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Version A
(#4075)

Front	Rear

Technical Details

I acquired this eight from Aleksei Chernov (Алексей Чернов) in 2026.

This eight is handmade from aluminum alloy plate. It is 128 mm. tall, 80 mm. wide, and 8 mm. thick. The rope hole is 49 mm. high and 42 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 8 mm. The shaft length and width are 28 mm. and 39 mm., respectively. The eye measures 15 mm. by 15 mm. The ears are 34.5 and 35 mm. long. My Krasnoyarsk Television Factory Speleologists' Club (Клуб Спелеологов Красноярского Телевизионного Завода (КЗТ)) weighs 106 g.

One side is stamped with "КЗТ" and the serial number "05."

Comments

I classified this as a T–side eight, but I could have easily called it a Rappel Plates instead. It does not have an hourglass-shaped shaft, and so one would normally rig it in the free-running mode instead of the classic eight mode.

Aleksei provided the following information about these descenders:

Descent device belonging to the Speleology Club of the Krasnoyarsk Television Factory (KZT), 1970s–80s. The first batch of equipment was manufactured in 1978, following the official establishment of the club. The numbers stamped on the devices most likely represent a sequential serial number; the highest number I have encountered is No. 48.

[ Top | Version A | Return to Figure Eights ]

Version B
(#4076)

Front	Rear

Technical Details

I acquired this eight from Aleksei Chernov (Алексей Чернов) in 2026.

This eight is handmade from aluminum alloy plate. It is 128 mm. tall, 80 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 49 mm. high and 42 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 25 mm. and 39 mm., respectively. The eye measures 17 mm. by 17 mm. The ears are 34.9 and 36.5 mm. long. My Krasnoyarsk Television Factory Speleologists' Club (Клуб Спелеологов Красноярского Телевизионного Завода (КЗТ)) weighs 132 g.

One side is stamped with "КЗТ" and the serial number "05."

Comments

I classified this as a T–side eight, but I could have easily called it a Rappel Plates instead. It does not have an hourglass-shaped shaft, and so one would normally rig it in the free-running mode instead of the classic eight mode.

This is version is 33% thicker than the previous version.

Aleksei provided the following information about these descenders:

Descent device belonging to the Speleology Club of the Krasnoyarsk Television Factory (KZT), 1970s–80s. The first batch of equipment was manufactured in 1978, following the official establishment of the club. The numbers stamped on the devices most likely represent a sequential serial number; the highest number I have encountered is No. 48.