200 kg WLL · IP67 to 1 m · 600 m per charge · 100 m remote · Rescue
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The KMA-RS is an electric, battery-powered rope ascender built for rescue teams — a personal powered elevator that drives an operator up a fixed rope and brings them, or a casualty, back down under control. Available in black or red.
Skyward supplies the KMA-RS-W1 in the Expansion package: ascender, two batteries, charger, 100 m remote controller and hard case. It carries a rated 200 kg (441 lb) working load — a casualty plus a rescuer, or an operator in full kit — ascends at 0–0.45 m/s (0–27 m/min) under infinitely variable throttle, and covers about 600 m of travel per charge.
Rescue does not happen in good conditions. The KMA-RS is dust-tight and rated waterproof to 1 m for 5 hours — the second-highest sealing in the range. It matters in swiftwater and flood response, storm-drain and culvert access, dock and maritime work, a flooded lift shaft or a wet mine.
The RS is built in three: the S1 runs fastest at 110 kg, the L1 sits in the middle at 170 kg, and the W1 carries 200 kg at 0.45 m/s. We stock the W1, because a casualty plus a rescuer is a capacity problem long before it is a speed problem. The S1 and L1 are available to order.
CE marked under the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, with an EC Type-Examination Certificate issued by a notified body — not a manufacturer self-declaration. Certificate ECM MD-B 2022-0T64, issued by ECM — Ente Certificazione Macchine srl (Notified Body 1282), covering the KMA range.
The examination was carried out under Annex IV, item 17: devices for the lifting of persons, or of persons and goods, involving a hazard of falling from a vertical height of more than three metres. That is the category the Machinery Directive reserves for machines that cannot be self-certified — the distinction that matters in a tender. Applied standards: EN ISO 12100:2010, EN 60204-1:2018, EN 14492-1:2006+A1:2009.
What this certification is not: it is a machinery certification, not a PPE certification. None of the applied standards is a fall-arrest standard. A powered ascender is a work device used on the working rope. It must always be rigged together with a separate backup fall-arrest device on an independent safety rope.
Built for technical rope rescue, swiftwater and flood response, confined-space and shaft rescue, USAR and maritime access. We are set up to quote for agencies and government buyers, including tender documentation.
| Applied standards | EN ISO 12100:2010, EN 60204-1:2018, EN 14492-1:2006+A1:2009 |
|---|---|
| Device | CE marked — Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC |
| Scope | Annex IV, item 17 — devices for the lifting of persons, or of persons and goods, involving a hazard of falling from more than 3 m |
| Type | Powered rope ascender — work/access device (not a fall arrester) |
| Type-examination | EC type-examination by ECM — Ente Certificazione Macchine srl (Notified Body 1282), certificate ECM MD-B 2022-0T64 |
| Ascent speed | 0–0.45 m/s (0–27 m/min), infinitely variable |
|---|---|
| Max load | 250 kg (551 lb) |
| Rated load (WLL) | 200 kg (441 lb) |
| Voyage per charge | ≈600 m (1,969 ft) of travel per charge |
| Battery | Li-ion 36 V / 10 Ah (≈360 Wh), attachable — Samsung SDI INR18650-25R cells |
|---|---|
| Battery life | ≈500 cycles |
| Charge time | ≈90 min |
| Remote control | 100 m — included in the Expansion package |
| Body material | Aluminum alloy |
|---|---|
| Colour | Black or Red |
| Dimensions (W×H×L) | 24 × 26 × 34 cm |
| Ingress protection | IP67 — rated waterproof to 1 m for 5 hours |
| Operating temperature | −20 to +40 °C |
| Weight | 15.5 kg (34 lb) with battery · 12.1 kg (27 lb) body |
| Braking | Electromagnetic brake (electronic) + mechanical emergency brake |
|---|---|
| Descent | Throttle lever / electromagnetic (manual) + manual descent lever |
| Emergency stop | Mushroom-type switch |
| Application field | Rescue |
|---|---|
| Model | KMA-RS-W1 |
| Other configurations | S1 (110 kg) and L1 (170 kg) available to order |
| Package | Expansion — ascender, 2× battery, charger, remote controller, case, shoulder strap, user manual |
Add the complements you need — each is added on its own.
Rescue does not happen in good conditions. It happens in rain, in a flooded shaft, over water, at night, in the hours after the weather that caused the call.
The KMA-RS is a battery-powered rope ascender built for rescue and tactical teams. It drives an operator up a fixed rope under power and brings them — or a casualty — back down under control. It is sealed to IP67: rated waterproof to one metre for five hours, not merely weather-resistant.
Skyward supplies the KMA-RS-W1 in the Expansion package, in black or red: ascender, two batteries, charger, remote controller and hard case.
A technician who has climbed to the casualty arrives with less in reserve than they started with — on the one job where reserve is the whole point. The KMA-RS does the climbing.
Powered descent under manual control, plus a 100 m remote, means an operator on the ground can bring a person down. No haul system improvised at height, no second responder committed to the rope.
