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Version A
Steel Combo
Steel Horned
Two-Horned Steel
Version B
Hummingbird
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| Version A | Steel Combo | Steel Horned |
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| Two-Horned Steel | Version B | Hummingbird |
[ Top | Steel Combo | Steel Horned | Two-Horned Steel | Version B | Hummingbird | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight from Serguei Khramtsov of Ural Sport in 2004. This is not a Ural Sport product, but Serguei made a special shopping trip through Yekaterinburg for me.
This eight is milled from steel and then painted. It is 147 mm. tall, 125 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 80 mm. high and 80 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 25 mm. and 29 mm., respectively. The eye measures 20 mm. by 20 mm. The ears are 42.1 and 42.1 mm. long. This eight weighs 330 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
This eight appears to be milled from steel, although it might be built up from steel rod cut, bent and welded together: a speckled paint covers the construction. I dislike the painted finish, since this will simply wear off, leaving a mess on the rope. The steel construction adds weight that I find unnecessary. The rope hole is quite large, perhaps unnecessarily so, but the eye is too small: it will admit only one carabiner. The shaft is long enough to keep the rope from running over the carabiner. The side horns are large enough to allow reliable tie-offs.
I classified this one as a T–side eight. It is similar to the Steel Combo (paint and markings differ) and to the NH Eight.
[ Top | Version A | Steel Horned | Two-Horned Steel | Version B | Hummingbird | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I had Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) order this eight from Orion-Alp (Орион-Альп) for me in 2021.
The Orion-Alp Steel Combo (Орион-Альп Восьмёрка Стальная Комбо) is forged from steel and then painted. Mine is 149 mm. tall, 126 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 80 mm. high and 81 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 25 mm. and 29 mm., respectively. The eye measures 20 mm. by 20 mm. The ears are 41.6 and 42.5 mm. long. My Combo weighs 329 g.
One side is printed with "Орион-Альп", "оа 0103 Мах. 10 КN," and "8-12MM."
This is another example of a T–side eight. It is similar to Version A (paint and markings differ) and identical (except for markings) to the NH Eight.
I dislike the painted finish, since this will simply wear off, leaving a mess on the rope. The steel construction adds weight that I find unnecessary. The rope hole is quite large, perhaps unnecessarily so, but the eye is too small: it will admit only one standard carabiner. The shaft is long enough to keep the rope from running over the carabiner. The side horns are large enough to allow reliable tie-offs.
[ Top | Version A | Steel Combo | Two-Horned Steel | Version B | Hummingbird | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I had Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) order this eight from Orion-Alp (Орион-Альп) for me in 2021.
The Orion-Alp Steel Horned Eight (Орион-Альп Восьмёрка Стальная Рогатая) is forged from steel and then painted. Mine is 162 mm. tall, 120 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 70 mm. high and 70 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 27 mm. and 42 mm., respectively. The eye measures 35 mm. by 35 mm. The ears are 37.8 and 38.5 mm. long. My Steel Horned Eight weighs 427 g.
One side is printed with "Орион-Альп", "оа 0104 Мах. 20 КN," and "Ø 8-12MM."
This is another example of a T–side eight.
The rope hole is quite large, perhaps unnecessarily so. The shaft is long enough to keep the rope from running over the carabiner. The side horns are large enough to allow reliable tie-offs.
The steel construction adds weight that I find unnecessary. Eights are inexpensive and I'll gladly replace aluminum eights more often to save weight over steel eights of the same size.
I dislike the painted finish, since this will simply wear off, leaving a mess on the rope.
[ Top | Version A | Steel Combo | Steel Horned | Version B | Hummingbird | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I had Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) order this eight from Orion-Alp (Орион-Альп) for me in 2021.
The Orion-Alp Two-Horned Steel Eight (Орион-Альп Восьмёрка Стальная Двурогая) is forged from steel and then painted. Mine is 127 mm. tall, 136 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 61 mm. high and 61 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 20 mm. and 35 mm., respectively. The eye measures 20 mm. by 20 mm. The ears are 35.6 and 36.1 mm. long. My Two-Horned Steel Eight weighs 419 g.
One side is printed with "Орион-Альп", "оа 0105 Мах. 20 КN," and "Ø 8-12MM."
This is another example of a T–side eight, but with double T-sides.
This eight is too heavy for my taste. I dislike the painted finish, since this will simply wear off, leaving a mess on the rope.
The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners.
The second horn provides an additional tie-off point, and it also facilitates providing extra friction on double rope rappels.
[ Top | Version A | Steel Combo | Steel Horned | Two-Horned Steel | Hummingbird | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I acquired this eight from Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) in 2024.
This eight is machined from aluminum alloy plate. It is 140 mm. tall, 111 mm. wide, and 11 mm. thick. The rope hole is 58 mm. high and 58 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 13 mm. and 44 mm., respectively. The eye measures 18 mm. by 18 mm. The ears are 40.6 and 41.7 mm. long. Thius eight weighs 148 g.
One side is stamped with the Orion-Alp logo.
This is another T–side eight. Indentations near the neck of the neck of the "T" suggest that this was made using manual machinery rather than a CNC mill.
[ Top | Version A | Steel Combo | Steel Horned | Two-Horned Steel | Version B | Return to Figure Eights ]
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I had Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) order this eight from Orion-Alp (Орион-Альп) for me in 2021.
The Orion-Alp Hummingbird (Орион-Альп Колибри) is milled from aluminum alloy plate and then painted. Mine is 111 mm. tall, 90 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 47 mm. high and 45 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 11 mm. and 34 mm., respectively. The eye measures 23 mm. by 14 mm. The ears are 25.8 and 40.7 mm. long. My Hummingbird weighs 107 g.
One side has a peeling sticker with the Orion-Alp logo.
The Hummingbird is a miscellaneous figure eight with ears that is shaped like the Petzl Pirana, but is milled rather than forged. It lacks the obnoxious eye liner of the Pirana, so you will not need to dedicate a carabiner to the Hummingbird.
I dislike the painted finish, since this will simply wear off, leaving a mess on the rope.
[ Top | Version A | Steel Combo | Steel Horned | Two-Horned Steel | Version B | Hummingbird ]
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