Petzl TUBA Knot Pass Descender

Petzl TUBA
Originally a descender for caving and rope rescue.
It was called a tube brake or friction tube.
It is a very simple device that controls descent by wrapping a rope several times around a stainless steel L-shaped tube, utilizing friction. It allows for easy control with double ropes and knot passage.
Petzl originated from handmade caving equipment created by French caver and inventor Fernand Petzl in his workshop.
In the 1970s, commercially available belay devices were scarce, and mountaineers and cavers would process aluminum or stainless steel pipes to create their own tube brakes.
Among these, the Tuber developed by Fernand Petzl had a simple structure, made by bending and welding stainless steel or aluminum pipes. It was simple and lightweight, but the braking force had to be controlled by the user's feel.
This Tuber is now discontinued and no longer listed on the official website, but it can be found in older Petzl European catalogs (from the 1980s to 1990s).
Features confirming this as one of Petzl's earliest commercialized tube-style belay devices:
1. The main body is an L-shaped welded aluminum tube. This shape is characteristic of the prototypes and limited production types by Petzl from the late 1970s to early 1980s. At that time, production was not factory-based but closer to the handwork of Fernand Petzl himself and early staff.
2. A red hexagonal cross-section slide bar acts as a lock at the rope entry point. The PETZL engraving on this part confirms it as an officially manufactured Petzl product (factory-made, not a homemade item).
3. Engraving 98097A - This is a lot code for Petzl products of that era. It was likely manufactured in the late 1980s (around 1989-1991). Similar lot engravings can be found on Petzl SIMPLE and Petzl STOP from the same period.
4. Lower welding shape.
A wavy bead from manual welding is visible.
This welding style is typical of early Petzl workshop products from Crolles, Isère, France.

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