Side	Front	Rear

Open for Rigging

Technical Details

I acquired my American Rescue Systems from John E. Weinel, Inc. in 1989.

My American Rescue Systems is 323 mm. tall, 82 mm. wide, 51 mm. thick, and weighs 1471 g. The central rib is 13 mm. aluminum with five aluminum bollards bolted to each side with 3/8-inch (9.7 mm. ) Allen bolts. The top of the rib is cut into a T-shape to provide a point for tying off. The side pieces are steel, and pivot at the top bollard. The bollards are 25.4 mm. diameter and 19.3 mm. long.

One side of the central rib is printed with "AMERICAN RESCUE SYSTEMS," "ZEPHYR COVE, NV," and "PAT.PENDING."

Comments

The American Rescue Systems descender is solid, well made, and very heavy. When closed, the grooves in the side plates engage the knob at the bottom to prevent lateral motion. The carabiner passes through both side plates and the central rib, so the rope cannot be removed under load. This also means that the friction cannot be changed under load; however, with this arrangement, opening the side plates under load would allow the rope to fall out.

This device is well-suited for lowering heavy loads, but is too heavy to be considered as a personal descender.