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I acquired my MSA Aptura LT12 from Shelby D. Short in 2009.
The Aptura is a self-retracting webbing lanyard. My MSA Aptura LT12 is 134 mm. long, 218 mm. wide, 76 mm. high, and weighs 1705 g. It is model 10044229, serial number 050465, and made in April 2007. The Aptura consists of a thermoplastic housing that encloses the working mechanism and 3.7 m. of 20 mm. webbing. The top of the housing has a pivoting eye with a large steel carabiner attached. The end of the webbing has a large snap hook for attachment to one’s fall arrest harness.
The front of the Aptura has an attached "instructions & warnings" booklet written in three languages. The black plastic cover on the rear has "MSA" molded into it. The snap hook has "5M" and "HGB" in raised forged characters on one side and "Y" and "06" on the other. The eye has "B05" in raised forged characters. One side of the carabiner is stamped with "23kN 5000 lbs," "07," "JSC," and an indistinct mark that might be "SH" inside a circle. The other side is stamped with "PT," "CE 029, "N256," and "YOKE."
The Aptura is intended for industrial use, where the philosophies are quite different than they are for caving and climbing. Industrial users receive what I call minimal training (I've received such "training" several times), but workers-at-height are seldom working alone. This is critical, since it "ensures" that "qualified rescuers" are only minutes away. This is important, since devices like the Aptura, in the absence of rapid assistance, merely change the cause of death from the big splat to harness hang syndrome - especially when used with the typical industrial harness that has the attachment behind the wearer.
At first glance, the Aptura appears similar to the Rose Dynescape, but the two perform different functions. The Dynescape allows a controlled descent (which is why I classified it as a Miscellaneous Descender) while the Aptura is a fall arrest that stops a descent (in this respect, it substitutes for a Rope Grab).
I don't see much use for this device among cavers or climbers.
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