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Eight Special
Nemo
Nemo Fix
NO.MAD
RopeX Guide 8, Version A
RopeX Guide 8, Version B
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| Eight Special | Nemo | Nemo Fix |
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| NO.MAD | RopeX Guide 8, Version A | RopeX Guide 8, Version B |
[ Top | Nemo | Nemo Fix | NO.MAD | RopeX Guide 8 v. A | RopeX Guide 8 v. B | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight, known as the Eight Special, new from Barrabés.com in 2003. I acquired a second one new from AustriAlpin USA in 2007.
The AustriAlpin Eight Special is milled from aluminum alloy plate and then hard anodized. Mine is 114 mm. tall, 95 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 38 mm. high and 52 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 37 mm. and 25 mm., respectively. The eye measures 20 mm. by 25 mm. The ears are 13.5 mm. long. My AustriAlpin Eight Special weighs 101 g.
The front of this eight is stamped "AUSTRIALPIN," "KN-22," "CE 0408," and "n0002."
The AustriAlpin Eight Special is a typical example of a "mini" size figure eight with ears. It is identical to the Stubai. The Eight Special is small and the ears don't get in the way. It may be too small for use on some stiff, gritty caving ropes, but generally I like this eight. If an eight must have ears, this eight shows one way to design them to be unobtrusive.
[ Top | Eight Special | Nemo Fix | NO.MAD | RopeX Guide 8 v. A | RopeX Guide 8 v. B | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired my AustriAlpin Nemo AF09B from CanyonZone.com - Gertjan van Pelt in 2020.
The Nemo is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 102 mm. tall, 69 mm. wide, and 8 mm. thick. The rope hole is 30 mm. high and 34 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 8 mm. The shaft length and width are 20 mm. and 18 mm., respectively. The eye measures 28 mm. by 18 mm. The ears are 21.8 and 19.4 mm. long. My AustriAlpin Nemo AF09B weighs 47 g.
One side is printed with "use with AustriAlpin CORE.DY only," "made in austria," a book-with-an-"i" icon, the AustriAlpin logo, "NEMO," "15kN," and "X001."
The Nemo is a small T–side eight. The ears are on the side where they provide a convenient place to loop the rope for tie-offs.
The Nemo is made for use with a specific 6 mm. rope, not general-purpose caving, climbing, or canyoneering ropes. I think 6 mm. rope is too small for a normal rappelling line, regardless of the material or construction, as it is too small to handle easily. I would be very reluctant to expose a small descender like this to sandy or muddy ropes, as the Nemo has little margin for rope abrasion. I've discarded carabiners after a single 13 m. rappel on muddy caving rope wore a deep groove. The Nemo would fare far worse, especially with a thinner cord to concentrate the wear.
Smaller ropes tend to result in faster rappels. When used on 6 mm. line, the Nemo with a single wrap does not have enough friction for me.
The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners, but is an improvement over the eye on the Nemo Fix.
The Nemo is not suited for my needs, and I will not be using it regularly.
[ Top | Eight Special | Nemo | NO.MAD | RopeX Guide 8 v. A | RopeX Guide 8 v. B | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired my AustriAlpin Nemo Fix AF09B-X-F from CanyonZone.com - Gertjan van Pelt in 2020.
The AustriAlpin Nemo Fix AF09B-X-F is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 102 mm. tall, 69 mm. wide, and 8 mm. thick. The rope hole is 30 mm. high and 34 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 8 mm. The shaft length and width are 20 mm. and 18 mm., respectively. The eye measures 14 mm. by 14 mm. The ears are 21.8 and 19.4 mm. long. My AustriaLpin Nemo Fix AF09B-X-F weighs 53 g.
One side is printed with "use with AustriAlpin CORE.DY only," "made in austria," a book-with-an-"i" icon, the AustriAlpin logo, "NEMO," "15kN," and "X001."
The Nemo Fix is another small T–side eight. The ears are on the side where they provide a convenient place to loop the rope for tie-offs.
The eye is small and there are many normal carabiners and maillons that will not fit through it. This is a fatal flaw, in my opinion. A tiny eye restricts versatility, and eliminates the option of using two carabiners for redundancy.
The eye has an annoying o-ring insert. In my mind, this is just a bad idea that won't go away.
Plan on dedicating a special carabiner if you want to use your Fix.
Canyoneering descender designers and users may love o-ring eyes, but I hate them. O-ring eyes increase cost without providing a corresponding benefit. I see too many disadvantages to the small o-ring eye design and no advantages.
You may disagree with me about o-ring eyes, I don't mind, but the undersize o-ring eye alone is sufficient for me to eliminate the Fix from serious consideration.
