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Normally I cave using a Cuddington 3-phase climbing system, and the Fritzke Alpine Box is my normal caving chest box. The box was manufactured using CNC tools, so the workmanship is excellent. The long bar helps keep the rope close to the chest. The rope and long foot sling are held in by swinging gates that open by pressing in on the brass-colored buttons attached to the spring steel catches. Each side opens independently. I consider this to be an essential convenience feature for any double-sided box.
The size and weight of the Alpine Box are quite acceptable.
My only complaint with the Alpine box is the location of the slots for the chest harness. The diagonal slot is not the best arrangement for my chest harness, although I can see how a harness could be designed where this would be a good feature. Personally, I prefer the vertical slot arrangement seen on the Russian copy.
I tried climbing with the box upside down, but on the harness I used, it was a disaster: the box kept rotating and jamming. Turning the box right-side-up completely cured the problem. I'm still amazed that this made such a big difference.
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The workmanship on the Russian copy is good, but not as good as on the original Alpine Box. The slot arrangement is better than on the original. The rollers are metal instead of plastic The box is somewhat heavier than the original.
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©2008, Gary D. Storrick