Turned on its side and anchored, the same unit drives a load along a tensioned line — a traverse, a highline, a rescue track across a gap or a watercourse. The KRHM rescue horizontal module is built for exactly this, with 1:1 and 2.5:1 gearing.
12.1 kg of body in a hard case. It comes off the vehicle, onto the anchor, and into service without a crew assembled around it.
The KMA-RS is dust-tight and rated waterproof to 1 m for 5 hours. That is the rated figure, and it is the second-highest sealing in the range.
It matters where rescue actually happens: swiftwater and flood response, storm-drain and culvert access, dock and maritime work, a flooded lift shaft, a wet mine. It is the difference between a machine that goes back in the vehicle and one that goes back to the manufacturer.
−20 °C to +40 °C. Below −20 °C, battery capacity drops and the published range does not hold — plan for it.
If you need more, the KMA-ML is rated IP68 to 10 m for 5 hours. If your work is dry, the KMA-FG (IP66) or KMA-ND (IP65) will cost you less.
Three configurations, and we stock the one that carries the most. The RS is built in three: the S1 runs fastest at 110 kg, the L1 sits in the middle at 170 kg, and the W1 carries 200 kg at 0.45 m/s. Skyward stocks the W1, because a casualty plus a rescuer, or an operator in full kit, is a capacity problem long before it is a speed problem. The S1 and L1 are available to order — tell us what you need and we will quote it.
A throttle lever on the body, variable from a crawl to full speed. Progressive, not on/off — you can creep the last half metre into position with a gloved hand.
Up to 100 m, included in the Expansion package. An operator on the ground raises or lowers a rescuer, a casualty or a load without anyone reaching the unit.
Anchored at the top, the unit hauls and lowers a load on the rope below it — a stretcher, a kit bag, a second responder.
Mounted on a tensioned line, it drives a load across instead of up.
Plus: a manual descent lever that brings you down with the power off, and a mushroom-head emergency stop on the body face.
Optional: a vibration function on the remote controller — the unit signals the operator through the armband instead of asking them to look at a screen. On a night operation or in a noisy environment, that is the difference between a control you can use and one you cannot.
The KMA-RS carries a service brake — electromagnetic, electronically controlled, which holds position the moment the throttle is released — and an independent mechanical emergency brake behind it.
The rule, and we will not soften it: a powered ascender is a work device that lives on the working rope. It is not a fall arrester and it is not certified as one. Every ascent must be rigged on a two-rope system: the KMA-RS on the working line, and a separate backup fall-arrest device on an independent safety line anchored separately.
If anyone sells you a powered ascender as fall protection, walk away from that supplier.
The KMA range carries CE marking under the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, with an EC Type-Examination Certificate issued by a notified body — not a manufacturer self-declaration.
Annex IV item 17 is the category the Machinery Directive reserves for machines that lift people where a fall of more than three metres is possible — the machines that cannot be self-certified. A notified body examined this type against that standard and issued a certificate. For a government or agency buyer running a tender, that is the distinction that matters.
What this certification is not: it is a machinery certification, not a PPE certification. EN 14492-1 is the winch standard. None of the three applied standards is a fall-arrest standard. The KMA-RS is certified to lift a person safely; it is not certified to catch them. That is what the backup device on the safety line is for.
The Expansion package ships with two batteries. One is on the unit, one is on the charger. 90 minutes to full, roughly 500 charge cycles of service life, and a single pack covers 600 m of travel.
The pack is external and swaps in seconds — the vehicle leaves with a charged pack on the machine and a charged extra pack in the case.
Cells: Samsung SDI INR18650-25R lithium-ion. A named tier-one cell, not an unbranded pack.
Shipping note: this battery exceeds the 100 Wh air-freight threshold and ships as Class 9 dangerous goods (UN3481 when packed with the unit). We handle the paperwork; it affects transit time on international orders. Ask us before you commit to a date.
Not included: rope, harness, backup fall-arrest device, connectors. We supply all of these — ask and we will spec a complete kit around the unit.
The KMA is built on one platform and sealed to five different levels. The mechanism, controls and capacity are common; the environmental rating and finish are what change.
| Model | Built for | Ingress protection |
|---|---|---|
| KMA-ND | Industry | IP65 |
| KMA-FG | Fire service and government | IP66 |
| KMA-RS | Rescue | IP67 — rated to 1 m for 5 hours |
| KMA-ML | Military | IP68 — rated to 10 m for 5 hours |
We would rather move you up or down this range than sell you the wrong unit. Tell us where the machine will actually be used.
Horizontal rescue configuration, with 1:1 and 2.5:1 gearing
See product →Carries the ascender, rope and kit to the anchor on your back
See product →The KMA-RS is a capital purchase and it has to fit the rest of your system. Tell us what you respond to and how often, and we will tell you whether the RS is the right unit and what the full kit costs landed.
We are set up to quote for agencies and government buyers, including tender documentation.
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