Version A	Version B

Overview

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Version A
(#58)

Front View: Closed	Rear View: Closed
Front View: Open for Rigging	Rear View: Open for Rigging

Technical Details

I acquired this ascender from John E. Weinel, Inc. in 1989.

Version A is 207 mm. tall, 98 mm. wide, 29 mm. thick, and weighs 275 g. The rope channel is 14 mm. wide. The cam radius increases from 47 to 42 mm. over an angle of 18°, giving a 23° cam angle. The top 60% of the cam face is a concave surface with conical teeth oriented parallel to the top of the cam. Below these are four convex "Z" shaped teeth. The resulting tooth pattern is (4.3)^2(2.1)(Z)^4.

There are no markings on this ascender.

Comments

This is a Russian copy of the Kong-Bonaiti ascender made at the Leningrad Experimental Shipyard of the VTSSPS. The workmanship is fair, perhaps acceptable, but certainly inferior to the original.

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Version B
(#3529)

Front View: Closed	Rear View: Closed
Front View: Open for Rigging	Rear View: Open for Rigging

Technical Details

I acquired these ascenders from Артём Бабин in 2022.

Version B is 204 mm. tall, 95 mm. wide, 28 mm. thick, and weighs 259 g. The rope channel is 14 mm. wide. The cam axle is centered 28 mm. from the inside of the rope channel. The cam radius increases from 22 to 47 mm. over an angle of 48°, giving a 16° cam angle. The top 60% of the cam face is a concave surface with conical teeth oriented parallel to the top of the cam. Below these are four convex "Z" shaped teeth. The resulting tooth pattern is (4.3)^2(2.1)(Z)^4.

The front of the right and rear of the left handle have a raised logo and "ЛЭС" (for Ленинградская Экспериментальная Судоверфь, i.e. Leningrad Experimental Shipyard) in raised letters. The opposing side has "400 кг" in raised characters.

Comments

Like Version A, this version was also produced in the 1980s. The workmanship is fair at best. The safety latch is loose, making it difficult to open and latch this ascender with one hand, as the latch moves rearward to hit the handgrip frame rather than aligning with the post. The hinged joints are also a bit loose, but not enough to impair operability. Whether this looseness is original or the result of use is not clear.

The marking on the cam is not original. It is a ligature for "ШГ," the initials of the former owner, Gennady Shatokhin (Геннадий Шатохин).

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