Front View	Rear View
Left Side View	Right Side View

Technical Details

I acquired this eight from Ural Sport in 2004.

This Ural-Alp (Урал АлЬп) Self-Braking Descender/Belay Device is made from two pieces of nickel-plated aluminum, screwed together. Mine is 137 mm. tall, 70 mm. wide, and 27 mm. thick. The rope hole is 40 mm. high and 45 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 26 mm. The shaft length and width are 44 mm. and 18 mm., respectively. The eye measures 16 mm. by 16 mm. The ears are 3.9 and 6.8 mm. long. My Ural-Alp Self-Braking Descender/Belay Device, Version B weighs 88 g.

One plate is stamped " "RUSSIA" and "URAL ALP," and the other is stamped "KOZLOV DESIGNS."

Comments

The Ural-Alp Self-Braking Descender/Belay Device falls into my miscellaneous figure eights with ears category. The two-plate design allows one to use the device as a normal figure eight, or to add an auto-stop capability by rigging the rope between the plates. In the latter configuration, the rappeller must hold the free end of the rope up to keep it from wedging between the plates. This can be tiring if the rope weight is heavy - which it shouldn't be for this class of device (no long rappels!). The original version did not have ears, but the designer quickly realized that adding small ears made for a better device, and created this version.

The screws do not support a significant load, and even if they fail, the rope will remain rigged and will hold the plates together. The manufacturer provides an ultimate strength rating of 20 kN. The device is designed for 9 to 11 mm. rope.

This Ural-Alp Self-Braking Descender/Belay Device is lighter than most figure eights with ears. The rope hole is shorter and narrower 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.

Since the Ural-Alp Self-Braking Descender/Belay Device is made of thin plates, the edges may sharpen as they wear. Beware of this, and file them smooth if this should occur.