Like the Nemo, the Nemo Fix is made for use with a specific 6 mm. rope, not general-purpose caving, climbing, or canyoneering ropes. As I commented for the Nemo, I think 6 mm. rope is too small for a normal rappelling line. I have the same abrasion concerns for the Nemo Fix as I have for the Nemo, and I find that the Nemo Fix with a single wrap does not have enough friction for me.
The Nemo Fix is not suited for my needs, and I will not be using it regularly.
[ Top | Eight Special | Nemo | Nemo Fix | RopeX Guide 8 v. A | RopeX Guide 8 v. B | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired my AustriAlpin NO.MAD from Alpinsport Basis GmbH in 2015.
The AustriAlpin NO.MAD is milled from aluminum alloy and then hard anodized. Mine is 127 mm. tall, 89 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 45 mm. high and 40 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 44 mm. and 24 mm., respectively. The eye measures 14 mm. by 14 mm. and is lined with an o-ring that fits into a milled slot. The ears are 27.6 and 22.7 mm. long. My AustriAlpin NO.MAD weighs 106 g.
One side is stamped with "No.Mad," "35kN," and "▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪." The other side is stamped with a book-with-an-"i" icon, the AustriAlpin logo, "CE0592," "EN15151-2 UIAA," and "made in austria."
The AustriAlpin NO.MAD is an oddly-shaped example of a T–side eight. The ears are on the side where they provide a convenient place to loop the rope for tie-offs.
The eye is small and there are many normal carabiners and maillons that will not fit through it. This is a fatal flaw, in my opinion. A tiny eye restricts versatility, and eliminates the option of using two carabiners for redundancy.
The eye has an annoying o-ring insert. In my mind, this is just a bad idea that won't go away.
Plan on dedicating a special carabiner if you want to use your NO.MAD.
Canyoneering descender designers and users may love o-ring eyes, but I hate them. O-ring eyes increase cost without providing a corresponding benefit. I see too many disadvantages to the small o-ring eye design and no advantages.
You may disagree with me about o-ring eyes, I don't mind, but the undersize o-ring eye alone is sufficient for me to eliminate the NO.MAD from serious consideration.
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[ Top | Eight Special | Nemo | Nemo Fix | NO.MAD | RopeX Guide 8 v. B | Return to Figure Eights ]
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| Front | Rear |
I acquired my AustriAlpin RopeX Guide 8, Version A from CanyonZone.com - Gertjan van Pelt in 2020.
This eight is milled from aluminum alloy plate and then soft anodized. Mine is 128 mm. tall, 129 mm. wide, and 12 mm. thick. The rope hole is 58 mm. high and 58 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 12 mm. The shaft length and width are 24 mm. and 30 mm., respectively. The eye measures 22 mm. by 30 mm. The ears are 35.4 and 39.4 mm. long. My AustriAlpin RopeX Guide 8 weighs 179 g.
One side is printed with "made in austria," "30 kN," "EN15151-2," "UIAA," " 8,9 - 11 mm," "½∞ 7,8 - 9 mm," a book-with-an-"i" icon, "CE0511," a rigging illustration, "00001," the AustriAlpin logo, and "RopeX."
The AustriAlpin RopeX Guide 8 is an oddly-shaped example of a T–side eight developed by Mark Dacosta and Axel Manz for canyoneering and rope rescue. The shape closely resembles one of the the older Krok eights, but the idea of having twice as many T-sides is even older (for example, see the various Mizo Jet Man eights).
The second pair of horns provides an additions tie-off point, and it also facilitates providing extra friction on double rope rappels. It also makes for a rather large eight, and the extra ears get in the way at times.
[ Top | Eight Special | Nemo | Nemo Fix | NO.MAD | RopeX Guide 8 v. A | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired my AustriAlpin RopeX Guide 8, Version B from CanyonZone.com - Gertjan van Pelt in 2021.
This eight is milled from aluminum alloy plate and then hard anodized. Mine is 128 mm. tall, 129 mm. wide, and 12 mm. thick. The rope hole is 58 mm. high and 58 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 12 mm. The shaft length and width are 24 mm. and 30 mm., respectively. The eye measures 22 mm. by 30 mm. The ears are 35.4 and 39.4 mm. long. My AustriAlpin RopeX Guide 8, Version B weighs 183 g.
One side is printed with " 8,9 - 11 mm," "½∞ 7,8 - 9 mm," and a rigging illustration. That side is stamped with "RopeX," "30 kN, and "▪. ▪▪▪▪▪ ▪" (I have no idea what this sequence of squares means). The other side is stamped with a book-with-an-"i" icon, "CE0511," the AustriAlpin logo, "EN15151-2," "UIAA," and "made in austria,"
The hard anodizing on Version B will help this eight wear longer.
[ Top | Eight Special | Nemo | Nemo Fix | NO.MAD | RopeX Guide 8 v. A | RopeX Guide 8 v. B ]
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