Simond Krokro

Technical Details

I acquired this eight from Walkhigh Mountaineering in 2007.

The Simond Krokro is forged from aluminum alloy and then hard anodized. Mine is 143 mm. tall, 74 mm. wide, and 15 mm. thick. The rope hole is 50 mm. high and 50 mm. wide - or would be if there weren't three triangular insets arranged to form a pair of 13 mm. wide, 14 mm. deep notches. The top center thickness is 12 mm. The shaft length and width are 48 mm. and 27 mm., respectively. The eye measures 25 mm. by 25 mm. My eight weighs 138 g.

The front of my Krokro is stamped with "KROKRO," the Simond logo, "FRANCE," and "43003." The rear is stamped the same except "30 KN" replaces "43003."

Comments

The Simond Krokro is one of the "other eights" that do not fit into my normal categories. Although it is similar to the Simond standard eight in size, material, and finish, the internal V-grooves set the Krokro apart.

First, let me say that one can rig the Krokro so that the V-grooves do not come into play. In this arrangement, the Krokro performs much like any other eight of its size. What the Krokro adds, at the cost of about 18 g., is increased friction when rigged so that the trailing line runs through the lower V-groove (on double rope descents, use both V-grooves). There are many times where one would like more friction from an eight, yet not enough to justify passing the bight through the upper hole twice. The Krokro provides some additional friction in a very simple, yet clever manner.