Version A	Version B	Plus

Overview

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Version A
(#1983)

Front	Rear	Side

Technical Details

I acquired my Petzl Zigzag from OmniProGear in 2014.

The Petzl Zigzag is 115 mm. tall, 87 mm. wide, 29 mm. thick, and weighs 317 g.

The Zigzag consists of two stamped 3 mm. aluminum alloy plates riveted together. At one end is a 34 mm. major diameter pulley with a U-groove giving a 27 mm. minor diameter. A six-link "bicycle chain" with four partially grooved barrel-shaped pins extends upward to two cast plates containing rope holes. The other end has a rubber insert in the carabiner eye. At the bottom, a pivoting post provides a harness attachment eye.

One side is printed with a carabiner and a rigging illustration, and stamped with the Petzl logo, "ZIGZAG," "11.5≤Ø≤13mm," and the Reading-Is-Dangerous icon. The other side is printed with a carabiner icon, a scanner code, and "14070OC7127," and stamped with "PATENTED," "CE0082," "MADE IN FRANCE," and a hand holding a rope illustration. Each side of the attachment eye is printed with a harness icon.

Comments

The Zigzag was designed for arborists who are used to using a classic knot system (e.g., a Valdôtain Tress) for double rope technique. I am not Tarzan, so I won't comment on its suitability for that use, other than to note that it can be used for ascent, descent, and moving around within a tree.

Rigging the Zigzag requires access to the free end of the rope, and that alone makes it impractical for caving or climbing.

In April 2013, Petzl recalled all Zigzags with a serial number 13108****** or below, giving the following reason:

On Friday, April 12, Petzl was informed of an accidental fall in Germany. According to the injured person's account, the fall was the result of the failure of the rope-end attachment hole of the ZIGZAG mechanical Prusik. Petzl's investigation and further testing has lead us to conclude that this failure was the result of a particular configuration of the cantilevered and off-axis upper carabiner. Although it's the responsibility of every user to ensure that connectors are correctly positioned, Petzl believes that this incorrect positioning of the connector could inadvertently occur during normal use. Inadvertently loading the system in this configuration could result in the failure of the ZIGZAG's rope-end attachment hole, potentially leading to serious injury or death. On April 23, 2014, we were informed of another identical failure without serious consequences. As continued use of the ZIGZAG poses a risk of serious injury or death, Petzl has decided to recall all ZIGZAGs from the field.

My Zigzag is a post-recall version. Petzl made the following changes to the original design:

1. Redesigned the attachment holes to help keep the carabiners loaded correctly on the major axis.
   1. Added a flexible elastomer ring to the rope end attachment hole to help keep the carabiner in its optimal working position, thus reducing the risk of poor positioning (cantilever and/or reversal).
   2. Enlarged the harness attachment hole (swivel) to reduce the risk of poor carabiner positioning. This change also helps prevent carabiner sleeves from snagging.
2. Increased the strength of the rope end attachment hole.
3. Extended and flared the side plates to better guide the rope in the sheave.
4. Modified the side plates to improve the chain stop contact surface and to increase the angle.
5. Modified the rivets to facilitate assembly during production. This change has no effect on product performance.

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Version B
(#2906)

Front	Rear	Left	Right

Technical Details

I acquired this Petzl Zigzag from OmniProGear in 2014.

This Petzl Zigzag is 115 mm. tall, 87 mm. wide, 29 mm. thick, and weighs 317 g.

This Zigzag consists of two stamped 3 mm. aluminum alloy plates riveted together. At one end is a 45 mm. major diameter pulley with a U-groove giving a 38 mm. minor diameter. A six-link "bicycle chain" with four partially grooved barrel-shaped pins extends upward to two cast plates containing rope holes. The other end has a plastic plate sandwiched between the aluminum plates. There are two carabiner eyes (one with a rubber insert) and a larger harness attachment eye. The plastic plate provides a rounded surface inside each of these openings.

One side is printed with a carabiner-and-rope icon, a harness icon, a rigging illustration and the Petzl logo. That side is stamped with "ZIGZAG" and the Reading-Is-Dangerous icon. The other plate is printed with "EAC," "TP/TC019/2011," "PETZL F - 38920 Crolles CIDEX 105A," a scanner code, "19F0195849503," "Max 140 kg," a carabiner-and-rope icon, and a harness icon. That side is stamped with "CE0082," "PARENTED," a circle, and "11.5≤Ø≤13mm." The top outer link on each side is etched with an up-pointing arrow and "UP." The other two outer links on each side are etched with four-sided shapes that extend this arrow.

Comments

This version enlarged the pulley. It also "eliminated" the swivel, but a version with the swivel was retained and renamed as the Zigzag Plus.

The Zigzag was designed for arborists who are used to using a classic knot system (e.g., a Valdôtain Tress) for double rope technique. I am not Tarzan, so I won't comment on its suitability for that use, other than to note that it can be used for ascent, descent, and moving around within a tree.

Rigging the Zigzag requires access to the free end of the rope, and that alone makes it impractical for caving or climbing.

		Warning: Petzl warns that the Zigzag can only be used on a single rope with a correctly installed Chicane

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Zigzag Plus
(#2907)

Front	Rear	Left	Right

Technical Details

I acquired my Petzl Zigzag Plus from The Safe Path at Amazon.com in 2019.

The Zigzag Plus is 127 mm. tall, 129 mm. wide, 32 mm. thick, and weighs 420 g.

This Zigzag consists of two stamped 3 mm. aluminum alloy plates riveted together. At one end is a 45 mm. major diameter pulley with a U-groove giving a 38 mm. minor diameter. A six-link "bicycle chain" with four partially grooved barrel-shaped pins extends upward to two cast plates containing rope holes. The other end has a plastic plate sandwiched between the aluminum plates. There are two carabiner eyes (one with a rubber insert). The plastic plate provides a rounded surface inside each of these openings. There is also a steel ball with an attached swivel eye.

One side is printed with a carabiner-and-rope icon, a rigging illustration and the Petzl logo. That side is stamped with "ZIGZAG PLUS" and the Reading-Is-Dangerous icon. The other plate is printed with "EAC," "TP/TC019/2011," "PETZL F - 38920 Crolles CIDEX 105A," "Max 140 kg," a scanner code, "19F0197431085," and a carabiner-and-rope icon. That side is stamped with "CE0082," "PARENTED," a circle, and "11.5≤Ø≤13mm." The top outer link on each side is etched with an up-pointing arrow and "UP." The other two outer links on each side are etched with four-sided shapes that extend this arrow.

Comments

The original ZigZag had a swivel, but when Petzl introduced a version without the swivel, they renamed the swivel version the Zigzag Plus.

The Zigzag Plus was designed for arborists who are used to using a classic knot system (e.g., a Valdôtain Tress) for double rope technique. I am not Tarzan, so I won't comment on its suitability for that use, other than to note that it can be used for ascent, descent, and moving around within a tree.

Rigging the Zigzag Plus requires access to the free end of the rope, and that alone makes it impractical for caving or climbing.

		Warning: Petzl warns that the Zigzag PLUS can only be used on a single rope with a correctly installed Chicane

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