Whether you’re a firefighter, wind tower technician, member of a commercial construction crew, a tower crane operator or a Navy SEAL, you may find yourself in a situation where bailout is the best option. Also known as escape or evacuation, bailout involves being “up there” and getting down safely and quickly. In any bailout, there are two elements that can be hands-free or not: "transition" and "controlled descent."
 
TRANSITION is the act of changing from being supported by your feet to being supported by your harness.
 
Set-to-stop bailout systems, also called auto-lock systems, can be hands-free during transition IF they do not get stuck on the edge. If the device does get stuck, which happens as often as not in a real bailout, transition with a set-to-stop system is a three-hand maneuver: one hand to rotate the descent device to a position so the brake-release handle can be released, one hand to pull the handle, and one hand to raise the descent device over the obstruction.
 
Set-to-go systems are also hands-free during transition. If a set-to-go controlled descent device gets stuck on the edge, just put hands or feet on the edge and push off. A set-to-go system will pop over the edge allowing descent to start immediately.
 
CONTROLLED DESCENT is the act of going down, tethered to a rope, at a safe and controlled speed.
 
Auto-lock systems require two hands to control descent. One hand is needed to pull the brake release lever, and a second hand is required to manually tail the end of the rope. Descending on an auto-lock system with only one hand – the hand that pulls the brake-release lever – risks free-fall and serious injury.
 
Set-to-go systems allow completely hands-free controlled descent at a safe speed.
 
All of the models in the DEUS 3000 Series allow completely hands-free bailout through transition and controlled descent.