Version A	Version B

Overview

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Version A
(#685)

Front	Rear	Top
Left	Right	Bottom

Technical Details

I acquired Version A from Blue Ridge Outdoors, Blacksburg Va, in 1995.

Version A is forged from aluminum alloy and clear anodized. It has 30 mm. long, 10.8 mm. wide rope slots and a slotted eye. Mine is 88 mm. long, 57 mm. wide, 54 mm. high, and weighs 113 g.

The top of this Raptor is stamped "439."

Comments

The Wild Country Raptor is a pretty device that works well. The manual recommends a specific hand position while paying out rope and then moving the hand when the climber falls. I don't like changing had positions at the crucial moment, so I tend to operate it more like a normal slotted plate belay device, despite instructions to the contrary.

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Version B
(#850)

Front	Rear	Top
Left	Right	Bottom

Technical Details

I acquired my Wild Country Raptor, Version B from Daniel MacKinnon in 2007.

Version B is 88 mm. long, 57 mm. wide, 53 mm. high, and weighs 104 g. Version B is not anodized.

The top of this Raptor is stamped "510."

Comments

When I acquired this one, I was just looking for a spare. I did not expect to find a new variation, but I found a few differences. First, Version B is definitely lighter than Version A. At first I thought that this was just due to manufacturing tolerances, but then I noticed a second difference: the clip in slot in Version B extends higher; in fact, it extends beyond the lines connecting the base two sides (see the red arrows in the side view). In other words, the slot on Version B could not have been cut by a standard end mill coming in directly from the side. Finally, Version B is not shiny. Looking at the two Versions more carefully, I realized that Version A was anodized and Version B was not.

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