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I acquired my BlueWater box around 1990, but do not have a record of exactly when or from whom I acquired it.
My BlueWater is 76 mm. long, 131 mm. wide, 74 mm. high, and weighs 330 g. It is a double channel chest box consisting of an aluminum back plate, an extruded aluminum channel, and two cylindrical rollers mounted on a common bolt through the channel. Two bolts with wing nuts hold the channel against the back plate. The back plate has 52 mm. tall vertical slots for attaching the box to a chest harness.
There are no markings on the BlueWater box.
The BlueWater box was one of the earliest chest boxes on the market. It is a double-sided box designed for the Mitchell System and suitable for others as well. The box opens by unscrewing two wing nuts, which allows the channel to move away from the back plate, making room for the rope or sling to escape. I've always found this to be rather cumbersome. The bolt heads on the back of the box tend to dig into one's chest, but since the box is pulled away from the chest while on rope, the pain not as bad as one might expect.
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I acquired this British box used on eBay from Brian Trevelyan in 2005.
This British is 77 mm. long, 128 mm. wide, 69 mm. high, and weighs 283 g. It is a double channel chest box consisting of an aluminum back plate, a bent aluminum channel, and two cylindrical rollers mounted on a common bolt through the channel. Two bolts with wing nuts hold the channel against the back plate. The back plate has 54 mm. tall vertical slots for attaching the box to a chest harness.
There are no markings on this box.
This British box is a double-sided box similar to the BlueWater Box. The cover plate is bent from plate instead of cut from channel as on the BlueWater and Speleoshoppe boxes. The bolt heads protrude the back of the box, as on the BlueWater box. The plastic rollers on my box are badly worn, indicating that they did not turn freely enough in use.
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I acquired my Speleoshoppe from Inner Mountain Outfitters at the 1995 NSS Convention.
My Speleoshoppe box is 76 mm. long, 126 mm. wide, 73 mm. high, and weighs 305 g. It is a double channel chest box consisting of an aluminum back plate, an extruded aluminum channel, and two rollers mounted on a common bolt through the channel. Two bolts with wing nuts hold the channel against the back plate. The back plate has 54 mm. tall vertical slots for attaching the box to a chest harness.
The front of the box is stamped with the Speleoshoppe logo, a bat inside an ellipse.
The Speleoshoppe box is similar to the BlueWater box. The bolt heads are recessed into the back plate, so they do not dig into one's chest. The rollers have a slight taper to help keep the rope centered, but I don't find the taper is to be enough to be completely effective. The corners of the box are rounded, and the aluminum parts of the box are anodized.
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I had this box made for me in the early 1970s.
My Storrick is 64 mm. long, 108 mm. wide, 80 mm. high, and weighs 229 g. It is a double channel chest box consisting of an aluminum plate, a bent aluminum channel, and two rollers mounted on a common bolt through the channel. Each roller has a turned trapezoidal channel. Two bolts with wing nuts hold the channel against the back plate. The back plate has 51 mm. tall vertical slots for attaching the box to a chest harness.
This is a noncommercial box with no markings.
This box is copy of the BlueWater box, but somewhat smaller and significantly lighter. The bolt heads were turned down to a minimal button, so they do not dig into the chest. The rollers were turned so that the rope and sling do not rub against the frame. Nothing was done to address the awkward means of opening the box. I used this box for years, then switched to the Gossett Box once it came out. Eventually, I moved on, and I now prefer either the Alpine Box or one of the PMI boxes.
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