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Bud
Bund
Terrence
Petit-8, Version A
Petit-8, Version B
Petit-8, Version C
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| Petit-8, Ver. A | Petit-8, Ver. B | Petit-8, Ver. C |
[ Top | Bund | Petit-8, Ver. A | Petit-8, Ver. B | Petit-8, Ver. C | Terence | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired my Edelrid Bud from TrekkInn in 2012.
The Edelrid Bud is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 128 mm. tall, 77 mm. wide, and 13 mm. thick. The rope hole is 49 mm. high and 52 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 30 mm. and 30 mm., respectively. The eye measures 26 mm. by 25 mm. My eight weighs 105 g.
Both sides have stamped letters spelling "EDELRID." The front of the shaft has a plastic insert with a molded "e." The rear of the shaft is stamped with "BUD," "prEN 15151-2," a book-with-an-"i" icon, and "UIAA."
The Edelrid Bud is another "midi"
size, forged, aluminum eight, but it differs from most. The eye is larger and not shaped for "sticht" belaying. The shaft is shorter than most, allowing a full size rope hole and the larger eye without increasing the overall size of the eight. It marginally accommodates rappelling on double 11 mm. rope.
[ Top | Bud | Petit-8, Ver. A | Petit-8, Ver. B | Petit-8, Ver. C | Terence | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this Edelrid Bund from Legit Kit in 2023.
My Edelrid Bund is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. It is 108 mm. tall, 79 mm. wide, and 20 mm. thick. The rope hole is 36 mm. high and 59 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 27 mm. and 30 mm., respectively. The eye measures 25 mm. by 25 mm. My eight weighs 81 g.
The concave side is printed with "Bund," "EDELRID," "Made in EEC," "kN 25," and "0108."
The Edelrid Bund is one several odd-shaped, bent figure eights. Here are the ones that I have collected:
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The first of these was the KWO, and it was not intended to be a figure eight! Carsten Strietzel sent me a note on April 19, 2009 describing its origin. Here is what he wrote:
Hello Gary,
Thank you for your very interesting website.
Probably I can give some additional information according to the KWO eight.
This eight had its origin in East Germany, and was popular for climbers in the Elbsandstein.
KWO stands for "Kabelwerk Oberspree," and to my knowledge the initial intention of this device was a part of a industrial safety harness and not a abseil device. I think to remember the device was mounted at a belt for climbing poles, thru the large hole was the strap sewed on the belt and the small hole was the attachment point for the carabiner.
…the non intentional use of things was very popular for us East German climbers…. :-)
I might be wrong, but to my recognition the western versions of this shape appeared later.
best regards
Carsten
I asked if he remembered when the KWO eight appeared, and he replied as follows:
I would say the KWO "eight" appeared 1984/85, but definitely before 1987.
The idea worked well enough as an eight, and others copied the design.
Each of these is 107±1 mm. tall and 79±1 mm. wide. Their weights fall in the 80±1 g. range. These are normal manufacturing variations that have no practical significance.
These eights are smaller and much lighter than most eights. While the advantages are manifest, there are two practical disadvantages:
The bend allows rigging these eights in two ways with differing amounts of friction. The short overall length and sharp bends makes this eight rather "grabby" when using the high friction arrangement on sandy ropes.
None of these eights have slots for sticht-type belaying, and their round eyes are not designed for that purpose.
[ Top | Bud | Bund | Petit-8, Ver. B | Petit-8, Ver. C | Terence | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight from Finnrappel in 2000.
The Edelrid Petit-8, Version A is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 136 mm. tall, 75 mm. wide, and 16 mm. thick. The rope hole is 45 mm. high and 51 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 45 mm. and 25 mm., respectively. The eye measures 26 mm. by 26 mm. My eight weighs 128 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
The Edelrid Petit-8, Version A8 is a typical example of a full size, flat shaft, forged, aluminum eight. The flat shaft is less common than other designs, but has little functional effect. The edges of the shank have a smaller radius than most other eights, which has a small adverse effect on how smoothly the rope runs; however, once the eight is broken in there should be no noticeable difference.
[ Top | Bud | Bund | Petit-8, Ver. A | Petit-8, Ver. C | Terence | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight from Walkhigh Mountaineering in 2007.
The Edelrid Petit-8, Version B is forged from aluminum alloy and then clear anodized. Mine is 146 mm. tall, 76 mm. wide, and 16 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 26 mm., respectively. The eye measures 26 mm. by 26 mm. My eight weighs 124 g.
One side of the shaft is stamped "EDELRID," and the other "kN 35."
The Edelrid Petit-8 is a typical example of a full-sized, forged, aluminum figure eight. These are by far the most common figure eights. Everybody, their sisters, and their brothers seem to make one, and half the world's population and businesses have issued a custom version with their own name on it. I certainly have not acquired and tested every version madel, but I show the following eights as examples:
Some of these eights are made in Europe, and some in Asia. Some are obviously rebranded eights, a good example being the Trillium Health + Fitness eight.
The S.E.Peak is larger than the others, an outlier. Each of the remaining eights is 145±2 mm. tall and 76±2 mm. wide, and has a weight in the 126±12 g. range. These variations have no practical significance.
Although similar, these eights are not identical, and close inspection will reveal some minor differences in their shapes. For example, the Fusion Tiny 8, Version A and Lucky Ecos are noticeably wider for their height than the others. None of these affect their performance to any noticeable degree.
