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The Sterling F-series descenders are covered by U.S. Patent # 8,376,081 issued in 2013. The patent was reissued in 2015 as U. S. Reisued Patent #RE45678E. I presume that this was to correct a minor error.
Both the original patent and the reissued version cited the 2002 January 13 version of this websites Single Rope Technique Equipment Whaletails page.
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I acquired this Sterling F3 from J. Reynolds in 2022.
My Sterling F3 is 136 mm. tall, 44 mm. wide, 23 mm. thick, and weighs 136 g. It consists of a body and a control lever held together by a rivet that serves as an axle for the lever arm. The body is milled from aluminum alloy and then anodized. The body is 111 mm. tall, 25 mm. wide and 18 mm. thick. It has four well-rounded 8 mm. rope holes and a 6.4mm. slot for the control lever. The lever is cut from 6 mm. aluminum alloy plate. It has a 16 mm. eye, an 8 mm. rope hole, and a small accessory hole at the end.
The right side of the body is printed with "U.S.A. | LOT# 18177M0020," "U.S. PATENT No. 8,376,081;8,616,333," a book-with-an-"i" icon, "See Instructions-Requires Training!," a rigging illustration labeled "HAND" to the left (bottom) and "anchor" to the right (top), "Use With Approved Rope Only," the Sterling logo, "STERLING®," and "F3."The side of the control lever is printed "MBS 13.5 kN."
The F3 is an emergency descender designed for use on Sterling's 6 mm. Technora. It will not work on ropes the size of those most commonly used caving.
Rigging the F3 requires having one end of the rope available. For an emergency descender that would be pre-rigged, this is reasonable, and that is the scenario that Sterling designed it for. Users rappelling where rigging and derigging the descender is necessary should avoid choosing any of the devices on this pate.
The F3 is engineered with a double-action lever to give a brake assist in the event of a panic grab. The auto-brake feature was designed to allow for a fast and hands-free exit from structures. I am not a fan of double-breaks, generally disliking them for a variety of reasons, but Sterling's work well.
[ Top | F3 | FCX | Return to Misc. Descenders ]
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| Left Side View | Right Side View | Front View Showing Mechanism |
The Sterling Rope Company donated my Sterling F4 to me in 2009, with Rescue Response Gear handling the transaction.
The Sterling F4 is 144 mm. tall, 45 mm. wide, 22 mm. thick, and weighs 172 g. It consists of a body and a control lever held together by a semi-tubular rivet that serves as an axle for the lever arm. The body is milled from aluminum alloy and then anodized. The body is 124 mm. tall, 32 mm. wide and 19 mm. thick. It has four well-rounded 12.7 mm. rope holes and a 6.7 mm. slot for the control lever. The lever is cut from 6.5 mm. aluminum alloy plate. It has a 19 mm. eye, a 12.7 mm. rope hole, and a small accessory hole at the end.
The right side of the body is printed with "STERLING ROPE-F4-0903," "See Instructions-Requires Training!!," a rigging icon labeled "Hand" and "Anchor," "MEETS NFPA 1983 (06 ED) E," "Ø7.5-9 mm Approved Rope only 1NF3," and "Pat. Pend." The side of the control lever is printed "MBS 13.5kN."
The F4 is an emergency descender that would normally be used on thinner ropes than cavers and climbers might normally use. The Sterling Rope Company donated two test ropes to me, and with the proper rope, the F4 works fine. On 11 mm. PMI pit rope, I don't move. Try the F4 on your rope under your typical conditions before relying on it.
Rigging the F4 requires having one end of the rope available. For an emergency descender that would be pre-rigged, this is reasonable, and that is the scenario that Sterling designed it for. Users rappelling where rigging and derigging the descender is necessary should avoid choosing any of the devices on this pate.
The design is clever. The eye is slightly offset from the line of rope holes, so under load, this pulls the handle open. The user needs to squeeze the handle to descend. On a long drop, this can be tiring, but when trying to get out of the lower floor of a burning building, the effort is reasonable and acceptable.
[ Top | F3 | FCX | Return to Misc. Descenders ]
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| Front View | Rear View |
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| Left Side View | Right Side View | Front View Showing Mechanism |
I acquired my Sterling FCX from Rock N Rescue at Amazon.com in 2021.
The Sterling FCX is 142 mm. tall, 71 mm. wide, 25 mm. thick, and weighs 218 g. It consists of a body, brake plate, and control lever. The body is milled from aluminum alloy and then anodized. The body is 123 mm. tall, 33 mm. wide and 25 mm. thick. It has three well-rounded 10.9 mm. rope holes and a 6.5 mm. slot for the brake plate.
The brake plate is made from 6 mm. aluminum alloy plate and anodized black. It attaches to the body with a rivet that allows the plate to pivot. It has a 10.8 mm rope hole that aligns with the lower body hole when the plate is closed, and a 19 mm. eye.
The lever is milled from aluminum alloy. It is 124 mm. long. It is attached to the brake plate with a rivet that allows lever rotation. A spring acts to close the lever against the body, where a detent on the lever and a projection on the body act to hold the lever closed when not in use.
The left side of the body is printed with an up-pointing arrow labeled "ANCHOR," the UL "CLASSIFIED" logo, "1NF3," a book-with-an-"i" icon, "7.5-8 mm approved rope only," "MEETS NFPA 1983 (2017 ed) E," "MBS 13.5 kN," "LOT # 20091M0002," "U.S.A.," and "U.S. PATENT." The outside of the lever is printed with the sterling logo, "STERLING®," a vertical bar, and "FCX®."
The FCX is another emergency descender that would normally be used on thinner ropes than cavers and climbers might normally use. Using the two test ropes the Sterling Rope Company donated to me for use with my F4, the FCX works fine. On 11 mm. PMI pit rope, I don't move. Try the FCX on your rope under your typical conditions before relying on it.
The design is an improvement on the already-clever F4. The eye is slightly offset from the line of rope holes, so under load, this pulls the handle closed. The user needs to pull the handle downward to descend. On a long drop, this can be tiring, but not to the extent that squeezing the F4 handle can be. When trying to get out of the lower floor of a burning building, the effort is reasonable and acceptable.
Rigging the FCX requires having one end of the rope available. For an emergency descender that would be pre-rigged, this is reasonable, and that is the scenario that Sterling designed it for. Users rappelling where rigging and derigging the descender is necessary should avoid choosing any of the devices on this pate.
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