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Version A
Version B
Version C
Version D
Version E
Version F
Version G
Version H
Version I
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| Version D | Version E | Version F |
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| Version G | Version H | Version I |
[ Top | Version B | Version C | Version D | Version E | Version F | Version G | Version H | Version I | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired my Manaraga used on eBay from John MacDonald in 2009.
The Manaraga is milled from aluminum alloy plate and then soft anodized. Mine is 112 mm. tall, 84 mm. wide, and 11 mm. thick. The rope hole is 35 mm. high and 58 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 33 mm. and 27 mm., respectively. The eye measures 20 mm. by 20 mm. The ears are 19.2 mm. long. My Manaraga weighs 119 g.
One side of the eight is stamped with the Manaraga logo, consisting of a mountain-and-cloud icon with "MANARAGA" above, all inside an ellipse.
The Manaraga is another example of a "mini" size figure eight with ears. I like the placement of the ears. Located below the rope loop rather than to the side, they are in a position to be effective, and they do not increase the bulk of the eight. These ears have an effective shape, and yet are thin enough to contribute very little to the weight of this eight.
The rope hole is shorter than normal, so it may provide too much friction on stiff or muddy ropes. The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners.
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I acquired my Manaraga, Version B from Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) in 2021.
The Manaraga is milled from aluminum alloy plate and then soft anodized. Mine is 112 mm. tall, 83 mm. wide, and 12 mm. thick. The rope hole is 36 mm. high and 58 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 12 mm. The shaft length and width are 32 mm. and 28 mm., respectively. The eye measures 20 mm. by 20 mm. The ears are 9 mm. long. My Manaraga weighs 113 g.
One side of the eight is stamped with the Manaraga logo, consisting of a mountain-and-cloud icon with "MANARAGA" above, all inside an ellipse.
The ears on this version are shorter than those on Version A, but are still relatively effective.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version D | Version E | Version F | Version G | Version H | Version I | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight from Serguei Khramtsov in 2004.
This eight is milled from plate aluminum, and soft anodized. It is 98 mm. tall, 85 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 40 mm. high and 40 mm wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 11 mm. and 32 mm., respectively. The eye measures 18 mm. by 18 mm. The ears are 30.3 and 30.9 mm long. This eight. weighs 81 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
This eight is tiny, and probably too small for general use on 11 mm. caving rope, but it works all right on smaller ropes. The shaft is too short, so the rope has to run over the carabiner. The eye is only large enough to admit one carabiner. The tie-off horns are rather small, and the rope can come off them easily.
I classified this one as a T–side eight.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version E | Version F | Version G | Version H | Version I | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight from Serguei Khramtsov in 2004.
This eight is milled from plate aluminum, and soft anodized. It is 135 mm. tall, 105 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 61 mm. high and 61 mm wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 15 mm. and 33 mm., respectively. The eye measures 18 mm. by 18 mm. The ears are 39.7 and 39.7 mm long. This eight weighs 111 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
This eight is large enough for general use on 11 mm. caving rope. The shaft is too short, so the rope has to run over the carabiner, but at least there are indentations that make for a short shank. The eye is only large enough to admit one carabiner. The tie-off horns are large enough to be reliable unless the rope is too stiff.
I classified this one as a T–side eight.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Version F | Version G | Version H | Version I | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight from John E. Weinel, Inc. in 1994.
This eight is milled from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. It is 134 mm. tall, 108 mm. wide, and 12 mm. thick. The rope hole is 60 mm. high and 60 mm wide. The top center thickness is 12 mm. The shaft length and width are 10 mm. and 39 mm., respectively. The auxiliary hole is 6.1 mm. high and 6.1 mm. wide. The eye measures 16 mm. by 16 mm. The ears are 45.1 and 38.6 mm. long. This eight weighs 140 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
This eight is rather well made. The shaft is too short, so the rope has to run over the carabiner. The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners. The tie-off horns are large enough to be reliable unless the rope is too stiff. The small manufacturing hole on the top horn can admit a keeper sling, but this would interfere with the tie-off function. Whether the hole was for a keeper or simply a manufacturing aid, I don't know. I would rather see any keeper hole placed on a projection on the other side of the eight.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Version E | Version G | Version H | Version I | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight from Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) in 2022.
This eight is milled from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. It is 131 mm. tall, 110 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 60 mm. high and 60 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 10 mm. and 36 mm., respectively. The eye measures 16 mm. by 16 mm. The ears are 42.9 and 39.2 mm. long. This eight weighs 121 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
This is another T–side eight. This eight is similar to Version E, and like that version it is rather well made. The milled rounded edges have a smaller radius, but they are not sharp and are perfectly adequate for their purpose. The shaft is too short, so the rope has to run over the carabiner. The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners. The tie-off horns are large enough to be reliable unless the rope is too stiff. The small manufacturing hole on the top horn can admit a keeper sling, but this would interfere with the tie-off function.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Version E | Version F | Version H | Version I | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight from Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) in 2024.
This eight is milled from aluminum alloy and then painted. It is 130 mm. tall, 110 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 59 mm. high and 59 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 11 mm. and 35 mm., respectively. The eye measures 16 mm. by 16 mm. The ears are 42.4 and 41.9 mm. long.THis eight weighs 123 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
This is another T–side eight.
The tie-off horns are large enough to be reliable unless the rope is too stiff. The small manufacturing hole on the top horn can admit a keeper sling, but this would interfere with the tie-off function.
The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners. I dislike the painted finish, since this will simply wear off, leaving a mess on the rope.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Version E | Version F | Version G | Version I | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight from Serguei Khramtsov in 2004.
This is a steel eight, apparently milled, and painted with something that gives a mottled copper-and-black surface. It is 94 mm. tall, 81 mm. wide, and 10 mm thick. The rope hole is 40 mm. high and 40 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 11 mm. and 32 mm., respectively. The eye measures 18 mm. by 18 mm. The ears are 26.7 and 27 mm. long. This eight weighs 79 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
I dislike this coating, since it will simply wear off, leaving a mess on the rope. This eight is tiny, and probably too small for general use on 11 mm caving rope, but it works all right on smaller ropes. The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners. The shaft is too short, so the rope has to run over the carabiner. The tie-off horns are rather small, and the rope can come off them easily.
I classified this one as a T–side eight.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Version E | Version F | Version G | Version H | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight from Serguei Khramtsov of Ural Sport in 2004. This is not a Ural Sport product, but Serguei made a special shopping trip through Yekaterinburg for me.
This is a steel eight, apparently milled, and painted with something that gives a mottled copper-and-black surface. It is 132 mm. tall, 109 mm. wide, and 10 mm thick. The rope hole is 60 mm. high and 60 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 11 mm. and 32 mm., respectively. The auxiliary hole is 6 mm. high and 6 mm. wide. The eye measures 17 mm by 16 mm. The ears are 46.2 and 42.6 mm. long. This eight weighs 297 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
I dislike this coating, since it will simply wear off, leaving a mess on the rope. The eye is only large enough to admit one carabiner. The shaft is too short, so the rope has to run over the carabiner. The tie-off horns are large enough to be reliable. The small manufacturing hole on the top horn can admit a keeper sling, but this would interfere with the tie-off function. Whether the hole was for a keeper or simply a manufacturing aid, I don't know. I would rather see any keeper hole placed on a projection on the other side of the eight.
This eight is too heavy for my taste.
I classified this one as a T–side eight.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Version E | Version F | Version G | Version H | Version I ]
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