Is a grigri worth it?

Is this a way to avoid tying knots?

>>1010710
Don't ropes take more wear and tear with knots?

>>1010715
Yes they do. They also lose tensile strength. What is the use of this contraption?

>>1010718
It's a belay device. It's the only one I've ever seen in gyms as it's automatic. Although I still fell 20+ feet on one before the gril operating it was clueless.

>>1010706
I own one and am glad I have it. It's peace of mind if your belayer is new or in the event of a rockfall injury.

I really only use it sport climbing or in the gym. Prefer an ATC for alpine routes.

>>1010706
ATC for life!

>>1010706
I does give peace of mind. Although mistakes (especially while attaching to biner) are still possible.

I personally prefer using a simple Reverso4 tuber. Both lighter and versatile for indoor and outdoor.
Also the grigri is, while unique, is rather expensive.
I consider it a beginner's device.

>>1010842
Mistakes while attaching biner... do you mean screwing it tightly?

i own one, and i hate it and never use it.

contrarily, my cousin has one, and loves it and almost always uses it.

sooo, like everything else, it depends.

>>1010706
Pros
-Belay from top is really easy to raise and lower.
-If you need to haul someone it acts as a progress capture
-Top roping belay is nice because you can keep a lighter grip, once the can is active holding a climber who is hanging or resting is simple
-Slight more piece of mind if belayer is struck
-works same technique as ATC or similar tube style device
-easy to go hands free when belaying by tying a catastrophe knot
-GREAT for lead belaying a heavier partner, or for someone who has not caught a lot of lead falls
-makes jugging up short sections of rope a breeze
Cons
-expensive
-need some training in specifics of safe use
-can only accommodate 1 rope, so a secondary device is needed for rappelling. Or learning addtional rope tricks like carabiner brake bar
-can result in a drop without proper training or application (but this is the same for all devices)
-if loaded backwards the cam action will not engage
-belay from top still requires a hand on the brake strand as opposed to a plate device/plaquette device can be truly hands free

It will be your best friend Anon. Ask a local climbing guide how to use it.

Awesome if you're toproping something hard or doing sport. Otherwise ATC Guide for most climbing

>>1010723
There is the problemo. People refer to this belayer device as an automatic belay device or an automatic locking device, it is neither. It is an assisted locking device. The cam inside the device will hold a climber once the mechanism has engaged, but it may not automatically lock up if someone falls, it still requires proper belay technique and training.

>>1010847
No, he means that when loaded backwards, the cam unit inside the device does not function.

Though I disagree>>1010842 that it is a "beginner's" device, there are a lot of rope tricks you can pull off with a grigri, and it is also the preferred device in single pitch environments with the AMGA

>>1011069
Oh I see. I'm not an experienced climber but I was trained on how to make a harness out of rope and how to repell with it in the army. Yeah, pretty sub par experience I'm aware.

How would a person neglect this?

It sounds basic.

>>1011070
It's interesting it was used in rappelling. Was it the industrial version of the grigri with a catastrophe mode? Where if you open the lever too far it locks off again?

>>1011070
I agree that neglecting to check that it is loaded correct is basic, it takes seconds to double check, and the belay device is loaded with pictures and symbols showing what goes where, but, there is not an easy cure for stupid or impatient.

Which is too bad,the device gets a bad reputation in some circles, but it really is a good device when used correctly. Toping out on a route, slapping the second into the device and just pulling slack thru easy breezy, why give yourself tennis elbow on a plaquette device if the terrain doesn't need it.
I taught my partner how to give a lead belay with it, and I've taken some good falls on them, and even with a significant weight difference, the catches are much better on me and them.

>>1011070
Not a petzl rep BTW. Just bored climber who can't sleep.

>>1011072
Huh? No I have never used this device in my life. I'm curious about it because it looks useful. In the army we made harnesses from climbing rope and then used another climbing rope, with a person to belay to guide ourselves down cliffs. We would hold the rope tightly in front of us and have it also wrappy behind us and we would let slack from behind us to go down and then bring the rope guided by our hands back to the center of our lower back in order to slow down manually.

I assume this is a very novice way of repelling.

>>1011076
Ah, sorry I misunderstood your other post. Not necessarily novice, just different. The wrap around the body will add a bunch more friction, so if going down the rope one handed, you can go much faster and still stay in control.
Military does things their own way because they do work in their application. All about right tool for right training etc etc. I wouldn't ever tell someone who learned to slide down a rope in the military their doing it wrong, just different compared to how I teach it and how I do it.

>>1011085
Damn. Only while rereading did I catch the wrong "their they're there." Grrrr

>>1011085
I would love to learn more about how to climb/repell professionally.

I saw a few mountains last year and I said to myself "damn I have to climb those"

>>1011076
>>1010706
used a grigri2 in place of the primary pulley in a 5:1 system when moving a water heater that could not be drained due to mineral deposits.

was pretty nice to be able to switch immediately from progress capture to controlled lowering. the Petzl Rig is their new "professional" version of this same derp device. Avoid the versions that advertise "anti-panick" aka engineered weak points.

it was a 50 gallon water heater, and it was full when lowered.

>>1011134
>4:1

>>1011085
What the other guy failed to mention is that they just use a carabiner and wrap the rope around it for a belay device, when rAppelling. The Army has a way, and it's the cheapest way. Same L-shaped body position for rappelling, but far inferior braking device than atc, sticht plate, grigri, etc.

What climbers in this thread do not seem to realize is that the grigri being automatic may seem to make it a fool-proof beginners' device, it also makes a great self-belay device when top-roping a difficult solo, threaded backwards.

