I bought one of those!! I think it’s so funny how exactly they copied some parts but completely ignored others.
It has a solid one piece spine so it doesn’t open, but it still has the notches on the joints for stopping the travel in the correct position for opening it up.
I threw it on some...
the new cam/spring placement makes it so that the akimbo doesn’t lock up entirely when it runs into sap. Where before you had to unweight entirely to descend past the sappy area, now you can just pull harder to pass it. It’s not perfect, and at some level of sap there’s not much you can do, but...
To answer your question about the prohibition on negative rigging with the DR, it is mainly due to the swivel and the button lock side plate both being potentially vulnerable to side loading. In a negative rigging situation it is much more difficult to control or prevent. This is the same reason...
I have a feeling that the shape of the biner is specifically engineered to keep the load in line with the swivel. Side loads on the swivel axle are no bueno. I’m sure an oval biner could be made to work, but it would definitely require some serious design work.
I’ve run it through some heavy sap. It definitely changes the grip. If it gets too pitchy then it has to be run from up close to the block (climber feeding the rope) as just the weight of the rope can cause it not to run. I’ve not had it jam bad enough that feeding rope from near the device...
Not dissuade, I just want people to understand what they are getting. I don’t want anyone buying it thinking it does something it doesn’t. When there is a better tool for a job you should use it!