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I Climb (元鴻興有限公司) #633
I Climb (元鴻興有限公司) #648
I Climb (元鴻興有限公司) #649
I Climb (元鴻興有限公司) #650B
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Yuan Hong Hing Co., Ltd. (元鴻興有限公司) is an ISO-certified Taiwanese firm. Their products' CE certifications are legitimate. The company did hot forging for Omega Pacific before Omega Pacific shut down. I Climb Safety is the brand name that Yuan Hong Hing Co. uses to appeal to Western markets.
[ Top | #648 | #649 | #650B | Return to Figure Eights ]
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Kevin M. Mai ZhongJie helped me acquire this eight from I Climb in 2023.
The I Climb #633 is forged from 6061 aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 170 mm. tall, 170 mm. wide, and 16 mm. thick. The rope hole is 65 mm. high and 71 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 14 mm. The shaft length and width are 47 mm. and 41 mm., respectively. The auxiliary hole is 32.3 mm. high and 16.2 mm. wide. The eye measures 35 mm. by 40 mm. The ears are 35.6 mm. long. My I Climb #633 weighs 265 g.
Both sides are printed with a rigging icon, "9-16mm," "40kN," "iclimb®" and "Made in Taiwan." The rear is also printed with "CE 2208" and "EN15151-2."
The I Climb #633 is one of the following family of nearly identical forged aluminum rescue eights with ears:
Some of these eights are made in Europe, and some in Asia. Some are rebranded eights made by one manufacturer for others.
Each of these eights is 170±1 mm. tall and 170±2 mm. wide. Their weights fall in the 269±20 g. range. Although similar, these eights are not identical, and close inspection will reveal some minor differences in their shapes. Thickness variations account for much of the wide weight range. None of these affect their performance to any noticeable degree.
The Climbing Technology Ltd. eight is similar, but the ears are shaped differently. The Climb Right, Version B has a similar design, but it is a milled eight and is significantly smaller. There are several Kong steel eights that also have similar designs, some about the same size as the Kong Big "8" (805.06) in the table, some smaller.
The eyes and ears on these eights are larger than they need to be for most uses. The belay slot is a reasonable size for a Sticht slot, and insetting part of the slot into the useless portion of the upper rope hole reduces the length of the eight.
Like all rescue eights, these are too large and too heavy for an individual-use eight, and I see no reason to choose them in normal caving or climbing applications. I don't interfere with natural selection, not wanting to deal with the politics, but I question whether these are really the best option for rescue applications. They can be used, but there are smaller and lighter devices that will work better for anything I'm likely to do. The bigger-is-better crowd seems to like them, but I don't rappel on battleship mooring hawsers and I have no need for these.
[ Top | #633 | #649 | #650B | Return to Figure Eights ]
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| Front | Rear |
Kevin M. Mai ZhongJie helped me acquire this eight from I Climb in 2023.
The I Climb #648 is forged from 6061 aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 139 mm. tall, 99 mm. wide, and 11 mm. thick. The rope hole is 43 mm. high and 43 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 11 mm. The shaft length and width are 53 mm. and 28 mm., respectively. The auxiliary hole is 35.8 mm. high and 12.8 mm. wide. The eye measures 14 mm. by 14 mm. The ears are 39.8 and 34.3 mm. long. My I Climb #648 weighs 133 g.
Both sides are printed with "iclimb®," "Made in Taiwan," "MBS 35kN." "Ø 8-11mm," and a book-with-an-"i" icon.
The I Climb falls into my miscellaneous figure eights with ears category.
The I Climb #648 is a canyoneering descender based on the CRITR family. The #648 is hot forged while the CRITR family members are milled from plate. There are minor shape differences, the most notable being the round rope hole. This has no particular advantage or disadvantage that I am aware of. Like the other members of the CRITR family, the #648 rope hole is shorter than normal, so it may provide too much friction on stiff or muddy ropes.
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 I Climb #648.
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 I Climb #648 from serious consideration.
[ Top | #633 | #648 | #650B | Return to Figure Eights ]
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| Front | Rear |
Kevin M. Mai ZhongJie helped me acquire this eight from I Climb in 2023.
The I Climb #649 is hot forged from 6061 aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 146 mm. tall, 93 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The rope hole is 35 mm. high and 53 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 54 mm. and 27 mm., respectively. The auxiliary hole is 38.1 mm. high and 13.1 mm. wide. The eye measures 14 mm. by 14 mm. The ears are 25 and 31.2 mm. long. My I Climb #649 weighs 141 g.
Both sides have "MADE IN TAIWAN," "iClimb," and "MBS 30kN" in forged letters.
The I Climb #649 falls into my miscellaneous figure eights with ears category.
The I Climb #649 is a based on the CMI El Diablo. The upper and lower horns facilitate tying off, while the middle horns are in the right place to prevent inadvertent lock-offs. The #648 is hot forged while the El Diablo is milled from plate. There are some minor shape differences between the two descenders. Some. like the shape of straight slot on the #649 vs. the hourglass slot on the El Diablo don't matter, but the slot on the #649 is longer and better-suited for belaying. On the other hand, I still prefer the CMI El Diablo because of its superior eye.
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 I Climb #649.
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 I Climb #649 from serious consideration.
[ Top | #633 | #648 | #649 | Return to Figure Eights ]
|
|
 |
| Front | Rear |
Kevin M. Mai ZhongJie helped me acquire this eight from I Climb in 2023.
The I Climb #650B is hot forged from 6061 aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 110 mm. tall, 79 mm. wide, and 12 mm. thick. The rope hole is 50 mm. high and 50 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 12 mm. The shaft length and width are 25 mm. and 21 mm., respectively. The eye measures 14 mm. by 14 mm. The ears are 23.1 mm. long. My I Climb #650B weighs 110 g.
One side has "iClimb" in recessed forged letters, and the other side has "25kN" in similar characters.
The I Climb #650B also falls into my miscellaneous figure eights with ears category.
The I Climb #650B resembles the Petzl Pirana Club, which is perhaps the least useful member of the Pirana family. The round rope hole on the #650B replaces the asymmetrical hole on the Club. Without the top ear of the earlier Piranas, the lower ears, now little more than a straight bar, seem to be left with no real purpose or meaningful reason for existence.
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 I Climb #650B.
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 I Climb #650B from serious consideration.
[ Top | #633 | #648 | #649 | #650B ]
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