The AMP Tiny 8, C.A.M.P. 548.00/01 (Otto Large), Fusion Tiny 8, Version A, Hugh Banner, Version D and SUT appear to have harder anodizing than the others, and may wear better. My experience with the high-quality hard anodizing on the similar CMI eights is that hard anodizing provides considerable protection on clean ropes, but the protection provided against cave mud is limited. In bad conditions the anodizing soon breaks through, and the protection is lost. For this reason, I don't place a lot of value on hard over soft anodizing for caving use, but I prefer hard anodizing for climbing applications.
None of these eights have slots for sticht-type belaying, and their round eyes are not really designed for that purpose. Some people will belay with an eight rigged for rappelling, but I don't like that practice since it does not provide the automatic locking assist and additional friction that a sticht plate or belay tube does.
Some caver friends refuse to use figure eights because they twist the rope. Eights are short drop devices, and rope twist concerns are absurd for short drops.
Many climbers think that eights are outdated, and prefer to rappel on belay tubes. I prefer belay tubes for belaying, but belay tubes get very hot when used for rappelling. Eights run much cooler. I would rather use an eight, but that may require carrying an extra device. On any given day, I make my choice about carrying a separate rappel device by considering several factors, and it is not unusual for me to carry an eight if I expect to be rappelling more than a very short distance.
[ Top | Bud | Bund | Petit-8, Ver. A | Petit-8, Ver. B | Terence | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight on eBay in 2009.
Version C is forged from aluminum alloy and then clear anodized. Mine is 146 mm. tall, 76 mm. wide, and 16 mm. thick. The rope hole is 52 mm. high and 51 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 12 mm. The shaft length and width are 46 mm. and 26 mm., respectively. The eye measures 26 mm. by 26 mm. My eight weighs 126 g.
One side of the eight is stamped "0106" (possibly "0108") and engraved with "EDELRID" and "35 kN."
Version C has dirrerent markings than Version B.
The Edelrid Petit-8 is a typical example of a full-sized, forged, aluminum figure eight. These are by far the most common figure eights. Everybody, their sisters, and their brothers seem to make one, and half the world's population and businesses have issued a custom version with their own name on it. I certainly have not acquired and tested every version madel, but I show the following eights as examples:
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Some of these eights are made in Europe, and some in Asia. Some are obviously rebranded eights, a good example being the Trillium Health + Fitness eight.
The S.E.Peak is larger than the others, an outlier. Each of the remaining eights is 145±2 mm. tall and 76±2 mm. wide, and has a weight in the 126±12 g. range. These variations have no practical significance.
Although similar, these eights are not identical, and close inspection will reveal some minor differences in their shapes. For example, the Fusion Tiny 8, Version A and Lucky Ecos are noticeably wider for their height than the others. None of these affect their performance to any noticeable degree.
The AMP Tiny 8, C.A.M.P. 548.00/01 (Otto Large), Fusion Tiny 8, Version A, Hugh Banner, Version D and SUT appear to have harder anodizing than the others, and may wear better. My experience with the high-quality hard anodizing on the similar CMI eights is that hard anodizing provides considerable protection on clean ropes, but the protection provided against cave mud is limited. In bad conditions the anodizing soon breaks through, and the protection is lost. For this reason, I don't place a lot of value on hard over soft anodizing for caving use, but I prefer hard anodizing for climbing applications.
None of these eights have slots for sticht-type belaying, and their round eyes are not really designed for that purpose. Some people will belay with an eight rigged for rappelling, but I don't like that practice since it does not provide the automatic locking assist and additional friction that a sticht plate or belay tube does.
Some caver friends refuse to use figure eights because they twist the rope. Eights are short drop devices, and rope twist concerns are absurd for short drops.
Many climbers think that eights are outdated, and prefer to rappel on belay tubes. I prefer belay tubes for belaying, but belay tubes get very hot when used for rappelling. Eights run much cooler. I would rather use an eight, but that may require carrying an extra device. On any given day, I make my choice about carrying a separate rappel device by considering several factors, and it is not unusual for me to carry an eight if I expect to be rappelling more than a very short distance.
[ Top | Bud | Bund | Petit-8, Ver. A | Petit-8, Ver. B | Petit-8, Ver. C | Return to Figure Eights ]
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| Front | Rear |
I acquired my Edelrid Terence from Banana Fingers in 2011.
The Edelrid Terence is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 120 mm. tall, 72 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 74 mm. high and 50 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 7 mm. The shaft width is 26 mm. My Terence weighs 57 g.
Unlike those eights, the Terence has a somewhat kite-shaped cross section. Instead of having a separate rope hole and eye, the aluminum forging only has one hole, but the lower portion has a plastic insert that creates an eye that is 10 mm. by 8 mm.
Both sides have forged raised letters spelling "EDELRID." One side is printed with "TERENCE UIAA prEN-15151-2" and a book-with-an-"i" icon. Each side of the plastic insert has a molded "e."
The Edelrid Terence is an unusual aluminum eight. It most closely resembles belay eights like the Advanced Base Camp Friction 8 (Notch) and the Trango Belay 8. Like those eights, the "eye" is too small for fitting normal carabiners.
The Edelrid Terence is lighter than most figure eights. It may have some application for climbers, but cavers who face dirty ropes should avoid this eight.
[ Top | Bud | Bund | Petit-8, Ver. A | Petit-8, Ver. B | Petit-8, Ver. C | Terence ]
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