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Version A
Version B
Version C (Model D005AA00)
Version D (Model D005AA01)
Pirana Club, Version A
(Model D005BA00)
Pirana Club, Version B
(Model D005BA01)
Pirana Guide
(Model D005AB00)
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| Version A | Version B | Version C (Model D005AA00) |
Version D (Model D005AA01) |
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| Club, Version A (Model D005BA00) |
Club, Version B (Model D005BA01) |
Guide |
[ Top | Version B | Version C | Version D | Club, Version A | Club, Version B | Guide | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired my Pirana from Karst Sports in 2001.
The Petzl Pirana is forged from aluminum alloy and then clear anodized. Mine is 115 mm. tall, 76 mm. wide, and 15 mm. thick. The rope hole is 53 mm. high and 48 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 28 mm. and 24 mm., respectively. The eye measures 11 mm. by 12 mm. The ears are 13.7, 25, and 19.3 mm. long. My Petzl Pirana weighs 96 g.
The Pirana has a subtriangular rope hole and a tiny carabiner hole. There is a plastic insert (a.k.a., "carabiner guide") above the carabiner hole that helps keep the Pirana from flopping around on the carabiner. A projection at the top (a.k.a., "second cleat" forms a hook that the trailing end of the rope can be looped over. At the base are two projections, one of which (the "first cleat") is hooked downward as a rope guide.
Version A is stamped on both sides with "PIRANA," a hand icon, and a unintelligible icon that the instructions refer to as an anchor, for reasons unknown to me and not made clear (probably it tells you which side the standing line exits, but this is more obvious from the shape of the rope hole). It is also stamped with "01206F" (a date & control code) on one side. The plastic insert has "Petzl" molded on both sides.
The Petzl Pirana looks like a Figure
Eight, or more properly, a Figure
Eight With Ears, but the instructions warn that it isn't,
and even indicate that using the Pirana as a Figure
Eight is dangerous (but sometimes using an eight like a Pirana
is reasonable). They seem to be concerned about the rope damaging
the black plastic insert, and the possibility of the rope girth
hitching. Of course, if you rig a Figure
Eight properly, it is almost impossible for a girth hitch
to occur. Even if it does, releasing it is trivial - if you have
the rest of your gear set up properly and know what you are doing.
If you accept Petzl’s warning, then I think you’d be forced to
conclude that its visual similarity to Figure
Eight is a hazard. That’s too silly.
Originally I classified this as a Miscellaneous Descender, but eventually sanity prevailed, Despite Petzl’s warning, if it looks like an eight, feels like an eight, sounds like an eight, smells like an eight, and tastes like like an eight, I might as well call it an eight - or more precisely, a miscellaneous figure eight with ears.
The Petzl Pirana is lighter than most figure eights with ears. The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners - it barely accepts one, and some locking carabiners will not fit at all (try before you buy). The Pirana can be used for rappelling on single (9 to 13 mm.) or double (8 to 13 mm.) ropes. The instructions show that it can also be used for lowering a person, although it would not be my first choice for that purpose. Similarly, it can be used for belaying, but I don't recommend it for that purpose, since it doesn't provide the friction that I like to see.
Of course, the various hooks, horns, and prongs mean that the
rappeller can wind the rope around the Pirana in quite a few ways.
In fact, the instructions show five different rigging methods
just for descending. It isn't convenient to switch between the
three positions in the left-hand figure, so I recommend choosing
the proper one before descending. Note that the right-hand figure
gives variations on the middle method in the left-hand
figure (note the way the rope crosses the lower right horn). This
keeps the rope from running across itself in opposite directions.
This works the same if using the left-most of the tree variations,
but not the right-most. It’s mainly finesse, but worth noting.
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[ Top | Version A | Version C | Version D | Club, Version A | Club, Version B | Guide | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired my Petzl Pirana, Version B from gotyourgear.com in 2011.
The Petzl Pirana, Version B is forged from aluminum alloy and then hard anodized. Mine is 115 mm. tall, 77 mm. wide, and 14 mm. thick. The rope hole is 53 mm. high and 48 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 28 mm. and 24 mm., respectively. The eye measures 11 mm. by 12 mm. The ears are 13.7 and 25 mm. long. My Petzl Pirana, Version B weighs 96 g.
The Pirana has a subtriangular rope hole and a tiny carabiner hole. There is a plastic insert (a.k.a., "carabiner guide") above the carabiner hole that helps keep the Pirana from flopping around on the carabiner. A projection at the top (a.k.a., "second cleat" forms a hook that the trailing end of the rope can be looped over. At the base are two projections, one of which (the "first cleat") is hooked downward as a rope guide.
