In reply to ola.b: top rope self belayed soloing is much better with a petzl basic ascender. if you weight the rope you don't have to stop and pull it up all the time like a shunt. not sure i'd use it for simul climbing though, bit heavy - ropeman is your best bet for that. i have used a ropeman to protect short top rope self belays when i didn't have my basic ascender with me, but as above, it's not recommended for that.