Collection Home
Ferry
Habu
Hurry
Tuber, Version A
Tuber, Version B
Tuber Single
|
|
|
|
| Ferry | Habu | Hurry |
|
|
|
|
| Tuber, Version A | Tuber, Version B | Tuber Single |
[ Top | Habu | Hurry | Tuber ver. A | Tuber ver. B | Tuber Single | Return to Tube Belayers ]
|
|
 |
 |
| Front | Rear | Top |
 |
 |
 |
| Left | Right | Bottom |
I acquired my Ocùn Ferry from Expé-Spelemat in 2013.
The Ocùn Ferry is a notched belay tube. It is forged from aluminum alloy and soft anodized. Mine is 93 mm. long, 85 mm. wide, 41 mm. high, and weighs 82 g. It has two slots with ribbed v-grooves. The slots are 37 mm. long and 14 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 19 mm. below the ends of the slots.
The Ferry has a horizontal eye carabiner eye at the end opposite the grooves, much like the eye on the LACD Evo Alpine. Like most "guide ATCs" such as the Black Diamond ATC-Guide, BlueWater Ranger and LACD Evo Alpine, it has a release hole on the slot end. The Ferry has a plastic-covered cable keeper.
Each side is printed with a rigging icon, a book-with-an-"i" icon, and Ferry. One side is also printed with "ROPE ø7.8-10.5mm," the other with 13001.
The Ocùn Ferry is another example of a "guide ATC." Like the others, it provides a convenient method of belaying a second from above. One can clip the eye to an anchor sling with a carabiner passed through the carabiner hole, and then belay in an autostop mode, much like one might with a Kong Gi–gi.
[ Top | Ferry | Hurry | Tuber ver. A | Tuber ver. B | Tuber Single | Return to Tube Belayers ]
|
|
 |
 |
| Front | Rear | Top |
 |
 |
 |
| Left | Right | Bottom |
I acquired my Ocùn Habu from Granite Sports in 2022.
The Ocùn Habu is a notched belay tube. It is forged from aluminum alloy and soft anodized. Mine is 79 mm. long, 39 mm. wide, 89 mm. high, and weighs 65 g. The slots are 33 mm. long and 13 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 19 mm. below the ends of the slots. The Hurry has a plastic-covered cable keeper.
One side is printed with a hand-holding-a-rope icon, "HABU," a climber icon, "OCUN" and the Ocùn asterisk logo, and a book-with-an-"i" icon. The other side is printed with the UIAA logo, "EN 15151-2," a rigging illustration, "ø7.0-10.5 mm," and 21003. The Ocùn asterisk logo is forged on top in raised relief.
The slots are nearly average in size, so I am surprised that the Habu is not rated for standard size 11 mm. rope. This reflects the modern trend to use thinner and lighter ropes than what were classically considered ideal. The rating is determined by the rope sizes the Habu was tested with, and it is unlikely that it would fail to pass if it were tested with 11 mm. I am not recommending that you exceed the printed limits.
The inside of the eye has two projections that are not found on other similar belay tubes. The instructions hint at their purpose, but I did not find their presence gave any compelling advantage. Some small carabiners can be clipped above the projections and be retained by the projections, but many standard carabiners will not fit there. The projections don't appear to do any harm, but I find that them to be unnecessary.
[ Top | Ferry | Habu | Tuber ver. A | Tuber ver. B | Tuber Single | Return to Tube Belayers ]
|
|
 |
 |
| Front | Rear | Top |
 |
 |
 |
| Left | Right | Bottom |
I acquired my Ocùn Hurry from Adventure Outdoors in 2022.
The Ocùn Hurry is a notched belay tube. It is forged from aluminum alloy and soft anodized. Mine is 48 mm. long, 39 mm. wide, 86 mm. high, and weighs 44 g. The slots are 33 mm. long and 13 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 18 mm. below the ends of the slots. The Hurry has a plastic-covered cable keeper.
One side is printed with a climber icon, "HURRY," a hand-holding-a-rope icon, and "ROPE ø7.9-10.5 mm." The other side is printed with a hand-holding-a-rope icon, "HURRY," a climber icon, a book-with-an-"i" icon, "19001," and "EN 15151-2."
The Ocùn Hurry is smaller than average for a notched belay tube, although the slots are nearly average in size. As one of the lightest notched belay tubes, it can get quite hot. The Hurry is not approved for 11 mm. rope, which limits its applications.
[ Top | Ferry | Habu | Hurry | Tuber ver. B | Tuber Single | Return to Tube Belayers ]
|
|
 |
 |
| Front | Rear | Top |
 |
 |
 |
| Left | Right | Bottom |
I acquired my Ocùn Tuber, Version A from Expé-Spelemat in 2008.
Version A is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 56 mm. long, 47 mm. wide, 102 mm. high, and weighs 56 g. The slots are 35 mm. long and 16 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 13 mm. below the ends of the slots. The Ocùn Tuber has a flexible, plastic-covered, cable keeper.
One side of this Ocùn Tuber is marked with the Ocùn logo, while the other has "Ocùn®."
The following closely-related belay tubes include the Ocùn Tuber as an example:
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Each of these is 55±1 mm. long and 47±1 mm. wide, and has a weight in the 54±3 g. range. Their slots are all 35±1 mm. long and 16 mm. wide. The main differences are that most have cable keepers and U-shaped notches on both ends, but some have rod keepers and V-shaped notches on the high end.
