[ Top | Version A | Version B | Version C | Return to Figure Eights ]
I acquired this eight from John E. Weinel, Inc. in 1994.
The Russian "Bubo" is milled from aluminum alloy plate. Mine is 141 mm. tall, 73 mm. wide, and 14 mm thick. The rope hole is 47 mm. high and 47 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 14 mm. The shaft length and width are 45 mm. and 24 mm., respectively. The eye measures 23 mm. by 23 mm. My eight weighs 142 g.
One side of the shaft is stamped with "bubo" inside a parallelogram.
This is the only full-size, milled, aluminum eight that I have. I am somewhat surprised that I haven't seen any others.
[ Top | Bubo | Version B | Version C | Return to Figure Eights ]
I acquired this eight from John E. Weinel, Inc. in 1994.
The Russian, Version A is milled from aluminum alloy plate. Mine is 134 mm. tall, 74 mm. wide, and 12 mm. thick. The rope hole is 53 mm. high and 52 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 12 mm. The shaft length and width are 41 mm. and 28 mm., respectively. there are two 6 mm holes in the shaft. The eye measures 30 mm. by 21 mm. My eight weighs 111 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
The Russian, Version A is an example of a "Flat Top" aluminum eight. Its shape might be inspired by the Petzl D01, but the The Russian, Version A is significantly larger. The rope hole is taller, so it should provide less friction than the Petzl D01.Although this eight is larger. its eye is too narrow to accept two full size locking carabiners.
The two small holes were probably used for mounting the eight during manufacturing.
[ Top | Bubo | Version A | Version C | Return to Figure Eights ]
I acquired this eight from Serguei Khramtsov of Ural Sport in 2004. These are not Ural Sport products, but Serguei made s special shopping trip through Yekaterinburg for me.
The Russian, Version B is milled from steel plate and then painted. Mine is 144 mm. tall, 75 mm. wide, and 14 mm. thick. The rope hole is 47 mm. high and 47 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 13 mm. The shaft length and width are 42 mm. and 30 mm., respectively. The eye measures 30 mm. by 29 mm. My eight weighs 150 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
The Russian, Version B is a typical example of a full size, flat shaft, forged, aluminum eight. The flat shaft is less common than other designs, but has little functional effect.
I suspect that it is made by the same folks who made the Russian figure eight with ears, version J. I dislike the painted finish, since this will simply wear off, leaving a mess on the rope.
[ Top | Bubo | Version A | Version B | Return to Figure Eights ]
Serguei Khramtsov acquired this eight for me at the same time as Version B. Once again, this is not a Ural Sport product.
The Russian, Version B is forged from aluminum alloy and then painted. Mine is 136 mm. tall, 73 mm. wide, and 11 mm. thick. The rope hole is 47 mm. high and 47 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 10 mm. The shaft length and width are 42 mm. and 27 mm., respectively. The eye measures 23 mm. by 23 mm. My eight weighs 286 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
The Russian, Version B is a full-size, milled, steel eight. It is painted with something that gives a mottled copper-and-black surface. I dislike this coating, since it will simply wear off, leaving a mess on the rope. The coating is quite distinctive: this eight is apparently made by the same folks who made the Russian figure eights with ears, versions H and I.
The steel will wear well once the paint layer gets taken off, but it might rust afterward. The Russian, Version C is too heavy for my taste.
[ Top | Bubo | Version A | Version B | Version C ]
