Collection Home
|
|
 |
 |
| Front View | Rear View | Side View |
I acquired my AlpTech Mascott new from Expé-Spelemat in 2009.
The AlpTech Mascott forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 165 mm. tall, 56 mm. wide, 45 mm. thick, and weighs 149 g. The upper hole, used for rappelling, is 25.6 mm. wide and 14.5 mm. high. Rather than trying to describe the raised areas surrounding this hole front and rear, I refer you to the photos. The two slots are each 44 mm. tall and 7.6 mm. wide. The eye is 17.5 mm. in diameter.
The front of the Mascott has "Alp’Tech" in raised letters. The marking on the rear of mine appears to say "08," presumably the year of manufacture.
The Mascott is an unusual belay-rappel device and the user should read the instructions. For belaying a leader, the AlpTech web site recommends an arrangement (left) similar to the one used for the Cassin #217 or Kong Gi–gi - neither of which was really designed for belaying lead climbers. The Mascott does a better job belaying one or two seconds (right), again using the same arrangement as the Cassin #217 and Kong Gi–gi - which were designed for this purpose.
The following illustrations from the AlpTech web site illustrate how to manufacturer recommends rappelling with the Alptech:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Insert Rope(s) |
Clip |
Tension |
Test |
Control |
Autostop |
Notice that the rappeller can control their speed with the carabiner - pushing down to reduce friction and letting go to stop. This introduces the possibility of panicking and grabbing the carabiner, but anyone who panics shouldn't be rappelling in the first place. The testing step is particularly important when rappelling on two ropes, because the Mascott will lock if the two ropes twist before entering the device. If that happens on rappel, it is time to start a standard extrication.
The AlpTech web site recommends using the Mascott with half ropes ranging from 7.5 to 8.6 mm. and single rope ranging from 9 to 10 mm. diameter.
The Mascott's inventor, Christian Vallet, applied for a patent in August 2005 and received French Patent 2,889,814 in 2007.
 |
 |
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.