>>1011498
>self belay
i'm rigging a bigass ropeswing from a tree in a couple weeks and i'm using mine for that when ascending my working line. it will be exactly the second time i've ever used it in 2 years of owning it.

Well i like my The mammut smart and the edelrid jul better But use what works best for you

>>1011498
I'd be cautious advertising grigri as a rope solo device, def against manufacturers instructions. Def shouldn't be on the radar of folks who are new to climbing/grigris

Don't how much use this is, but I use the petzl grillon daily for work and love it.

>>1010723
>Although I still fell 20+ feet on one before the gril operating it was clueless.
same experience, up about a 100 feet, girl loses balance and instinctively grabs the release i start falling and shouting "let it go". fuck man...

>>1011511
using a grigri as an ascender is not a self belay device, stop letting this kike teach your incorrect terminology
>>1011588
grigri as a rope solo device is
>retarded
>>1011622
I was belaying some rando who took a whipper on the first bolt
he put the toe of his aggressive climbing shoe right into my eye
I instinctively clenched down tighter onto the brake side rope
some other faggot rando goes
>that could have been really bad
>you should use a grigri

>http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/ashima-shiraishi-injured-in-45-foot-ground-fall
dropped by her dad who, guaranteed, has more belay time on a grigri than anyone else in this thread. i'm not saying they're unsafe, just pointing out that, experienced or inexperienced, pay the fuck attention to what you're doing when someone's literally trusting their life to you, regardless of equipment.

Can't you just back up your tube with a friction hitch if you're that worried about your belayer being incapacitated or too small?

I'd be more worried about my belayer being complacent and relying on it rather than paying attention.

>>1011630
>self belay
>ascender
learn the difference before you make yourself look like an ass again. i'll be using dual klemheists' to ascend, trailing the grigri as a secondary safety, and knotting the rope every ~10' (below the grigri), as a backup to that.

>>1011631
>jew-york
>pay the attention
>literally trusting you
anecdotal

>>1011635
>anecdotal
no fucking shit. that's why my message wasn't "grigris are unsafe" but "pay the fuck attention".

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>>1011632
just put a stopper knot in the end of the rope, if the friction based belay device is sized to the rope correctly, worst case scenario they will just be lowered at speed.
>>1011634
not just attacking the grigri to the rope and using a single prussik to make a progress capture pulley
go ahead you shit tier goyim, keep up the retard

>>1011622
Yea as i pressed send i realized 20 ft is nothing, but we were in a gym and injust topped out. I guess it was closer to 30 ft because i was about 5 off the floor when it stopped. I guess she pressed the release before i let off.

>>1011675
you know that feeling when someone fucks up and you are about to die and can't do anything about it? it sucks ass. i felt stupid for letting go of the wall. the way it was all constructed there was nothing in my arms reach to grab. if she didn't listen and let it go i would have just fallen to the floor.

>>1011677
You sortof get used to it brah. I did route clearance after my climbing days and holy shit if you want to know about worrying if your buddy is gonna kill you, do route clearance.

Now I'm too fat to climb unless i find another 250 pound asshole. But those were stories from when i was in shape.

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if your climbing with rope, yea

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Nope, I find the Click Up (pic related), much better than the GriGri

Just get a Sticht plate.

on a more serious note, i'd stick to a guide plate and learn how to use it, unless you're only sport climbing, in which case i'd probably be more likely to get a CT click up, Mammut smart, etc.

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>>1010706
Guide ATC all day erryday

>>1010723
>>1011068
>>1011622
>>1011675
The problem with letting novices use grigris is that the design itself intuitively makes people think the release is a break, even if you explain it to them beforehand they'll always pull on on the damn thing if they panic. I once saw a woman break her leg falling in a gym because her daughter did the same thing. The gym owners were stupid fucks for not requiring their customers to pass a simple belay test.

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/112369959/quick-review-mad-rock-lifeguard

I prefer the Mad Rock lifeguard.

>>1017174
I traded a harness that I won from a climbing comp for one. It's pretty good. Paying slack you have to be really smooth and fluid else it will lock up which frustrates climbers trying to clip into some pro. Other than that it's a solid 9/10 device. I love how lightweight and compact it is. I'm glad I got it instead of a grigri for dem grams weight savings

>>1017687

How good is it! Barely notice it on your harness and yeah dem grams. Full metal construction is nice.
You will find that the device actually requires a higher force to engage than the grigri which makes paying out rope much smoother.

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>>1017730
It's great but not perfect.

Even though it requires a larger force to lock up, you still have to pay slack in a way that it likes. I find myself having to move in and out to create slack with my body so that it doesn't lock up while paying out slack. It's not so bad unless you're on rough terrain. Either that or be paying a whole lot of attention to give slack at the appropriate time (which you're supposed to be doing anyways right?).

If I could pay out slack exactly like an atc without modifying my technique then it would be a 10/10 device.

It's way better than a grigri once you get the hang of it however.

>>1018006
>>1017730
I'm still trying to figure out the beta on how to unlock it fast if you accidentally locked it up while paying out slacks. I've been slamming my left hand down to hit the cam, and then with the same hand grab the rope once more and pay out again. I feel like that's the best way but I'm still not proficient in it. Especially when the climber is continuously pulling on the rope, he can easily can it to lock it up again while you're trying to lock it up. It's frustrating when it happens but practice makes perfect.

>>1012034
>all those blondies
You're a lucky cunt, anon.

>>1018007
Just step into it a little, the spring tension is high enough that it won't stay engaged.
As long as your hand below the device is feeding smoothy to the device it generally won't engage. I only find that it engages when I pull harder with the hand above the device than I am pushing with the hand below.