Catch	Roper

Overview

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Catch
(#1874)

Front	Rear

Front: Open for Rigging	Rear:Open for Rigging

Ondřej Belica of Climbing CZ sro sent me this Rock Empire Catch in 2023.

My Rock Empire Catch is 82 mm. long, 118 mm. wide, 28 mm. high, and weighs 232 g.

The Catch consists of a movable lever and a fixed anvil sandwiched between two plates. The rear plate is an irregular-shaped stamping made from 3.0 mm. anodized aluminum. A round 14.7 mm. attachment hole is cut in the right side of the plate. A 5 mm. hole beneath the eye and a 10 mm. keyhole beneath the anvil allow attaching a Roper Clip to help prevent dragging the Catch during a fall.

The front plate is irregular and smaller. The front plate pivots on the lever mounting pin. the plate has a 16 by 27 mm. oval eye on the right side. A notch in base of the front plate provides clearance for the anvil mounting pin.

The anvil and lever are 14 mm. thick cast stainless steel pieces. The anvil is attached to the rear plate by a rivet and a pin. a spring-loaded pin engages a hole in the front plate, helping to hold the plate closed. There is also a removable 4 mm. countersunk Allen-head screw that connects to a threaded aluminum bushing pressed into the anvil. The lever is mounted on another rivet, but is free to rotate. A small spring forces the lever to the engaged position. A cutout on the rear side of the lever provides clearance for the spring.

An ABS latch on the left side of the rear plate can be turned counter-clockwise to limit the lever's range of motion. This helps keep the catch from sliding down, provided the rope diameter is suitable. A countersunk hole aligns with the aluminum bushing in the anvil, allowing one to move the machine screw from its storage position in the rear to the front, where it prevents opening the Catch.

The front plate is printed with the Rock Empire "X," "rock empire," an orientation illustration with an anchor, human, and up-pointing arrow, a curved CCW-pointing arrow with an associated locked lock icon, a curved CW-pointing arrow with an open lock icon, and "Locking bolt." The inside of the rear plate is printed with an anchor icon with a vertical line below, a QR code, "22ZWC001H," and "1346." The rear is printed with "CATCH," "EN 12841:2006," "max 100kg," "•ø 10.5-1mm," "EN 353-2:02," "CE1019," a book-with-an-"i" icon, and "Locking bolt."

Comments

The Catch improves the Roper by changing to a re-designed lever and anvil, each made from stainless steel instead of aluminum.

I do not know why the front plate has a slot instead of a round eye, as their relative location does not allow any rotation when there is a carabiner in the eye.

The weight ("100kg") printed on the rear of the Catch can easily be less than the weight of a fully loaded caver or worker. Although I know what this means, American courts may not, so I cannot recommend the Catch for heavier cavers/workers or for expedition caving.

Warning: The weight ("100kg") printed on the handle can easily be less than the weight of a fully loaded caver.

The Catch has a narrow range of approved rope sizes.

I do not have a Rope Clip and so I cannot comment on its performance when used with the Catch.

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Roper
(#1875)

Front	Rear

Front: Open for Rigging	Rear: Open for Rigging

Technical Details

Ondřej Belica of Climbing CZ sro sent me this Rock Empire Roper in 2023.

My Rock Empire Roper is 78 mm. long, 117 mm. wide, 29 mm. high, and weighs 163 g.

The Roper consists of a movable lever and a fixed anvil sandwiched between two plates. The rear plate is an irregular-shaped stamping made from 3.0 mm. anodized aluminum. A round 14.7 mm. attachment hole is cut in the right side of the plate. A 5 mm. hole beneath the eye and a 10 mm. keyhole beneath the anvil allow attaching a Roper Clip to help prevent dragging the Roper during a fall.

The front plate is irregular and smaller. The front plate pivots on the lever mounting pin. the plate has a 16 by 27 mm. oval eye on the right side. A notch in base of the front plate provides clearance for the anvil mounting pin.

The anvil and lever are 14 mm. thick aluminum pieces. The anvil is attached to the rear plate by a rivet and a pin. a spring-loaded pin engages a hole in the front plate, helping to hold the plate closed. There is also a removable 4 mm. countersunk Allen-head screw that screws into the anvil. The lever is mounted on another rivet, but is free to rotate. A small spring forces the lever to the engaged position. A cutout on the rear side of the lever provides clearance for the spring.

An ABS latch on the left side of the rear plate can be turned counter-clockwise to limit the lever's range of motion. This helps keep the catch from sliding down, provided the rope diameter is suitable. A countersunk hole aligns with the screw hole in the anvil, allowing one to move the machine screw from its storage position in the rear to the front, where it prevents opening the Roper.

The front plate is printed with the Rock Empire "X," "rock empire," "ROPER," an orientation illustration with an anchor, human, and up-pointing arrow, a curved CCW-pointing arrow with an associated locked lock icon, a curved CW-pointing arrow with an open lock icon, and "Locking bolt." The inside of the rear plate is printed with a QR code, "21ZWR0011," and "0424," "EN 353-2:02,""ø 11-12," "CE1019," and a book-with-an-"i" icon.

Comments

The Roper is an older version of the Catch.

I do not know why the front plate has a slot instead of a round eye, as their relative location does not allow any rotation when there is a carabiner in the eye.

The Roper has a narrow range of approved rope sizes that is slightly larger than that of the Catch.

I do not have a Rope Clip and so I cannot comment on its performance when used with the Roper.

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