Bonaiti became Kong-Bonaiti which became Kong, of the Bonaiti group. This may not be exactly how the legal structure went, but it reflects the chronology I saw for US sales.
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I acquired my Kong Kisa 1982.
The Kong-Bonaiti Kisa is forged from aluminum alloy. Mine is 106.9 mm long, 44.2 mm wide and 9.1 thick. It has five 11.8 mm and one 9.8 mm hole for the sliding rope, and a 23.8 mm diameter eye.
One side is stamped with "USE ROPE", "ø11" with an arrow pointing to the lower 11.8-mm hole, "ø9" with an arrow pointing to the smallest hole, and "KONG-BONAITI-ITALY."
I've read that Kisa stands for Kong Impact Shock Absorber. That is a nice story, but Kong is an Italian company, and I would expect an Italian name.
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I acquired my Kong-Bonaiti Kisa from The Outdoor Store in 2007.
The Kong Kisa is forged from aluminum alloy and then hard anodized. Mine is 104.6 mm long, 48.6 mm wide and 9.1 thick. It has five 11.4 mm and one 9.2 mm hole for the sliding rope. The eye is shaped like a toppled pear, and is 21.2 mm high by 32.7 mm wide.
One side is etched with two rigging diagrams (one labeled "Ø11" and the other "Ø9"), the Kong logo, and "060085 06."
The design of the Kisa did not change for many years. I finally decided to buy an anodized one in early 2006. I did not know that they changed the design until I received this one: both The Outdoor Store's web site and the Kong instructions packed with the Kisa showed the old design.
I'm still looking for an anodized Kisa with the round eye.
If you can help me get one, please email me.
The new eye makes the Kisa slightly shorter and wider. I don't see a strong advantage of one design over the other.
The hard anodizing will let this Kisa wear better than an unfinished one, but do you really want to keep using a Kisa after it has held a hard fall? I would retire any anchor brake long before it ever wore out.
The 2000 Kong catalog had a table that showed the forces associated with the Kisa with different ropes and riggings. Remember, using a wet or muddy rope or a rope other than the ttype used in the tests will change the results.
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©2008, Gary D. Storrick