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Version A
Version B
Belay 8, Version A
Belay 8, Version B
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| Version A | Version B | Belay 8 Version A | Belay 8 Version B |
[ Top | Version B | Belay 8 Version A | Belay 8 Version B ]
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I acquired this eight from Graham Barrett in 2007.
This Troll eight is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 146 mm. tall, 76 mm. wide, and 17 mm. thick. The rope hole is 51 mm. high and 51 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 13 mm. The shaft length and width are 46 mm. and 27 mm., respectively. The eye measures 26 mm. by 26 mm. My Troll eight weighs 127 g.
One side is stamped with"troll" and the other with "KG. 3000."
The lettering on Version A run from bottom to top. On Version B, they run from top to bottom. The two versions are otherwise identical.
The Troll, Version A 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 | Version A | Belay 8 Version A | Belay 8 Version B ]
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I acquired this Troll, Version B from Miles Bradshaw in 2023.
This eight is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. It 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 47 mm. and 26 mm., respectively. The eye measures 27 mm. by 27 mm. My eight weighs 119 g.
One side is stamped with"Troll," and the other with "KG. 3000."
The lettering on Version A run from bottom to top. On Version B, they run from top to bottom. The two versions are otherwise identical.
The Troll, Version B 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 | Version A | Version B | Belay 8 Version B ]
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I acquired my Troll Belay 8, Version A from Tom Furey in 2012.
The Troll Belay 8, Version A is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 128 mm. tall, 73 mm. wide, and 14 mm. thick. The rope hole is 69 mm. high and 51 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 13 mm. and 25 mm., respectively. The eye measures 24 mm. by 28 mm. My eight weighs 97 g.
One side is stamped with"troll" and "01 95," the other with "kN 25."
The Troll Belay 8, Version A is a typical aluminum belay eight, but it does not have the eye liner that Version B has. I think that this makes Version A slightly more difficult to use, but the difference is so small that I expect half the people would disagree.
The Troll Belay 8, Version A is lighter than most figure eights.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Belay 8 Version A ]
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| Front | Rear |
I acquired my Troll Belay 8, Version B from Tom Furey in 2012.
The Troll Belay 8, Version B is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 128 mm. tall, 73 mm. wide, and 14 mm. thick. The rope hole is 69 mm. high and 51 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 13 mm. and 25 mm., respectively. The eye measures 10 mm. by 9 mm. My eight weighs 105 g.
One side is stamped with"troll" and "01 95," the other with "kN 25."
The Troll Belay 8, Version B is a typical aluminum belay eight. In my opinion, most eights do not have enough friction to be used for belaying in this manner. The shape of the Troll Belay 8 allows the rope to wedge in the groove, generating extra friction. This works rather well, but the rope can bind at times, so releasing the belay is not always smooth.
The keeper in the eye keeps the eight from shifting on the carabiner, but the opening is too small for most standard carabiners.
The Advanced Base Camp Friction 8 (Notch) and Trango Belay 8 are essentially identical.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Belay 8 Version A | Belay 8 Version B ]
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