Next Return Previous

Russian Homemade
(#3446)

 

Front View: Closed Rear View: Closed
Front View: Closed Rear View: Closed

Technical Details

I acquired my Russian Homemade from Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) in 2021.

This ascender is 196 mm. tall, 123 mm. wide, 25 mm. thick, and weighs 221 g.

The cam radius increases from 67 to 80 mm. over an angle of 38°, giving a 15° cam angle. The tooth pattern is (5)^11.

Cam faceThe shell is a tall irregular shaped piece of 3.9 mm. aluminum alloy sheet metal cut and bent to the desired shape. A 14 mm. wide rope channel is formed in the upper portion of one side and a smaller cam channel lies opposite the first. A hole drilled through both sides of the cam channel accepts a 7 mm. rivet. The cam and cam spring are mounted on this rivet. The rivet is centered 83 mm. from the inside of the rope channel.

There is no handgrip, but there are two 3.9 mm. holes available for adding one. There is no lower sling attachment hole, but there is a 16.6 mm. hole above and behind the cam.

The cam is milled from aluminum alloy plate. The cam radius increases from 67 to 80 mm. over an angle of 38°, giving a 15° cam angle. The cam has ten horizontal and two vertical v-shaped milled grooves creating a number of pyramidal teeth. The tooth pattern is (3)^11.

The cam safety is a stamped sheet metal lever mounted on a 3 mm. rivet in the same shell channel as the cam. A second spring mounted on this rivet serves as a safety spring. Normally this spring holds the safety where it blocks the cam from opening. When the end of the safety lever is depressed, the opposite end pivots upwards so that the cam is no longer obstructed.

There are no markings on this ascender.

Comments

This ascender is clearly unfinished, since it is missing its handgrips. This makes it difficult to properly test and evaluate.

The cam is huge. The teeth are simple, but effective. Since they are aluminum, I would expect them to wear quickly.

The hand opening is unusually small for an ascender of this size.

There is no lower sling hole. Like the Clog, one is not really necessary.

The upper attachment hole is half hidden behind the cam. Placing a carabiner here will hold the cam partially open, but I don't see this as a problem.

For far more content, use a larger monitor and a full-width window.

Hundreds of cell phone users complained and asked me to for a simpler, mobile friendly site. In particular, they wanted me to limit each page to a small number of pictures and minimize my use of text. This new site provides what they asked for.