PowerQuick Powered Ascender for Tactical Assaults (Structural and Maritime Assault Ops): Wall Scaling Made Easy

August 16, 2005

Our U.S. Army Rangers at Pointe du Hoc could have really used this thing. The PowerQuick Powered Ascender, a.k.a. PowerQuick personal lifting device, a.k.a. PowerQuick personal lifter, a.k.a. PowerQuick personal climber, if it lives up to it’s billing, will enable Mil/LE operators tasked with assaults over terrain, VBSS/MIO (Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure/Maritime Interception Operations), GOPLATS (Gasoline and Oil Platforms) boarding operations, and any other types of structural assaults–including building assaults during urban warfare operations–to execute those missions more quickly, safely, and easily. In addition, it should allow them to keep at least one hand free (and potentially two hands free) to fire at the enemy while ascending or descending.  Manufactured by Quoin International, Inc. (Carson City, Nevada), PowerQuick is being funded by DARPA DSO (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Defense Sciences Office) as a DoD SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research) contract.

The current version of PowerQuick is an…

According to Michael Jacobsen, president of Quoin International, however, there’s a new version of PowerQuick on the horizon that’s being developed specifically for U.S. military operators–including Special Operations Forces (SOF). It will be 1/3rd smaller than the current version, yet it will lift 100 kilos (220 lbs) at an impressive rate of 3 meters per second. This military version will reportedly utilize a solid propellant power supply, rather than battery/electric power.

Industrial Mountaineering/Technical Rope Access is a relatively recent technique started in Russia that applies adapted mountaineering and caving techniques to scaling commercial buildings/construction sites. Quoin International basically took this technique and added some old-fashioned American ingenuity and laziness, and motorized it. When I say “laziness”, I mean the good kind of lazy–the kind that leads to innovation–i.e. where we invent devices that make our lives easier by enabling us to acomplish the same task in less time, with less work. It’s a fine American tradition, and Quoin International is now a part of that tradition. The bottom line is, the PowerQuick Powered Ascender, in either it’s current form or developmental militarized version, will allow Mil/LE operators to conduct structural assaults against enemy forces or criminals with greater speed, safety, and ease. An additional benefit is the more energy military Spec-Operators (as an example) save while scaling a wall, ship, or cliff, the better they will be able to perform once they get up and over it.

If you’d like to find out more about the PowerQuick Powered Ascender, DefRev suggests that you contact Quoin International, Inc. by phone at 775-882-8100, or via email at quoin@quointech.com.

Bonanza Products, Inc. is a Quoin International subsidiary company, and they have some good info on the device on their website. They can also probably answer any questions you may have about the product. You can reach Bonanza Products Inc. by phone at 775-882-8100, by fax at 775-882-8158, and by email at sales@bonanzaproducts.com.

DefenseReview would like to thank BaldGuy007 for giving us the heads-up on a NewScientist.com article that was just published on PowerQuick, titled Scale buildings in a single bound.  His heads-up provided the impetus for us to publish this story.

Gizmodo.com also has a blurb on the PowerQuick Powered Ascender titled PowerQuick: Here Comes the Spider-Man.

East Coast:

The Vertical Option, run by tactical rappel instructor Tom Foster, is located in Orlando, Florida. Mr. Foster can be contacted by phone at 407-432-0114, or via email at tomfoster@theverticaloption.com.

Tactical Rappel Instruction, located in Brevard County, Florida, is owned and operated by Tom Young (a.k.a. Thomas Young). You can reach Tom by phone at 321-255-2648, or by email at tacticaltommy236@aol.com.

West Coast:

If you’re on the West Coast, S.T.T.U. (Specialized Tactical Training Unit), run by Mark Lonsdale, also offers a Tactical Rappel Program. You can contact Mr. Lonsdale by email at STTUHQ@aol.com.

BlueWater Ropes claims to make “the lightest single rope in the world”. You can contact them by phone at 770-834-7515, by fax at 770-836-1530, and by email at info@bluewaterropes.com.

Rescue Technology claims to make “the finest selection of technical rope rescue equipment for high angle, confined space, industrial, rope access, and water rescue.” You can contact them by phone at 770-832-9694, or toll free at 800-334-3368. Fax number is 770-832-1676.

Click here to visit Rescue Technology’s alternate website.