Left	Right

Technical Details

I acquired my Trylon Stratos from Jim Patrick in 2021.

My Trylon Stratos is 87 mm. long, 127 mm. wide, 21 mm. high, and weighs 796 g.

The Stratos consists of two cams mounted in a stainless steel shell and connected by two links.

The shell consists of two pieces of 4.4 mm. stainless steel. The pieces are bent about 150° to form a 3/8-inch (10 mm) cable channel. The right shell piece forms the lower portion of the cable channel, and the left forms the upper portion. The two pieces are connected by two 7.3 mm. shoulder rivets separated by 51 mm. These rivets double as cam axles. Shell grooves allow the unit to be attached to a cable without opening or disassembling the unit.

The two cams are cut from 7.5 mm. stainless steel. The cam faces are not shaped to fit the cable, nor are they toothed. The lower cam uas a 13 mm. drilled and countersunk attachment hole. The two cams are connected to two subtriangular links made from 4.6 mm. stainless steel. The links are held together by two 7.3 mm. shoulder rivets, also separated by 51 mm. The shell and link rivets on each cam are separated by 38 mm. Springs between the cams and the left shell plates act to force the cams closed.

The left shell is stamped with "CABLE DE SÛRETÉ," "STRATOS,","SAFETY CABLE," "TRYLON MFG. ELMIRA, ONT.’", a logo consiting of a circle with three arcs inside, "TRYLON TSF," "ADVERTISSEMENT [sic] SUIVRE LES INSTRUCTIONS DU MANUFACTURIER AVANT USAGE," "CANADA, "SER# 05917," and "WARNING FOLLOW MANUFACTURERS INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE USE." The left link is stamped with "UP" and "HAUT" inside a triangle and ’USE ONLY WITH 3/8" CABLE AND CARABINER.’ The right shell is stamped with "COMPLIES WITH ANSI STANDARDS 359.1," the CSA logo, ’Z259.2.1 "CLASS AS",’ "MIN.CAPACITY SUPPORT STRUCTURE 2500LBS MAX. COUPLINF LENGTH 6IN.," and "ARMATURE D'UNE CAPACITE MINIMALE DE 2500LBS LONGUEUR MAXIMALE DE L'ACCOUPLEMENT 6PD." The right link is stamped with "UP" and "HAUT" inside a triangle and ’EMPLOYEZ AVEC CABLE 3/8" ET KARABINER SEULEMENT.’

Comments

Many commercial rope grabs are heavy, but this one is particularly so. The Krok Cable Lock and Protecta International AC350 Cabloc use a similar design. Each of those is much lighter, but they are made for smaller cable.

To place the Stratos on the cable, hold the cams open, turn the Stratos perpendicular to the cable with the left side "up", slip the Stratos over the cable, and turn it 90° CCW.

Avoid taking a fall on the Stratos, as the forces associated with falls onto metal cable can be quite large. I recommend using an energy absorber between the harness and Stratos.