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I do not have records of when or where I acquired this eight, but it would have been around 1981.
The Russ Anderson, Version A is milled from aluminum alloy plate and then soft anodized. Mine is 159 mm. tall, 135 mm wide, and 13 mm. thick. The rope hole is 61 mm. high and 61 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 13 mm. The shaft length and width are 49 mm. and 31 mm, respectively. The eye measures 28 mm. by 28 mm. The ears are 22.7 mm long. My Russ Anderson, Version A weighs 191 g.
The front side of the shaft is stamped with the following words inside a 17 mm. circle:
RUSS
SIERRA
MADRE
CAL.
ANDERSON
The Russ Anderson, Version A is a typical example of a full size figure eight with ears. There are no frills - no frills except the ears, that is.
[ Top | Version A | Version C | Version D | Version E | Return to Figure Eights ]
I acquired this eight from Speleoshoppe in 1982.
The Russ Anderson, Version B is milled from aluminum alloy plate and then soft anodized. Mine is 159 mm. tall, 135 mm wide, and 13 mm. thick. The rope hole is 61 mm. high and 61 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 13 mm. The shaft length and width are 49 mm. and 31 mm, respectively. The auxiliary hole is 34.7 mm. high and 12.8 mm. wide. The eye measures 28 mm. by 28 mm. The ears are 23.2 mm long. My Russ Anderson, Version B weighs 177 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
Version B is another typical full size figure eight with ears. It adds a belay slot to Version A, making it lighter and more versatile. The slot dimensions are designed for Sticht-type belaying with 11 mm. rope, and compare favorably with the slot dimensions found in true Sticht-type belayers.
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I acquired this eight from Bob & Bob in 1987.
The Russ Anderson, Version C is milled from aluminum alloy plate and then soft anodized. Mine is 155 mm. tall, 133 mm wide, and 13 mm. thick. The rope hole is 60 mm. high and 60 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 13 mm. The shaft length and width are 52 mm. and 31 mm, respectively. The eye measures 20 mm. by 30 mm. The ears are 23.8 mm long. My Russ Anderson, Version C eight weighs 195 g.
The front side of the shaft is stamped with the following words inside a 17 mm. circle:
RUSS
SMC
USA
ANDERSON
The "SMC" imprint is actually the SMC logo with the letters set inside an oval and separated by vertical bars.
Version C is another typical full size figure eight with ears. It moves the belay function to the eye. I rate this as a step backward from Version B but forward from Version A. The width of the eye is less than the length of the slot in Version B, so it falls within the normal range for the slot dimensions found in true Sticht-type belayers.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version E | Return to Figure Eights ]
I acquired this eight from Inner Mountain Outfitters in 1989.
The Russ Anderson, Version D is milled from aluminum alloy plate and then hard anodized. Mine is 155 mm. tall, 133 mm wide, and 13 mm. thick. The rope hole is 60 mm. high and 60 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 13 mm. The shaft length and width are 52 mm. and 39 mm, respectively. The auxiliary hole diameter is 19.5 mm. The eye measures 20 mm. by 29 mm. The ears are 23.1 mm. long. My Russ Anderson, Version D eight weighs 184 g.
The front side of the shaft is stamped with the same markings as Version C.
Version D is another typical full size figure eight with ears. It adds an auxiliary hole to Version C. I never needed need to clip a third carabiner into the shaft of any of my eights, so I just look at this as a lightening hole - but one that they couldn't fit in without making the shaft wider.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Return to Figure Eights ]
I do not have records of when or where I acquired this eight, but it was probably in the late 1980s.
The Russ Anderson, Version E is milled from steel. Mine is 180 mm. tall, 161 mm. wide, and 13 mm. thick. The rope hole is 81 mm high and 79 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 13 mm. The shaft length and width are 38 mm. and 40 mm, respectively. The eye measures 36 mm. by 37 mm. The ears are 30 mm. long. My Russ Anderson, Version E eight weighs 648 g.
The front side of the shaft is stamped with the same markings as Version C.
The Russ Anderson, Version E is a typical milled steel rescue eight. This steel monster ought to please the lawyers and the "bigger is better" crowd, but I don't want to carry it in my cave pack. No doubt that it is strong and that it will wear well, its just too heavy for an eight. If I am going to carry this much weight, there are better devices to choose from.
[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Version D | Version E ]
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©2007, Gary D. Storrick