These have several distinctive features, but overall, perform like most devices of this type. The rope slots are hour-glass shaped, but this does not appear to affect their performance. They are slightly asymmetrical with a high and a low end, giving two distinct riggings. One would expect a difference in friction for the two riggings, with more friction if the braking line runs over the shorter end; however, I do not notice much difference.
Most of these have shallow U-notches at both ends. The Clog Flyer, Ellis Brigham Climb and Unknown have V-notches at the high end, so I call these notched belay tubes. The V-notches are not as tall and acute as those on the Trango Jaws and its equivalents, so they do not provide as much braking. The U-notches on the others are are too shallow to noticeably amplify braking.
I prefer the ones with the rigid rod keeper. For the others, the plastic-coated cable keeper is moderately flexible, but stiff enough that it tends to stay out from under the rope.
[ Top | Ferry | Habu | Hurry | Tuber ver. A | Tuber Single | Return to Tube Belayers ]
|
|
 |
 |
| Front | Rear | Top |
 |
 |
 |
| Left | Right | Bottom |
I acquired my Ocùn Tuber, Version B from Diana E. Crow in 2021.
Version B is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 55 mm. long, 47 mm. wide, 98 mm. high, and weighs 56 g. The slots are 35 mm. long and 16 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 13 mm. below the ends of the slots. The Ocùn Tuber has a flexible, plastic-covered, cable keeper.
One side of my Ocùn Tuber is printed with "OCUN." The other side is printed with one rigging icon with "⊖" underneath and another rigging icon with "⊕" underneath.
The following closely-related belay tubes include the Ocùn Tuber as an example:
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Each of these is 55±1 mm. long and 47±1 mm. wide, and has a weight in the 54±3 g. range. Their slots are all 35±1 mm. long and 16 mm. wide. The main differences are that most have cable keepers and U-shaped notches on both ends, but some have rod keepers and V-shaped notches on the high end.
These have several distinctive features, but overall, perform like most devices of this type. The rope slots are hour-glass shaped, but this does not appear to affect their performance. They are slightly asymmetrical with a high and a low end, giving two distinct riggings. One would expect a difference in friction for the two riggings, with more friction if the braking line runs over the shorter end; however, I do not notice much difference.
Most of these have shallow U-notches at both ends. The Clog Flyer, Ellis Brigham Climb and Unknown have V-notches at the high end, so I call these notched belay tubes. The V-notches are not as tall and acute as those on the Trango Jaws and its equivalents, so they do not provide as much braking. The U-notches on the others are are too shallow to noticeably amplify braking.
I prefer the ones with the rigid rod keeper. For the others, the plastic-coated cable keeper is moderately flexible, but stiff enough that it tends to stay out from under the rope.
[ Top | Ferry | Habu | Hurry | Tuber ver. A | Tuber ver. B | Return to Tube Belayers ]
|
|
 |
 |
| Front | Rear | Top |
 |
 |
 |
| Left | Right | Bottom |
I acquired my Ocùn Tuber Single Rope from Alpinsport Basis GmbH in 2012.
The Ocùn Tuber Single Rope is a notched belay tube. It is forged from aluminum alloy and soft anodized. Mine is 57 mm. long, 26 mm. wide, 113 mm. high, and weighs 57 g. It has one slot with a ribbed v-groove. The slot is 31 mm. long and 15 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 24 mm. below the ends of the slots. The keeper is made from plastic-covered cable.
One side has a printed Ocùn logo, the other has a printed rigging diagram.
The Ocùn Tuber Single Rope is a single-rope notched belay tube. I have these similar ones in my collection:
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Each of these is 58±1 mm. long, 25±1 mm. wide, and weigh 56±3 g.
The Rock Empire Gym's name implies that it is designed for gym climbing, and if you restrict the use of these three to use in gyms, they should work fine in the hands of a competent user. In the gym, most of my remaining comments become moot. If you should consider taking any of these into the "real world," read on:
These are all designed for single-rope belaying only. Although this saves a tiny amount of weight, it does not compensate for losing the ability to do double-rope rappels. Weight is not normally a factor when belaying "sport climbs," and the Wild Country VC Pro (for example) has two slots while only adding 6 g.
These each have a V-slots that provide additional friction for belaying or rappelling. Each side of the trailing groove has three V-shaped slots, giving the grooves "teeth" to grip the rope more effectively. The teeth do not have the narrow angle found on the Salewa Tubus, Singing Rock, or Trango Jaws, so they do not create the same wedging action. For this reason, their friction is lower and I find them less effective.
These are rigged rigged like the ATC, with the V-slots on the brake hand end of the rope. Alternately, they may be reversed to disable the V-slots, but the braking friction in a fall will be less.
All of these have thick walls and considerable depth, which helps them stay cooler than they would if they had been designed for minimum weight.
Although there is nothing "wrong" with any of these, they are too specialized for my taste. They are fine for the gym, but in the field I would rather carry a few more grams and have the capability to do double-rope rappels. I also prefer the additional grip provided by the Trango Jaws and its equivalents.
[ Top | Ferry | Habu | Hurry | Tuber ver. A | Tuber ver. B | Tuber Single | Return to Tube Belayers ]
For far more content, use a larger monitor and a full-width window.
Hundreds of cell phone users complained and asked me to for a simpler, mobile friendly site. In particular, they wanted me to limit each page to a small number of pictures and minimize my use of text. This new site provides what they asked for.
