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Technical Details

I acquired my first PMI PED from On Rope 1 at the 1998 Speleofest. I acquired three more from Legit Kit in 2024.

My PMI PED is 75 mm. tall, 41 mm. wide, 13 mm. thick, and weighs 44 g.

My PMI PEDs are physicaly identical but have different printed markings. My original PMI PED had "PMI" printed on one side. The three that I acquired in 2024 have the PMI feather logo, "PMI," the UL Classified logo and "74F9" printed on one side and "MEETS NFPA – E," "1983(06 ED.) 7768," and "MBS 13.5 kN Ø7.5-9.0" printed on the other.

Comments

The PMI PED is a personal escape device designed for emergency use. The PED must be pre-rigged on the rope, which means that the user must either know exactly how far from the rigging point to rig it, or spend time positioning it before use. This is fine for the inexperienced, but a skilled user would probably prefer to use something else (e.g., a Munter hitch weighs less and is more flexible). I find the PED marginally adequate for emergency use, but not as a preferred descender for normal use.

My original PED came without instructions. Rumor said that it is designed for 8 mm. rope, but without instructions, I could confirm this. The three that I acquired in 2024 came with instructions that clarified the matter as follows:

"The PMI PED is especialy designed to work with PMI 7.5mm Escape Ropes (yellow PER-1 Nylon rope and gold Technora Element). The PMI PED will function with ropes up to 9 mm, but performance will vary dependent on rope type and size as well as the user's weight."