Front	Rear	Top
Left	Right	Bottom

Technical Details

I acquired my AL-NASR from Gold Bucket in 2014.

The AL-NASR is a notched belay tube. It is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. It has 2 slots with ribbed V-grooves, a carabiner eye, a release hole, and a stiff plastic-covered cable keeper. Mine is 94 mm. long, 40 mm. wide, 115 mm. high, and weighs 84 g. The slots are 34 mm. long and 14 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 23 mm. below the ends of the slots.

One side of the AL-NASR is printed with "AL-NASR" and the other with a climber icon and a forearm and hand-holding-a-rope icon.

Comments

The AL-NASR is one of the following closely-related notched belay tubes:

Image Device Sides AL-NASR Open LACD Evo Alpine, Version A Closed LACD Evo Alpine, Version B Open Rocteryx Open

Each of these is larger and heavier than the averages for the belay tubes in my collection. The extra mass helps from a thermal perspective, but I find thse to be simply too large for my taste. The LACD Evo Alpine, Version A does not have the lightening cutouts, and so it is the heaviest of the lot. I would rather carry a lighter belay device. Less metal means less weight to carry, but it also means less ability to absorb heat. For belaying, this is not usually a major concern, while for rappelling, any belay tube can get quite hot.

The top surface is stepped, allowing for deeper rope grooves without lowering the notches. The V-notches used in this design do not seem to be very effective at increasing the braking force. The notches do not have the narrow angle found on the Trango Jaws and its equivalents, so they do not create the same wedging action.

Normally I rig for belaying from the harness while using the notches. Reversing this arrangement removes the notches from play, resulting in less friction for braking.