Version A	Version B	Version C	Version D

Overview

Chouinard employees took over the company in 1989 and changed its name to Black Diamond Equipment. Although the new company had a new logo, they continued to sell figure eights with the Chouinard "C inside a diamond" logo for a few years before switching their eights to the current double-diamond logo. I do not know a simple way to date used eights with the older logo to know whether they were made before or after the company name change. I chose to put all Super 8s on this page.

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Version A
(#3238)

Front	Rear

Technical Details

I acquired this Black Diamond Super 8, Version A on eBay from Alex Washbin in 2022.

This Black Diamond Super 8 is forged from aluminum alloy.. Mine is 122 mm. tall, 74 mm. wide, and 13 mm. thick. The rope hole is 44 mm. high and 53 mm wide. The top center thickness is 7 mm. The shaft length and width are 33 mm. and 25 mm., respectively. The eye measures 25 mm. by 26 mm. This eight weighs 84 g.

Both sides of the eight have a forged logo (a "C" inside a diamond). One side is stamped "7060" and the other "7606."

Comments

The Black Diamond Super 8 is a typical example of a "Flat Top" aluminum eight. The top of the eight is thin (7 mm.) and should wear quickly. The shank, which normally wears faster, is nearly twice as thick. The rope path has some sudden bends so the eight tends to "grab" under some gritty rope conditions. The eye could be used for a "Sticht" belay on double (but not single) 9 mm. rope. It doesn't work well for belaying with 11 mm. rope.

The Black Diamond Super 8 is lighter than most figure eights.

I obtained this eight used so I cannot date it with certainty. It may be an older Chouinard eight.

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Version B
(#304, 934, 1048, 900)

Front	Rear

Technical Details

I acquired this Black Diamond Super 8 from Exkursion in 1990. I acquired others on eBay from Mike Adams in 2003, Suzanne Butler in 2007, and Zachary Britner in 2009.

The Black Diamond Super 8 is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 120 mm. tall, 75 mm. wide, and 13 mm. thick. The rope hole is 43 mm. high and 53 mm wide. The top center thickness is 7 mm. The shaft length and width are 33 mm. and 25 mm., respectively. The eye measures 25 mm. by 26 mm. My eight weighs 90 g.

Both sides of the eight have a forged logo (a "C" inside a diamond). One side is stamped "805"

Comments

This is an anodized version of the previous eight. When I bought my first one in 1990, it was sold as a Black Diamond, not Chouinard eight. I obtained the others used so I cannot date them with certainty, so any of them may be older Chouinard eights. Although Super 8s with this logo date from the early 1990s, at the time of this writing (2023) this version remains the most common Black Diamond Super 8 on the used market.

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Version C
(#3247)

Front	Rear

Technical Details

I acquired this Black Diamond Super 8 on eBay from Anthony Zertuche in 2022.

This version 8 is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 122 mm. tall, 75 mm. wide, and 13 mm. thick. The rope hole is 44 mm. high and 54 mm wide. The top center thickness is 7 mm. The shaft length and width are 33 mm. and 25 mm., respectively. The eye measures 25 mm. by 27 mm. My eight weighs 90 g.

Both sides of the eight have a forged Black Diamond logo. One side is printed with "103188."

Comments

This eight differs from the preceding versions by having a forged logo. It has the same size and shape, and is functionally equivalent to those versions.

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Version D
(#3245)

Front	Rear

Technical Details

I acquired this Black Diamond Super 8 from Karst Sports via Amazon.com in 2022.

The Black Diamond Super 8 is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 121 mm. tall, 75 mm. wide, and 13 mm. thick. The rope hole is 44 mm. high and 54 mm wide. The top center thickness is 7 mm. The shaft length and width are 33 mm. and 25 mm., respectively. The eye measures 25 mm. by 27 mm. My eight weighs 90 g.

Both sides of the eight have a printed Black Diamond logo. One side is printed with "2096."

Comments

This eight differs from the preceding versions by having a printed logo. It has the same size and shape, and is functionally equivalent to those versions.

This Black Diamond Super 8 is identical to the CanyonZone Canyon8.

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