A234 Aluminium Alloy Figure-8 Descender

With a listed breaking strength of 30 kN, A234 sits in the middle of the figure-8 range, above A233 (25 kN) and below A235 (40 kN). The body is aluminium alloy, which keeps weight down and dissipates the heat that builds up on longer descents.

In use, a bight of rope is fed through the large eye and looped over the neck, and the small eye is connected to the harness belay loop with a locking connector. Speed is controlled entirely by the brake hand, so the device suits trained users, guided activity providers and instructional settings rather than situations that call for an auto-locking descender.

When specifying A234, buyers should define the rope diameters the device must work with and confirm whether a particular standard or test programme is required for their market. The device can be produced as OEM or private-label stock with customer colours, logo marking and packaging, or adapted to a drawing if a different eye size or profile is needed.