Front View: Closed	Rear View: Closed
Front View: Open for Rigging	Rear View: Open for Rigging

Technical Details

Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) sent me this Vertical (Вертикаль) Butterfly (Бабочка) in 2021.

My Butterfly is 184 mm. tall, 156 mm. wide, 55 mm. thick, and weighs 459 g. It consists of two ascender assemblies riveted together back to back with a dual handle sandwiched in between.

The rope channel is 15 mm. wide. The cam axle is centered 48 mm. from the inside of the rope channel. The cam radius increases from 38 to 55 mm. over an angle of 32°, giving a 34° cam angle. The tooth pattern is (3.4)(1S1.2S2)^2(1S1)^2(3).

The ascender assemblies

The front ascender assembly is right-handed and the rear ascender assembly is left-handed. Each shell is a tall irregular shaped stamping made from 3.5 mm. painted aluminum alloy sheet metal. A rope channel is formed in of one side and a smaller cam channel lies opposite the first. The rope channel is 15 mm. wide. A hole drilled through both sides of the cam channel accepts a 6 mm. rivet. The cam and cam spring are mounted on this rivet. The cam axle is centered 48 mm. from the inside of the rope channel. There is a pin cam stop on each ascender assembly. A 16 by 18mm. oval hole through both sides of the rope channel provide an attachment point just above the cam.

The cam is a steel casting. The hybrid cam has number of small sloping conical teeth. The cam radius increases from 38 to 55 mm. over an angle of 32°, giving a 34° cam angle. The tooth pattern is (3.4)(1S1.2S2)^2(1S1)^2(3) where S is an single central slot. The inner cam face radius reduces from top to bottom to accommodate various sized ropes. A spring-loaded plastic manual safety bar is mounted on the bottom of the cam with a small semi-tubular rivet. The normal action of the spring holds the safety against the cam. When the cam is opened, the shell interferes with the safety bar, thus preventing opening the cam. If the safety bar is moved away from the cam (opposing the spring), it will clear the shell and the cam will open. At full open the safety can be released and the spring will hold the safety against the back of the shell. This provides a means of locking the cam open. A tab on the safety bar assists in operating the safety mechanism.

The rope channels are printed with the Sieg Heil icon, "Ø8-12," and the Russian Conformity Mark with "AГ13" underneath.

Handle

The handle attaches between the two ascender assemblies by the rivets mentioned earlier. The handle is made from 4.0 mm. aluminum alloy, painted black. There are no reinforcing ribs. The handle has a 107 mm. by 46 mm. oval hand opening under the ascender assemblies and a slightly different 106 mm. by 48 mm. hand opening on the other side. Both openings have "rubbery" black plastic hand grips molded to the sheet metal frame. The handgrips each have an index finger support. There is a 15.8 mm. attachment hole under each hand opening.

Each handgrip has a logo and the word "VERTICAL" molded into one side.

Comments

The Butterfly is designed as an arborist tool, so I'll let Tarzan evaluate it for that purpose.

Cavers and climbers seldom climb on double rope, so the Butterfly is less suited for my needs. It is too bulky for my taste - but so are all other dual-handle ascenders. As with all double-handled ascenders (and single ones, at that), the design encourages one to use their arms to lift the body while climbing, a tiring technique that is to be avoided.

The holes above the cam are of marginal value, since very few carabiners will fit through the holes.