo ascender set is the same idea applied to climbing rope. The GT harness is built around the observation that comfort over eight hours is mostly a function of not carrying weight you didn’t need.
On a job where you are wearing every item you own, all day, for years, that adds up to something real.
Two versions of the same device
A small detail that says a lot about CAMP: the Druid and the Druid Pro.
The Druid is a descender with an anti-panic function — grab too hard, and it stops. The Druid Pro deliberately removes it, for experienced technicians who want the device to do precisely what they tell it and nothing more.
Most manufacturers would pick one philosophy and sell it. CAMP built both and let the user decide how much protection they want between themselves and their own hands. That is a company that respects its customers’ competence.
Where CAMP fits
Rope access. Harnesses, descenders, the Turbo ascender family, backup devices, and rope bags — a complete technician’s kit, lighter than most.
Fall protection. Fall arrest harnesses, shock absorbers, lanyards and connectors for construction, roofing, towers and telecom.
Technical rescue. The Giant, rescue pulleys, and kit that packs down small enough to actually carry to the incident.
Arborist. The Tree Access harness and rope tools for canopy work.
Confined space and industrial. Compact devices for entry work where bulk is its own hazard.
Why we rate them
A hundred and thirty-five years of metalworking in one village. Premana made blades and iron goods long before it made carabiners. That heritage is still visible in the hardware.
Light without being flimsy. CAMP’s weight savings come from design and material choice, not from cutting margin. The gear is certified to the same standards as everything else on this site.
Value. CAMP typically comes in under the biggest names for equivalent kit. If you’re outfitting a team rather than buying one device, that difference is the whole budget conversation.
When the AllEquipped store opens, CAMP is where our lightweight professional PPE starts.
What we'd reach for
- Goblin fall arrester — Compact backup device that has quietly become a favourite of rope access technicians who've tried everything. Works well, weighs little, doesn't argue with the rope.
- Druid and Druid Pro — Descender with anti-panic. The Pro drops the anti-panic for experienced users who want the device to do exactly what they tell it and nothing else.
- Giant — Larger-capacity descent control for rescue and heavier working loads.
- Turbochest, Turbohand and Turbofoot — The full ascending set. Light, positive on the rope, and priced so a technician can kit out without flinching.
- GT and GT ANSI harnesses — Rope access harnesses built around all-day suspension comfort at low weight.
- Tree Access harness — Arborist-specific fit from a brand that understands canopy movement.
- Ares Air and Armour Pro helmets — Ventilated work-at-height head protection that people actually keep on in summer, which is the only test that matters.
- Gyro and Enigma pulleys — Swivel and rigging hardware in CAMP's usual weight class — which is to say, less.