Collection Home
|
|
 |
 |
| Front View | Rear View | Side View |
 |
 |
| Front View: Open for Rigging | Rear View: Open for Rigging |
I acquired my Belay Stop from Single Rope Technique Equipment in October 1999.
The Belay Stop consists of three bollards. The top and bottom bollard are mounted between two fixed plates, while the third is mounted on swinging plate. The pivot that serves as an attachment post. An adjustment screw assembly helps vary the friction in the device.
Each fixed plate is an irregular piece of gold anodized 4 mm aluminum. The plates are 167 mm. high with curved top and sides. The top half of each plate is about 67 mm. wide at the top, increases to 79 mm. about 50 mm. down, then the plates taper to join a 17 mm. diameter circular arc at the bottom. Both plates have a shallow notch at the top right (facing the front of the device) to help hold the rope while tying off. The rear plate has two smaller plates attached to house a spring-loaded catch. The fixed plates are attached to a 13 mm. diameter steel attachment post at the center of the bottom circular arc. The fixed plates are rigidly riveted to the post. The top and bottom rope bollards are also riveted between the fixed plates. There is also a flattened 11.5 mm. steel bar riveted between the plates at the level of the top bollard. The inside separation of the front and rear plates is about 21 mm.
An irregular swinging plate is hinged to the attachment post. The middle bollard is mounted on this plate. The rivet is extended on the rear side of the swinging plate so that the spring-loaded catch can engage and keep the device closed. The end of the catch spring tends to open the swinging plate. Each end of this rivet has a washer that extends over the sides of the corresponding notches in the fixed plates. A small aluminum block is bolted to the upper left inside of the plate. A 9.5 mm. threaded rod (with about 7 left-hand threads per centimeter) passes through this plate and presses against the fixed bar. A cross piece is pinned to the other end of the rod, making it much like a wing nut. Mine is red, indicating that it is designed for ropes up to 12 mm. in diameter.
The bollards are made of stainless steel. The bollards are riveted to the appropriate plate and pinned so they cannot rotate. Each rope bollard has a groove that fits into a corresponding notch in the appropriate plate (i.e., the fixed bollards have a notch to clear the swinging plate and vice versa). The bollards are 16 mm. wide, excluding the notch. All three bollards appear to be identical. The bollard diameter is 28 mm. in the center, and widens to 32 mm. about 1 mm. from the edge, then remains constant. The three bollards are mounted 112 mm., 72 mm. and 47 mm. from the center of the pivot point. When the rope is inserted, this asymmetrical arrangement ensures that the rope is pinched between the center and bottom bollards only.
The front piece is covered with stampings, including
The safety catch has an arrow and the word "OPEN" to assist the intellectually challenged.
Like all Single Rope Technique Equipment, the Belay Stop is
well made, rugged, strong, and a bit heavy.
The red key indicates that my Belay Stop was designed for ropes up to 12 mm. in diameter. There is a green key version for larger ropes. I assume that there is some more significant difference than the color of the wing nut (perhaps the length of the rod, but more likely, the diameter of the middle bollard, as on the Two Way Stop versions), although I don't see any immediate reason why mine wouldn't work on 13 mm. rope (except using a rope that large caving or climbing would be absurd). I haven't had the chance to thoroughly test the Belay Stop, so I can't say how it performs with different ropes and under various conditions of mud and water. What I have tested is its performance on clean, dry 11 mm. PMI pit rope, a rather stiff caving rope, on short drops. In these limited tests it has performed very well. When the rod is unscrewed, there is enough friction to hold me in place. As the rod is tightened, the friction is gradually reduced. The transition is slow enough that it is easy to maintain control with the braking hand. The rod turns easily, without any sensation of having to force it. This was to be expected - but only because I tried the Troll (USA) Alp first.
Getting used to the left-hand thread was easy because I’d already gotten used to the Troll (USA) Alp, which works the same way. Both devices are designed for the traditional right-handed user who brakes with their right hand at the right hip. Although I'm right-handed, I prefer to brake left-handed, so I’d rather have a mirror-image version, although this hardly is significant enough to be worth worrying about.
One should understand that part of the friction is obtained by squeezing the rope between the center and bottom bollard. As one turns the rod counter-clockwise, it forces the swinging plate in the direction that separates the center and lower bollard, reducing the rope squeezing action. The friction decreases accordingly. This process only continues until there is no more squeezing. After that, there is very little change in friction. This is rather obvious, because there is no large change in the snubbing angle once the bollards are separated. The practical effect is that if one starts a rappel with the rod screwed in and finds out that the friction is insufficient, it will take many turns before the friction is significantly increased. One should always start with the rod unscrewed as far as practicable for the conditions.
The instruction sheet shows how to use the Belay Stop for belaying. I can't imagine using it as a belay device for caving. I just can't see feeding or taking rope in quickly with this device. For example, I ladder climb the 22-foot in Friars Hole in about 10 seconds or less. I doubt the belayer could keep up. The Belay Stop is too heavy to take climbing, although it might work for belaying aid leads. but none of this is fair - the Belay Stop is clearly intended for industrial use (although it is heavy enough to impress the bigger-is-better rescue crowd). The spring that pushes the swinging plate open (separating the bollards) helps keep the bollards from locking while rope is being taken in or paid out, but it is still not as easy as with many dedicated belay devices.
The instructions mention that the Belay Stop can be used as a descender as well. Personally, I think the manufacturer got it backward, because it is a much nicer descender than it is a belayer. I like using the Belay Stop as a descender, but can't imagine why anyone wouldn't buy Single Rope Technique Equipment’s Two Way Stop instead - the Two Way Stop sells for the same price, and has a few more features.
I have to compare the Belay Stop to Troll Allp. The two have a lot of similarities but they are designed for different people. The Troll Allp is light, compact, uses aluminum bollards, and is inexpensive. The Belay stop is heavy, larger, has stainless steel bollards that won't wear out, and costs more. If your application favors sacrificing ruggedness to save weight, choose the Troll Allp, but if weight is no object and you value relative indestructibility, the Belay Stop is more likely to be your choice.
The Belay Stop and the SRT Two Way Stop are both protected by U.S. Patent 6,029,777.
Boris Rogelja founded Single Rope Technique Equipment (SRTE) in 1980. Capital Safety Group acquired SRTE in 2011 and their devices started showing DBI-SALA, Capital Safety, and/or Rollgliss™ markings. 3M acquired the Capital Safety Group in 2015 and the Single Rope Technique Equipment markings disappeared.
 |
 |
For far more content, use a larger monitor and a full-width window.
Hundreds of cell phone users complained and asked me to for a simpler, mobile friendly site. In particular, they wanted me to limit each page to a small number of pictures and minimize my use of text. This new site provides what they asked for.