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Technical
DataI acquired my Hewbolt HS10 from the manufacturer in 2002.
The body of the Hewbolt is machined from a block of 139 mm long, 49 mm high, and 36 mm wide aluminum. One side is cut down, leaving a small pentagonal raised area to support the stainless steel rod to be mentioned later. Most of the center is cut away. leaving a wall thickness of about 4.6 mm throughout. One end is square, the other has a projecting lip that helps release the device under load. A 32.4 mm by 28.8 mm cutout in each side provides a clip-in point near the lip end of the device. At the other end, a 12.5 mm stainless steel rod passes laterally. A bolt with a knurled knob head is threaded through the rod and fits into a hole in the frame, securing the rod in place.
The side of the the device is marked with "Hewbolt", "Single", "10-11 mm," "Pat Pend.", "WARNING: PROPER TRAINING REQUIRED BEFORE USE, a diagram of how to use the device, and the "reading is dangerous" icon."
The Hewbolts are protected by U.S. Patent 6,561,31. The patent was issued in 2003, a year after I received my Hewbolts.
The Hewbolt's workmanship is excellent. Its unusual design may invoke some initial distrust, but if you think of it as a very deep tuber, you'll realize that it should work - and it does. On the other hand, it requires an HMS carabiner, and one that is not so large that the Hewbolt can "swing through."
Never use the Hewbolt
with anything except a properly-sized HMS carabiner.
When used for rappel,
the Hewbolt tries to lock off, so the rappeller will need to use
one hand to release it by pressing down on the Hewbolt's body.
The Hewbolt is a bit large for my taste. If the excess size provided better heat dissipation on rappel, I might accept it, but most of the heat is concentrated on a stainless steel rod. This is a device that I might use at my local drive-up crag, but I wouldn't haul it into the wilderness.
The inventors are Michael Hewlett and Kristopher Boldt, which explains the device's name.
[ Top | HS10 Single | Return to Misc. Belay ]
This is the double rope Version, which I acquired from the manufacturer at the same time I acquired my HS10. The HD10's total width is 49 mm, and it is marked "Double" instead of "Single.
[ Top | HS10 Single | HD10 Double ]
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©2007, Gary D. Storrick