Front	Rear

Side	Open for Rigging

Technical Details

I got my Hydrobot new from Barrabés.com in 2007.

The Hydrobot consists of a forged, anodized, aluminum frame and a steel brake bar. The frame is irregular with two rope grooves on the top surface, two 52.4 mm. long, 14.3 mm. wide rope slots, a large notch on one side with two rope grooves on its upper surface, and an 18.4 mm. diameter eye. The total height of the frame is 142 mm. and the total width about 63 mm. The frame is 9.5 mm. thick except for some raised ribs above and below the rope slots, along the spine, and at the tip below the notch. The raised ribs increase the thickness to 13.5 mm. There is also a thin depressed area to the notch side of the eye.

The brake bar is made from a 52.4 mm. length of 20.2 mm diameter aluminum. There are three rectangular cutouts in the brake bar, one at each end and one in the center. These form two projections that fit into the rope slots when the bar is closed. The free end has a hemispherical cutout that fits the thumb nicely. The other end has a bent retainer made from 1.8 mm. stainless steel. A hex-head screw fastens the retainer to the bar so that the bend mates with the bar cutout to form a channel that fits around the spine of the frame. This allows the brake bar to pivot open and closed.

The center of the bar has a strong magnet in it. There is a hole drilled down through the top of the frame and through the rib between the two rope slots. It holds a magnetic material. A plastic plug seals the open end of the hole.

The front of the frame is marked with the Kong logo and "ITALY" , a rigging diagram between up and down pointing arrows, "kN 22," and something that looks like"06E69E 06 011E" except the three "E"s are in mirror image.

Comments

The Hydrobot is sold as a canyoneering descender. It took me several months to find one after I first heard about it. I emailed Kong but never received a response. When I finally obtained a hydrobot, my first reaction was "It’s a Robot!" Duh. Only the blind wouldn't see that it looks like a Robot. It’s called a Hydrobot. How I missed the blatantly obvious is beyond me.

Like the Robot, the Hydrobot is rigged in a number of ways, depending on the size and number of ropes being used. It can also be used as a locking element in hauling systems or even as an emergency ascender. Please see the Robot page for illustrations of these uses.

The magnet in the bar is a nice touch. It doesn't do anything while the Hydrobot is in use, but it does keep the bar from flopping around while carrying the Hydrobot around. The magnet is strong, and the bar closes with a loud sound that Kong ’s instructions describe as "TLAC!"

The Hydrobot has another nice feature. The user can take the screw out of the bar and reverse the bar for left-hand use. Although I am right-handed, I usually rappel left-handed, so I converted my Hydrobot after taking the pictures for this site.

The Hydrobot performs satisfactorily. It has more metal than the Robot so it should take more wear. I would like to hear how the canyoneering community likes the Hydrobot. For me, I might use it at times but it won't replace my Mt. Sira rack for lightweight short-drop caving, and I’d probably choose the Mt. Sira or the Frendo Canyoneering Eight for canyoneering