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I acquired this descender from Stèphane Pennequin in 2007.
The Pierre Allain, Version A is a single piece cast aluminum descender. This Pierre Allain is 188 mm. high, 11 mm. wide, and 17 mm. thick. My Version A is somewhat worn, and weighs 149.
Unlike the far more common Version B, Version A has a flat (milled) shaft. The two sides of the shaft are marked "PIERRE ALLAIN" and "BREVETE SGDG", respectively. The letters are shallow and indistinct, in marked contrast to those on Version B. Aside from the differences in the shaft, the two versions are remarkedly;y similar.
CommentsSince I can trace Version B back to 1964, this is a very
old design, so it is too valuable for me to relegate to general
use. Despite its age, it is not the oldest Pierre Allain design.
Stèphane Pennequin sent me a photo of a 1947 design. Although
I can easily make a copy, I would like to acquire an original,
if possible. Please email
me if you can help me find one.
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I acquired this descender from Pathfinder Sports in 1982. I acquired a second one from John E. Weinel, Inc. in 2000.
The Pierre Allain, Version B is a single piece forged aluminum descender that works on the same principal as a horizontal spool. The rope is wrapped around a slightly tapered arm that is inclined about 28° to the horizontal. The arm has a hook and two horns on the upper side that keep the rope in position. A shaft extends 100 mm. below the arm to an attachment eye with a 16.3 mm. hole. The shaft is inclined about 8° from the vertical. This Pierre Allain is 188 mm. high, 103 mm. wide, and 17.5 mm. thick. My descender is somewhat worn, and weighs 148.5 grams, so I estimate that the original weight was 149 to 150 grams.
The two sides of the shaft are marked "PIERRE ALLAIN" and "BREVETE SGDG", respectively. The previous owner of the first descender engraved the initials "RCB" in the device. I believe that this was Roland Brown's personal descender. Roland was the salesman at Pathfinder Sports that helped me acquire many of the devices in my collection.
The earliest American reference to this descender I've found is in the Humor section of the October, 1964 Windy City Speleonews. That article suggests a number of appropriate uses for the Pierre Allain descender, none of which involve rappelling.
The Pierre Allain Version A seems to be more secure than it appears, but I can not recommend it as a safe device for general caving. First, the thin shaft does not have a large enough cross section to for me to fully trust it. Second, the rope can come off the arm if the rappeller is not careful. This is particularly true with some of the modern caving ropes, such as PMI, which tend to be stiffer than climbing ropes. The Pierre Allain is a classic device that appears in many of the older climbing books, so it makes a good addition to any equipment collection - which is where it should stay.
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©2007, Gary D. Storrick