Collection Home
Version A
Version B
Version C
Version D
Version E
Version F
|
|
|
|
| Version A | Version B | Version C |
|
|
|
|
| Version D | Version E | Version F |
[ Top | Version B | Version C | Version D | Version E | Version F | Return to Rocker-Arm Ascenders ]
|
|
 |
| Front | Rear |
 |
 |
| Top | Open for Rigging |
Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) sent me this Russian, Version A in 2022.
Version A is 50 mm. tall, 80 mm. wide, 27 mm. thick, and weighs 106 g.
This Russian ascender consists of a pivoting lever and two posts mounted between two flat side plates. One side plate is stationary, while the other pivots on the lever axle so that it may be opened to admit the rope. The lever is spring-loaded so that the tag side closes against a knurled post (seen on the lower left). The remaining post does not appear to be actively involved in the functioning of the ascender.
There are no markings on this ascender.
To rig this ascender, bring the standing rope down to the right (as shown) of the lever, then pass it under the lever and over the knurled post. Close the swinging side gate, and insert a carabiner through the holes. When load is applied to the carabiner, the rope exerts a counter-clockwise torque on the lever, and the left side of the lever squeezes the rope against the knurled post.
This ascender can be used on ropes up to about 13 mm. diameter. Since the ascender rotates when loaded, there is a fair amount of lost motion in each cycle.
[ Top | Version A | Version C | Version D | Version E | Version F | Return to Rocker-Arm Ascenders ]
|
|
 |
| Front | Rear |
 |
 |
| Top | Open for Rigging |
I acquired my Russian, Version B from John E. Weinel, Inc. in 1990. I acquired another pair in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection.
Version B is 49 mm. tall, 80 mm. wide, 26 mm. thick, and weighs 101 g.
This Russian ascender consists of a pivoting lever and two posts mounted between two side plates. One side plate is stationary, while the other pivots on the lever axle so that it may be opened to admit the rope. The plates each have an inward bend that brings the eyes closer together. The lever is spring-loaded so that the tag side closes against a knurled post (seen on the lower left). The remaining post does not appear to be actively involved in the functioning of the ascender.
There are no markings on this ascender.
This version's implementation has one serious problem: the right end of the lever is sharp instead of rounded. I tend to refer to this ascender as the "rope cuter" for this reason, but a few minutes with a file solves the problem.
This version has bent plates while the plates on Version A are flat. Both versions can be used on ropes up to about 13 mm. diameter, but for ropes over 8 mm., the bends in the side plates on this version cause the rope to drag when the ascender is raised.
The bolts on this version have flat heads as opposed to the rounded heads on the previous version.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version D | Version E | Version F | Return to Rocker-Arm Ascenders ]
|
|
 |
| Front | Rear |
 |
 |
| Top | Open for Rigging |
I acquired my Russian, Version C from A. Short in 2005.
Version C is 49 mm. tall, 81 mm. wide, 28 mm. thick, and weighs 103 g.
There are no markings on this ascender.
Except for the two extra small holes in the the front plate, Version C is identical to Version B. The front plate holes line up with the back plate holes, so I suspect that the front plate on Version C was made from a back plate
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version E | Version F | Return to Rocker-Arm Ascenders ]
|
|
 |
| Front | Rear |
 |
 |
| Top | Open for Rigging |
I acquired this ascender from Robert Allen Steed in 2006.
The front and rear plates are made from 2 mm. anodized aluminum plate cut. A 5 mm. steel pin extends through the front plate, a pivoting lever, the rear plate, and a washer, and is then riveted in place. The head of the pin is riveted to the front plate with two small (3 mm.) rivets.
Two 5 mm. screws hold a 12 mm. thick, 32 mm. high, 52 mm. wide black-anodized aluminum block on the inside of the rear plate. The outer end of the block sticks out beyond the side plates. A round-head pin pressed into this block forms a slot to capture the pivoting front plate when closed. The inner end of the block has a threaded hole that accepts a 12 mm thick anvil with a 10 mm. threaded stud. The side of the anvil opposite the stub has a 4 mm. deep U-shaped rope groove. A 5 mm. screw fits through a slot in the rear plate and into a threaded hole in the anvil, keeping it from rotating. 13.5 mm diameter holes in the front plate, black block and rear plate align to provide a carabiner attachment point.
The pivoting lever is rounded at each end. It has three projections on the inner side, one at each end and one near the center. Each projection has a U-shaped groove in it.
There are no manufacturer markings on this ascender
The top-bottom symmetry makes this a truly ambidextrous ascender.
The user can change the anvil to lever distance by removing the three 5 mm. screws, turning the anvil, and then bolting the anvil and black block back into place. Although designed to allow adjusting for different rope diameters, the adjustment must be done prior to rigging. It will hold well if adjusted well, and won't if it isn't.
The ascender rotates under load to create the rope bend required to keep it from slipping. This lost motion is a considerable efficiency loss when climbing.
The attachment hole is too small for many carabiners. The ascender will not come off the rope when an attachment carabiner is in place (unless, of course, you take the ascender to an end of the rope).
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Version F | Return to Rocker-Arm Ascenders ]
|
|
 |
| Front | Rear |
 |
 |
| Top | Open for Rigging |
I acquired my Russian, Version E from Ed Sira at the 2019 NSS Convention.
This version is 78 mm. tall, 20 mm. wide, 56 mm. thick, and weighs 81 g.
This ascender consists of a spring-loaded pivoting lever and a post mounted between two 2 mm. side plates. One side plate is stationary, while the other pivots on the lever axle so that it may be opened to admit the rope.
There are no markings on this ascender.
This ascender has a well-rounded lever, eliminating the cutting issue present on some other ascenders with this basic design. Since the ascender rotates when loaded, there is a fair amount of lost motion in each cycle. The lack of a lever spring allows the ascender to freely slide down the rope when not loaded, an undesirable trait.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Version E | Return to Rocker-Arm Ascenders ]
|
|
 |
| Front | Rear |
 |
 |
| Top | Open for Rigging |
I acquired my Russian, Version F from Ed Sir at the 2019 NSS Convention.
This version is 83 mm. tall, 25 mm. wide, 62 mm. thick, and weighs 101 g.
This ascender consists of a spring-loaded pivoting lever and an anvil block mounted between two 2 mm. side plates. One side plate is stationary, while the other pivots on the lever axle so that it may be opened to admit the rope. The spring rotates the lever counter-clockwise.
There are no markings on this ascender.
The ends of the lever on this ascender are sufficiently rounded to eliminate the cutting issue present on some other ascenders with this basic design. Since the ascender rotates when loaded, there is a fair amount of lost motion in each cycle. The lever spring keeps the ascender from sliding down rope under its own weight when unloaded.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Version E | Version F ]
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.