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I acquired my BlueWater AirBrake, Version A from Exkursion in 1995.
The BlueWater AirBrake, Version A is forged from aluminum alloy. Mine is 55 mm. long, 48 mm. wide, 19 mm. high, and weighs 48 g. The slots are 34 mm. long and 13 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 11 mm. below the ends of the slots. The AirBrake came with a stiff cord keeper.
The top of the AirBrake, Version A has a raised BlueWater logo.
Blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah.
Actually, that's what the instructions said, probably to see if anyone was awake. Its good to see that Bluewater has a sense of humor.
The Airbrake has thick walls where the rope runs, which is good because unfinished aluminum wears quickly. It uses a stiff cord for a keeper, so it is easily replaced if it would break. The cord is more likely (i.e., guaranteed) to get tangled with the belay rope if the user is not careful. When this happens, it will be destroyed. Even though the cord was stiff to begin with, I wrapped mine with adhesive tape to stiffen it and help keep it out of the way.
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I acquired my BlueWater AirBrake, Version B from Dan MacKinnon in 2007.
The BlueWater AirBrake, Version B is is forged from aluminum alloy and then hard anodized. Mine is 55 mm. long, 48 mm. wide, 19 mm. high, and weighs 46 g. The slots are 33 mm. long and 13 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 11 mm. below the ends of the slots. The AirBrake came with a stiff cord keeper.
The top of the AirBrake, Version B has a raised BlueWater logo.
Version B should wear better than Version A.
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©2007, Gary D. Storrick