Version B is stamped on both sides with "PIRANA," a hand icon, and the same unintelligible icon as Version A. It is also etched with "11089E1" on one side. The plastic insert has "Petzl" molded on both sides.Like for Version A, I'm going to call Version B a miscellaneous figure eights with ears. Version B adds hard anodizing to the soft aluminum of Version A - a definite improvement.
Petzl’s instructions have an icon showing how to open the instruction book. Anyone who needs to be shown how to open an instruction booklet…
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[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version D | Club, Version A | Club, Version B | Guide | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this Petzl Pirana from On Rope 1 in 2022.
This version is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 115 mm. tall, 89 mm. wide, and 25 mm. thick. The rope hole is 55 mm. high and 47 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 27 mm. and 24 mm., respectively. The eye measures 12 mm. by 13 mm. The ears are 29.8 and 31.6 mm. long. My Petzl Pirana, Version C weighs 104 g.
This Pirana has a subtriangular rope hole and a tiny carabiner hole. There is a plastic insert (a.k.a., "carabiner guide") above the carabiner hole that helps keep the Pirana from flopping around on the carabiner. The insert on mine is loose (it slides up and down), but this has little effect on its performance. The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners - it barely accepts one, and some locking carabiners will not fit at all (try before you buy).
A projection at the top (a.k.a., "second cleat" forms a hook that the trailing end of the rope can be looped over. At the base are two projections. One projection is hooked upward, the other has a knob on the end.
The front of this version is forged with "PIRANA" and printed with a scanner code and "21F0334657391 " on the left and a rigging icon on the right. The rear is forged with a book-with-an-"i" icon on the left and "Ø8-13 mm" and "Pat.Pend." on the right. The plastic insert has "Petzl" molded on both sides.
Like the other versions, I'm going to call this one a miscellaneous figure eights with ears. Although the shape has changed, Petzl still recommends against rigging the Pirana in standard figure eight fashion. The upturned lower horn helps guide the rope in the recommended configuration, but I don't find it strictly necessary. The upper horn is larger, and the inner slot is beveled on each side to provide additional friction when locking off. The knob is adequate, but does not provide the same security as the larger lower hook did on the earlier versions.
Canyoneers found that their ropes could wedge in the slot, making it more difficult to get off rappel. Because of the drowning risk if a canyoneer could not release the rope in a pool, Petzl recalled this version of the Pirana.
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[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Club, Version A | Club, Version B | Guide | Return to Figure Eights ]
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| Front | Rear | Side |
I acquired this Petzl Pirana on eBay from Omni Pro Gear in 2020.
This version is forged from aluminum alloy and then hard anodized. Mine is 115 mm. tall, 89 mm. wide, and 25 mm. thick. The rope hole is 55 mm. high and 47 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 27 mm. and 24 mm., respectively. The eye measures 12 mm. by 13 mm. The ears are 29.8 and 31.6 mm. long. My Petzl Pirana, Version C weighs 104 g.
This Pirana has a subtriangular rope hole and a tiny carabiner hole. There is a plastic insert (a.k.a., "carabiner guide") above the carabiner hole that helps keep the Pirana from flopping around on the carabiner. The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners - it barely accepts one, and some locking carabiners will not fit at all (try before you buy).
A projection at the top (a.k.a., "second cleat" forms a hook that the trailing end of the rope can be looped over. At the base are two projections. One projection is hooked upward, the other has a knob on the end.
The front of this version is forged with "PIRANA" and printed with a scanner code and "19I0210974054" on the left and a rigging icon on the right. The rear is forged with a book-with-an-"i" icon on the left and "Ø8-13 mm" and "Pat.Pend." on the right. The plastic insert has "Petzl" molded on both sides.
Model D005AA01 is the hard-anodized version of Model D005AA00.
Canyoneers found that their ropes could wedge in the slot, making it more difficult to get off rappel. Because of the drowning risk if a canyoneer could not release the rope in a pool, Petzl recalled this version of the Pirana.
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[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Club, Version B | Guide | Return to Figure Eights ]
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| Front | Rear |
I acquired this Petzl Pirana from On Rope 1 in 2022.
This version is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 115 mm. tall, 77 mm. wide, and 15 mm. thick. The rope hole is 55 mm. high and 44 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 27 mm. and 24 mm., respectively. The eye measures 12 mm. by 13 mm. The ears are 30 and 32 mm. long, respectively. My Petzl Pirana, Version C weighs 89 g.
