CMI Ultra 8

Technical details

I acquired this eight from Skinny Skis in 1987.

The CMI Ultra 8 is forged from aluminum alloy and then hard anodized. Mine is 104 mm. tall, 62 mm. wide, and 10 mm thick. The rope hole is 39 mm. high and 45 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 9 mm. The shaft length and width are 31 mm. and 19 mm, respectively. The eye measures 18 mm. by 12 mm. My eight weighs 45 g.

The front side of the shaft has "Cmi" in raised letters, and the rear has 'ULTRA "8", also in raised letters.

Comments

The CMI Ultra 8 is smaller lighter than almost all other functional figure eights (toy eights don't count).

The rope hole is shorter than normal, so it may provide too much friction on stiff or muddy ropes. The thin loop does not provide as smooth a rappel as larger eights do.

I suspect that the Ultra 8 coating would hold up much like the standard eight's, but once it wore through, there is very little margin for additional wear. Under some horrid caving conditions, I could imagine the eight wearing through and failing in one rappel. I recommend not using this eight on anything except clean, flexible climbing ropes.

The eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners. The eye is too small to be used for "Sticht" belaying. At times the eye is too small to accept the maillons or carabiners one has on hand. I recommend choosing another eight and leaving this one in the toy box.