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Most people credit the figure eight’s invention to Dr. Max Pfrimmer. He sketched his design in his diary entry for October 1, 1943. I show this entry on the Figure Eights page. Was it really the first figure eight? His design is the earliest deaf eight that I know of, but what about the Famau (pronounced "vama")?
Jean Briod of Fribourg, Switzerland applied for the Famau patent on January 14, 1941, and received Swiss Patent #216,349, now expired. This predated Dr. Max Pfrimmer’s diary entry by nearly three years.
Is the Famau really a figure eight? The way I classify eights, yes. If I let the bend disqualify it, then the C.A.M.P./Lowe Fungo, Chouinard Version A, DMM Cardiac Arrestor, Edelrid Bund, and many others would not be eights. If I let the ears disqualify it, then none of the Rescue Eights would be eights. That leaves the Famau's spike, and to disqualify the Famau as an eight for having the spike seems silly. In my mind, the Famau is the oldest figure eight descender that I know.
I saw my first Famau at Eastern Mountain Sports in Lake Placid NY over the 1976 Labor Day weekend, but did not buy it. I regretted that decision for years, and even made a long road trip to the Lake Placid NY and North Conway NH stores to try to find another, with no success. Roland Brown of Pathfinder Sports finally gave me his Version A in 1979.
I did not see another Famau until about 2002 when a German collector sent me a photo of his collection. In 2006, I saw a photo of another Famau in a small collection on the Supertopo climbing web site. My first Version B was the fifth Famau that I've seen, and I bought a large box of climbing gear just to get it for its sentimental value. Since then, I have acquired a few more for the same reason, including two more versions.
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I acquired this eight from Pathfinder Sports in 1979.
The Famau, Version A is forged from aluminum alloy. Mine is 154 mm. tall, 79 mm. wide, and 41 mm. thick. The Famau’s upper loop has a distinct bend that accounts for the increased thickness; if flat, the Famau would be only 16 mm. thick. The rope hole is 42 mm. high and 59 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 9 mm. The shaft length and width are 85 mm. and 20 mm., respectively. The eye measures 15 mm. by 15 mm. The ears are 32.2 and 37 mm. long. My Famau, Version A weighs 203 g.
The concave side of the Famau has "Mod Depose Famau" in indistinct, raised, forged letters. The convex side is stamped with "Famau" and "mod depose."
The Famau falls into my miscellaneous figure eights with ears category. The Famau is one of my favorite eights - not to use, but because it is "different." The upper portion of the rope loop is bent toward the viewer, so the eight can be rigged in two configurations for lesser and greater friction. The center horn (inside the rope loop) keeps the rope tracking properly, but is probably unnecessary. The lower ears are out of the way. This is a much more sensible location than on the side of the rope loop. The Famau can also be rigged with the rope running around the shank above the horns. For double rope rappels, one rope runs above and the other below.
The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners.
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I acquired one Famau, Version B from Craig Kubanoff in 2007, a second from Charles Wilkes in 2010 (traded to Jose Benavides), another from Paul Calton in 2012, and one more from Wild Gear Deals in 2022.
The Famau, Version B is forged from aluminum alloy. Mine is 153 mm. tall, 80 mm. wide, and 46 mm. thick. The Famau’s upper loop has a distinct bend that accounts for the increased thickness; if flat, the Famau would be only 16.5 mm. thick. The rope hole is 42 mm. high and 59 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 85 mm. and 20 mm., respectively. The eye measures 15 mm. by 15 mm. The ears are 31.5 and 36.7 mm. long. My Famau, Version B weighs 211 g.
The concave side of the Famau has "Mod Depose Famau" in indistinct, raised, forged letters. The convex side is stamped with "Famau."
Version B is larger than Version A, but the increase is not significant. There is a minor thickening at the center of the top loop on Version B that Version A does not have, but this has no functional significance. Version B has different markings than Version A.
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| Front View | Rear View | Side View |
I acquired my Famau, Version C on eBay from M. Iturzata in 2013.
The Famau, Version C is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 156 mm. tall, 80 mm. wide, and 46 mm. thick. The rope hole is 42 mm. high and 59 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 86 mm. and 20 mm., respectively. The eye measures 15 mm. by 15 mm. The ears are 32.6 and 36.2 mm. long. My Famau, Version C weighs 209 g.
The concave side of the Famau has "Mod Depose Famau" in indistinct, raised, forged letters.
Version C is functionally equivalent to the others. The anodized finish gives it a nicer look. There are minor variations in the markings.
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