Standard Version A	Standard Version B	Standard Version C

Cardiac Arrester Version A	Cardiac Arrester Version B

Overview

[ Top | Standard, Ver. B | Standard, Ver. C | Cardiac Arrester, Ver. A | Cardiac Arrester, Ver. B | Return to Figure Eights ]

Standard, Version A
(#984)

Front	Rear

Technical Details

I acquired this eight from John Gardner in 2005.

The DMM Standard, Version A is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 144 mm. tall, 77 mm. wide, and 17 mm. thick. The rope hole is 51 mm. high and 51 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 12 mm. The shaft length and width are 46 mm. and 25 mm., respectively. The eye measures 26 mm. by 26 mm. My eight weighs 127 g.

The front of the shaft has "DMM" in raised letters, and the back has "WALES," also in raised letters

Comments

The DMM Standard, Version A is a member of a family of nearly identical full-sized, forged, aluminum eights that includes the following eights:

Image Eight Finish Clog Small, Version A Soft Anodized Clog Small, Version B Soft Anodized Clog Small, Version C Hard Anodized, Black	Image Eight Finish Clog Small, Version D Hard Anodized, Bronze Clog Small, Version E Hard Anodized, Black Clog Small, Version F Soft Anodized DMM Standard, Version A Soft Anodized	Image Eight Finish SMK, Version A Painted SMK, Version B Soft Anodized Stubai, Version C Soft Anodized

Each of these eights is 145±1 mm. tall and 76±1 mm. wide. These are normal manufacturing variations that have no practical significance.

These eight have plenty of metal, but there are some sudden corners on the shank that tend to make the eights grab on dirty rope. The corners will wear initially faster than the other parts of the eights. The hard-anodized eights should wear better than the others.

None of these eights have slots for sticht-type belaying, and their round eyes are not designed for that purpose.

The directions linked here came with one of my my Bugettes.

[ Top | Standard, Ver. A | Standard, Ver. C | Cardiac Arrester, Ver. A | Cardiac Arrester, Ver. B | Return to Figure Eights ]

Standard, Version B
(#513)

Front	Rear

Technical Details

I acquired this eight from Exkursion in 1995.

The DMM Standard, Version B is forged from aluminum alloy. Mine is 141 mm. tall, 74 mm. wide, and 14 mm. thick. The rope hole is 49 mm. high and 49 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 46 mm. and 25 mm., respectively. The eye measures 26 mm. by 26 mm. My eight weighs 109 g.

The front of the shaft has "DMM" in raised letters, and the back has "WALES," also in raised letters

Comments

The DMM Standard, Version B is a typical example of a full sized, forged, aluminum figure eight. It is somewhat thinner than Version A.

This version has smooth lines that give a smooth rappel, but the lack of a hard finish allows it to wear quickly. The eye is not designed for "Sticht" belaying.

[ Top | Standard, Ver. A | Standard, Ver. B | Cardiac Arrester, Ver. A | Cardiac Arrester, Ver. B | Return to Figure Eights ]

Standard, Version C
(A1150)
(#1461)

Front	Rear

Technical Details

I acquired this eight from Backcountry Gear in 2015.

The DMM Standard, Version C is forged from aluminum alloy. Mine is 143 mm. tall, 74 mm. wide, 14 mm. thick, and weighs 110 g. The rope hole is 49 mm. high and 49 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 46 mm. and 25 mm., respectively. The eye measures 26 mm. by 26 mm. My eight weighs 110 g.

The front of the shaft has a raised animal icon, "DMM" in raised letters, and is printed "11292296M." the back has "A1150" and "24kN," also in raised characters, and a raised book-with-an-"i" icon.

Comments

The DMM Standard, Version C is a typical example of a full sized, forged, aluminum figure eight. It has smooth lines that give a smooth rappel, but the lack of a hard finish allows it to wear quickly. The eye is not designed for "Sticht" belaying.

[ Top | Standard, Ver. A | Standard, Ver. B | Standard, Ver. C | Cardiac Arrester, Ver. B | Return to Figure Eights ]

Cardiac Arrester, Version A
(#510)

Front	Rear

Technical Details

I acquired this eight from Naked Edge Mountaineering in 1995.

The DMM Cardiac Arrester, Version A is forged from aluminum alloy and then hard anodized. Mine is 143 mm. tall, 82 mm. wide, and 20 mm. thick. The Cardiac Arrester has a distinct bend that accounts for the increased thickness; if flat, it would be 16.6 mm. thick. The rope hole is heart-shaped, 52 mm. high and 58 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 36 mm. and 26 mm., respectively. The eye measures 30 mm. by 21 mm. My Cardiac Arrester, Version B weighs 116 g.

The convex side of the shaft is stamped "DMM," and "AAA" is stamped below the top hole. The concave side of the shaft has "Wales" forged in raised letters.

Comments

The DMM Cardiac Arrester is a another odd-shaped, bent figure eight, but it is larger than the others. While the others use the bent shape to provide a low friction option in a shortened eight, the Cardiac Arrestor is a full sized eight.

I love this eight! Not only does it look cool, but it has the best name of any descender that I know. I've had mine for many years, and the name still gets to me. Since the Cardiac Arrester works just as well as any other eight, that is sufficient reason for me to recommend it. The finish is hard enough to help make the eight last longer, and the eye is long enough (30 mm.) to use for a "Sticht" belay (left figure). The shape provides for a smooth rappel. As with other eights, it can be rigged in several ways; the illustration shows a fast (center) and standard (right) rigging. There is one drawback, though: The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners side-by-side.

The directions linked here came with one of my my Bugettes.

[ Top | Standard, Ver. A | Standard, Ver. B | Standard, Ver. C | Cardiac Arrester, Ver. A | Return to Figure Eights ]

Cardiac Arrester, Version B
(#1051)

Front	Rear

Technical Details

I acquired this eight from Andrew Newns in 2007.

The DMM Cardiac Arrester, Version B is forged from aluminum alloy and then hard anodized. Mine is 144 mm. tall, 84 mm. wide, and 20 mm. thick. The Cardiac Arrester has a distinct bend that accounts for the increased thickness; if flat, it would be 17.6 mm. thick. The rope hole is heart-shaped, 52 mm. high and 58 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 12 mm. The shaft length and width are 36 mm. and 26 mm., respectively. The eye measures 30 mm. by 21 mm. My Cardiac Arrester, Version B weighs 24 g.

The convex side of the shaft has "DMM" forged in raised letters, and "ADD" is stamped below the top hole. The concave side of the shaft has "Wales" forged in raised letters.

Comments

Despite some noticeable dimensional differences, Version B is functionally identical to Version A, but with the raised "DMM," Version B looks better. I like the color of Version A, but the blood red of Version B seems rather appropriate.

The directions linked here came with one of my my Bugettes.

[ Top | Standard, Ver. A | Standard, Ver. B | Standard, Ver. C | Cardiac Arrester, Ver. A | Cardiac Arrester, Ver. B ]