Front View	Rear View	Left Side View	Right Side View

Front View: Open for Rigging	Rear View: Open for Rigging

Technical Details

I acquired my Orion-Alp (Орион-Альп) from Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) in 2020, although it took 2½ months to clear U.S. customs and did not arrive until February 2021.

My Orion-Alp (Орион-Альп) is 216 mm. tall, 59 mm. wide, 32 mm. thick, and weighs 352 g.

The two side plates are made of 3 mm. aluminum, painted blue. One side plate pivots to allow threading the rope. The lower ends of the side plates are bent to converge at the attachment point, which consists of a 14 mm. wide, 30 mm. high hole on the fixed plate and a slot on the other. Neither of the attachment points are beveled. The upper portion of the slot is covered by a stamped metal gate. The gate pivots on a steel rivet, and a spring set in a deep slot closes the gate.

The lower bollard is part of an autostop assembly. It is a skeletonized stainless steel casting with internal reinforcing ribs and an integral cam. The lower surface of this bollard has an 9 mm. wide, 2.4 mm. deep U-shaped rope groove. The upper surface is flat. An aluminum handle is attached to the fixed side plate side of the lower bollard with two 5 mm. countersunk machine screws. The handle is painted red. The lower bollard and handle assembly rotate on a bushing on the 7 mm. lower bolt. A concealed spring is strong enough to keep the handle in the disengaged position, but is weak enough to function only during storage. Friction from the main rope’s passage tends to turn the lower bollard and force the cam towards the upper bollard, thus locking the rope and ideally arresting the descent. The rappeller uses the handle to keep the autostop feature disengaged. The handle limits the motion by hitting the fixed plate before the lower bollard cam nose contacts the upper bollard.

The upper bollard is turned aluminum with a milled slot to keep it from rotating on the fixed side plate. The bollard is bolted to the fixed side plate with a 7 mm. bolt and a shoulder nut. The pivoting side plate pivots on the lower bolt and has a slot to allow clearing the upper nut. The upper bollard has a narrow 8.0 mm. wide, 4.0 mm. deep U-shaped rope groove. The upper bollard is cut away on its lower side to provide a flat surface to act as an anvil for the cam action of the autostop feature. A 10 mm. stainless steel wear pin is pressed into the lower surface.

The pivoting plate is printed with "Орион-Альп," "СУ Десантер," "oa 0101," "Max. 150 кг," and "Ø 10-11мм."

Comments

This is a reasonably well-made descender, but I dislike the painted side plates. I find that paint on a descender invariably wears off, leaving a mess on the rope.

I find the autostop feature to be almost secure, really no worse than most bobbins. It will hold me in position, but I would not count on it stopping an out-of-control rappel any more than I would trust one of the other brands.

The Orion-Alp has so many similarities to the Венто that I feel confident that they have a common origin.