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Version A
Version B
Version 3.0
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| Version A | Version B | Version 3.0 |
[ Top | Version B | Version 3.0 | Return to Misc. Descenders ]
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| Front | Rear |
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| Left | Right | Open for Rigging |
Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) sent me this Owl (Сова) in 2022.
This version is 177 mm. tall, 101 mm. wide, 60 mm. thick, and weighs 875 g.
The Owl consists of a painted steel frame with two pivoting handled bollards and two swinging gates. The frame is made from a 2 mm. steel back plate bent forward at the bottom, and a 6 mm. steel central rib. The rear plate is reinforced by a 6 mm. steel plate at the top and a 2 mm. plate at the middle and bottom. The rib has a 14 mm. eye below the bend in the rear plate and an 11 mm auxiliary hole above. It also has a rounded-triangular opening below the eye.
The two handled bollards are mounted to the side of the central rib. The bollards are 12.6 mm. thick, not counting the attached handles. Each bollard has a rounded "V" shape with four rounded teeth on the upper portion of its inner surface (facing the central rib). They are each held in place by a cover plate and two 9 mm. rivets. The bollards pivot on the lower rivet, while slots in the bollard allow passage of the upper rivet, which limits the rotation of the bollards. The handles are 2 mm. steel. They are attached to the bollards at their upper end by hidden means. The lower portion bends rearward. It is covered by a rubbery hand grip terminating in a plastic grip.
Swinging gates are mounted on shoulder rivets above the bollards. These open to admit the rope for rigging, then close to secure it. Two spring-loaded pins (one per gate) mounted on two subtriangular blocks on the central rib hold the gate closed.
The front has a printed rigging illustration. The rear has printed curved arrows suggesting the proper rope path, "VZ®," "«СОВА»," "SWL 2.5 kN," "WLL 5.0 kN," "MBS 14 kN," "9 ≤ Ø ≤ 11," "канаты," and a book-with-an-"i" icon.
The Owl was created and manufactured by Valery Zavyalov (Валерий Завьялов). It was specifically designed for rope access workers who needed a double-rope descender that would allow them to position themselves laterally between two separated ropes.
Since the ropes' free ends drop over the back of the Owl, they do not follow the planer S-shaped path that I use to define a bobbin - but it is close. I could lump the Owl into the stop bobbin category if I stretch my defining criterion. The non-planer rope path will introduce some rope twist, but for the Owl's intended applications, this should not be a problem.
Made of steel and not aluminum, the Owl will wear well. At over 1 kg., it is also the heaviest stop bobbin in my collection, by far.
[ Top | Version A | Version 3.0 | Return to Misc. Descenders ]
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| Front | Rear |
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| Side | Open for Rigging |
Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) sent me this Owl (Сова) in 2022.
This version is 175 mm. tall, 101 mm. wide, 61 mm. thick, and weighs 866 g.
The swinging gates on this version have a different shape than the ones on Version A
The front has a printed rigging illustration. The rear has printed curved arrows suggesting the proper rope path, "MAX 100 M," "VZ®," "«СОВА»," "23.03 038," "Ø 9…11 канаты (класс A)," "SWL 3 kN," "MBS 15 kN," "EAC," "ТС ТР 019/2011," "ГОСТ EN 12841-2014/C," and a book-with-an-"i" icon.
The comments for Version A apply to this version as well.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Return to Misc. Descenders ]
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| Front | Rear |
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| Left | Right |
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| Left Side Open for Rigging | Right Side Open for Rigging |
I acquired my Owl 3.0 from Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) in 2024.
This version is 173 mm. tall, 89 mm. wide, 57 mm. thick, and weighs 892 g.
Version C introduced these changes:
The front has four hollow arrow, "ВНИЗ" ("DOWN"), and "ВВЕРХ" (UP) printed on each gate. The rear has printed curved arrows suggesting the proper rope path, "VZ®," "«СОВА 3.0»," "Ø 9…12 канаты (ТИП A)," "SWL 3 kN," "MBS 15 kN," "24.09 022," a book-with-an-"i" icon, "MAX 100 M," and two hollow down-pointing arrows.
The front gates each open about 90°. They can be opened simultaneously, but they interfere so the total opening is limited to about 90°. For example, opening the left side 60° limits the right side to 30°. I don't find this to be an issue. Open one side, put that rope in (or take it out), close it, and repeat for the other side.
The swivel eye and pivot let the Owl 3.0 move around with respect to the user. I don't think this is necessary; I actually find it mildly annoying, but that is just my personal preference. The swivel is held in by two small plates and two 5 mm. machine screws. If these came loose, the result could be non-habit-forming. I prefer the simpler fixed eyes of the earlier versions.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version 3.0 ]
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