ESEE Technical Gear? What’s up with that?
It was interesting to see customer reactions at SHOT Show when we showed them some of our new products…. a RAT branded locking carabiner and the WRAT Wrench which is a climbing/rescue tool made to tighten bolts, loosen quick links, and other functions in the rope rescue/climbing arena?
Why is ESEE getting into rope gear? Glad you asked. Jeff Randall has been involved in rope work longer than he’s been at the helm of Randall’s Adventure & Training. Starting in his telecom days Jeff has spent quite a bit of time on rope. The last few years he’s focused on vertical caving and technical rope rescue. In that time, he has continued to develop products for his personal use and now those products have spilled over into production.
The carabiner was a no brainer. We use a lot of carabiners so we may as well use one that has our name on it and meets our expectations. It is a screw locking carabiner that is rated for single rope techniques, climbing, and alpine style rescue applications. We will be debuting another carabiner option soon, so stay tuned.
The WRAT Wrench was born out of necessity and conceived in the field. If you’ve ever created a single rope climbing system you know how much of a hassle it can be to break quick links open once they have been stressed, or maybe you just want to check to see if that anchor bolt is tight. This compact tool will handle all standard SAE anchor bolts, quick links, and even open your favorite beverage. It is offered in two Titanium options, one blue anodized and the other is a natural tumbled finish, both made in Taiwan. We also offer a stainless steel option made in the USA by our friends at Rowen Manufacturing.
What’s coming next? Another great question! This past year we have invested in our own prototyping machine shop, as well as a tensile test machine. Jeff is spending time in the ESEE Skunk Works Lab on a daily basis, making larger chunks of metal into cool things. On the immediate horizon you can expect to see more ESEE/RAT branded rigging plates and maybe even some pre-assembled, compact haul systems. We have a number of prototypes being tested as we write this. This same prototype lab is also responsible for a new sheath design that will now allow our knives to be carried horizontally, something our customers have been asking for.
We are excited about the cool things happening in the Lab and will keep you posted on new projects as they develop.
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