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Micro, Ver. A
Micro, Ver. B
Micro Twin
Rescue, Ver. A
Rescue, Ver. B
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| Micro Ver. A | Micro Ver. B | Micro Twin |
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| Rescue Ver. A | Rescue Ver. B |
[ Top | Micro Ver. B | Micro Twin | Rescue Ver. A | Rescue Ver. B | Return to Sticht Belay ]
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I acquired my CMI Micro, Version A from John E. Weinel, Inc. in 1988.
The CMI Micro Belay Plate is 47 mm. tall, 25 mm. wide, and 10 mm thick. Mine weighs 11 g. It has one slot that is 33 mm. long.
One side is stamped with "Cmi."
The CMI Micro is the epitome of weight saving gone absurd. Although the device works and the hard coating helps it wear well, once the coating wears through there is virtually no margin for additional wear. In addition, the CMI micro is so small that it is hard hold while in use. Finally, there is so little metal that overheating is a significant concern, especially when either lowering a climber or rappelling.
[ Top | Micro Ver. A | Micro Twin | Rescue Ver. A | Rescue Ver. B | Return to Sticht Belay ]
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I acquired my CMI Micro Belay Plate, Version B from Chris Christensen in 2022.
Version B is forged from aluminum alloy and hard anodized. It has a 70 mm. long keeper made from 2.4 mm stainless steel cable. Version B is 38 mm. long, 65 mm. wide, 10 mm. high, and weighs 15 g. It has one slot that is 33 mm. long.
One side is stamped with "Cmi."
I like the cable keeper. The extra weight is negligible, it wears better than accessory cord, and it gives something more substantial to hold on to.
[ Top | Micro Ver. A | Micro Ver. B | Rescue Ver. A | Rescue Ver. B | Return to Sticht Belay ]
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I acquired one CMI Micro Twin from John E. Weinel, Inc. in 1988, and a second from Robert Gould in 2021.
The CMI Micro Twin Belay Plate is 40 mm. tall, 39 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. Mine weighs 16 g. It has two slots that are 24 mm. long.
One side is stamped with "Cmi."
The CMI Micro Twin carries the CMI Micro’s philosophy and problems over to a two-slot device. The slots are smaller than the ones on the Micro. The Micro Twin is designed for 9 mm. rope, under the assumption that anyone belaying on double rope will not be using 11 mm. I disagree, just because smaller ropes are preferred does not mean that the situation won't occur where larger ones are used. For example, what if you want to rappel? Perhaps the Micro Twin is too small to even consider for that purpose.
[ Top | Micro Ver. A | Micro Ver. B | Micro Twin | Rescue Ver. B | Return to Sticht Belay ]
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I acquired my CMI Rescue Belay Brake, Version A used from Tom Vines in 2007.
The CMI Rescue Belay Brake, Version A is 89 mm. long, 89 mm. wide, 10 mm. high, and weighs 120 g. It has one slot that is 33 mm. long.
One side is stamped with "Cmi."
The Rescue Belay Brake is also known as the Thorne Fire Cross, named after its designer, a career firefighter from Maryland. Unlike Version B, the CMI Rescue Belay Plate, Version A is designed for reasonable diameter (11 to 13 mm.) ropes. I suspect that Version A predates Version B for two reasons: first, the CMI logo is more crudely executed, and second, I can't imagine the "bigger is better" crowd making anything smaller.
[ Top | Micro Ver. A | Micro Ver. B | Micro Twin | Rescue Ver. A | Return to Sticht Belay ]
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I acquired my CMI Rescue Belay Brake, Version B from John E. Weinel, Inc., but I do not have a record of when that occurred (probably late 1980s, no later than 1991). I acquired a second from Kelley Deem at the 2022 Old Timers Reunion.
The CMI Rescue Belay Brake, Version B is 89 mm. long, 89 mm. wide, 10 mm. high, and weighs 114 g. It has one slot that is 37 mm. long.
One side is marked with "Cmi" in raised letters. The other side has "RESCUE BELAY BRAKE" in raised letters.
The CMI Rescue Belay Plate, Version B is a large device designed for the oversize 13 to 16 mm. ropes used by the "bigger is better" crowd, instead of standard 9 mm. and 11 mm. ropes used by cavers and climbers. Paradoxically, the openings to the tie off holes are only 10 mm. wide, so they can't be used with the larger ropes. When the Rescue Belay Plate is used on 9 to 11 mm. rope, it doesn't give enough friction unless two (or more) carabiners are used.
[ Top | Micro Ver. A | Micro Ver. B | Micro Twin | Rescue Ver. A | Rescue Ver. B ]
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