This Pirana has a subtriangular rope hole and a tiny carabiner hole. There is a plastic insert (a.k.a., "carabiner guide") above the carabiner hole that helps keep the Pirana from flopping around on the carabiner. A projection at the top (a.k.a., "second cleat" forms a hook that the trailing end of the rope can be looped over. At the base are two projections. One projection is hooked upward, the other has a knob on the end.
The front of this version is forged with "PIRANA CLUB" and printed with a scanner code and "21L0374829112" on the left and a rigging icon on the right. The rear is forged with "Ø8-13 mm" and a book-with-an-"i" icon. The plastic insert has "Petzl" molded on both sides.
Model D005BA00 is thinner and lighter than Model D005AA00, and eliminates the canyoneer drowning horn at the top. Petzl still doesn't call this an eight, but it fits my miscellaneous figure eights with ears category quite well. The lower ears are adequate but do not have quite the positive action that those on previous versions had.
The eye is still too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners. Like the earlier Pirana eyes, barely accepts one, and some locking carabiners will not fit at all. Try your preferred carabiners before buying a Pirana. I hate eyes that do not allow free carabiner movement. I wish that Petzl had fixed this when redesigning the Pirana, but I recognize that others (especially canyoneers) may have a preference opposed to my own.
With the unique features atrophied or eliminated, I do not see a compelling advantage to the Pirana over a standard deaf figure eight.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Club, Version A | Guide | Return to Figure Eights ]
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| Front | Rear |
I acquired this Petzl Pirana from On Rope 1 in 2022.
This version is forged from aluminum alloy and then hard anodized. Mine is 115 mm. tall, 77 mm. wide, and 15 mm. thick. The rope hole is 55 mm. high and 44 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 27 mm. and 24 mm., respectively. The eye measures 12 mm. by 13 mm. The ears are 30 and 32 mm. long, respectively. My Petzl Pirana, Version C weighs 89 g.
This Pirana has a subtriangular rope hole and a tiny carabiner hole. There is a plastic insert (a.k.a., "carabiner guide") above the carabiner hole that helps keep the Pirana from flopping around on the carabiner. A projection at the top (a.k.a., "second cleat" forms a hook that the trailing end of the rope can be looped over. At the base are two projections. One projection is hooked upward, the other has a knob on the end.
The front of this version is forged with "PIRANA CLUB" and printed with a scanner code and "21L0374830126" on the left and a rigging icon on the right. The rear is forged with "Ø8-13 mm" and a book-with-an-"i" icon. The plastic insert has "Petzl" molded on both sides.
Model D005BA01 is the hard-anodized version of Model D005BA00.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Club, Version A | Club, Version B | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this Petzl Pirana Guide (D05AB00) from On Rope 1 in 2023.
The Petzl Pirana Guide is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 116 mm. tall, 89 mm. wide, and 24 mm. thick. The rope hole is 53 mm. high and 44 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 27 mm. and 24 mm., respectively. The eye measures 12 mm. by 12 mm. The ears are 33.4 and 30.5 mm. long. My Petzl Pirana Guide (D05AB00) weighs 106 g.
This Pirana has a subtriangular rope hole and a tiny carabiner hole. There is a plastic insert (a.k.a., "carabiner guide") above the carabiner hole that helps keep the Pirana from flopping around on the carabiner.
A projection at the top (a.k.a., "second cleat") forms a hook that the trailing end of the rope can be looped over. A wire gate helps keep the rope out of the gate so that it does not enter accidentally. At the base are two projections. One projection is hooked upward, the other has a knob on the end.
The front of this version is forged with "PIRANA GUIDE" and printed with an IQR code and "23E0492007421" on the left and a rigging icon on the right. The rear is forged with a book-with-an-"i" icon and "Ø8-13 mm PatPend." The plastic insert has "Petzl" molded on both sides.
Petzl reintroduced the horn at the top but added a wire gate to help canyoneers keep from drowning.
Petzl still doesn't call this an eight, but it still fits my miscellaneous figure eights with ears category. The lower ears are adequate but do not have quite the positive action that those on the early versions had.
The eye is still too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners. Like the earlier Pirana eyes, barely accepts one, and some locking carabiners will not fit at all. Try your preferred carabiners before buying a Pirana. I hate eyes that do not allow free carabiner movement. I wish that Petzl had fixed this when redesigning the Pirana, but I recognize that others (especially canyoneers) may have a preference opposed to my own.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Club, Version A | Club, Version B | Guide ]
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