The Scottish Mountain Heritage Collection
1570.2020.1
Petzl Stop - early version
27/10/2020
Hermione Cooper
27/10/2020
Petzll Stop - early version
Metal
20(L)x4.5(W) cms
1
“PETZL” in an elipse
“MAXI 1500KG FRANCE”
Stuck on shop label “153 032 57.00”
Silver
Petzl
France
Fernand Petzl was a French caver who started making equipment for cavers commercially in 1968 going on to create the Petzl Company in 1975. Petzl is now in (2020) a large, international company with a vast array of products, including ice axes and crampons, having bought out the French manufacturer, Charlet Moser, in 2020.
The Petzl Stop was one of Fernand’s first creations, designed for abseiling down to the big caves, with the unique system which allowed the rope to be threaded without unclipping the device from your harness so you couldn’t drop it into the abyss.
Although the one we have here in the collection is in mint condition, we think it is an early version, possibly 1970’s as it doesn’t have a dead man’s handle which later versions did ....see the picture opposite.
With this one the abseiler would control the descent purely with his/her hand on the rope and if they let go - trouble! The later dead man’s handle version allowed the abseiler to squeeze the handle which braked the rope if released.
Stops are used extensively in Industrial Rope Access and to a lesser extent in mountain and cave rescue.
27/10/2020
27/10/2020
Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007
27/10/2020
Petzl Bolt/Rock Drill
Petzl Bolts and Hangers
Petzl headtorch
Petzl Headtorch
Petzl Rack Descender
Petzl Shunt (early version)
Petzl Stop Descender