Top Rope Solo - Reverso or Gri Gri

I have been browsing some of the posts but haven't found an answer to my question.

I understand that any solo climbing activity is extremely dangerous and have been trying to research what is the safest method. I am not interested in lead soloing just top roping.

I have been out by myself maybe 5 times and used, with great success, the Petzel Reverso on my harness in guide mode, I carry ascenders or prussics in case I get stuck and I don't solo anything I havent climbed at least once. I use two lines on the climb, one for the Reverso and one for back up knots.

Is the reverso safe, say for a 3 foot fall, or would a gri gri be better? Ocasionally you have to make a move or two before you can pull up the slack.

I welcome any opinions or recommendations.

Thanks.

Your gri gri would be a bit safer, though it won't move up the rope real well- the best 3 devices I've used (so far) are (in no particular order) the Trango Cinch belay device, the Petzl Basic ascender, and the Petzl Mini Traxion one-way pulley. All of these move up the rope easily, which will keep you from having to pull slack through with every move. How you back stuff up is up to you- if you look through some of the other forum posts on here, I think there's a fairly lengthy discussion about TR soloing hardware somewhere.

My vote is Cinch as the main device and a MiniTrax on a 10" sling below for backup. Each on a DMM belaymaster locker.

If TR soloing a pitch less than 30m I tie two figure8's on bites about a foot apart in the middle of the rope, attach both knots to powerpoint of anchor. Then I weight both strands at the bottom of the pitch (only a little bit). Now you can climb smoothly up the rope, I almost never pull slack. Each device is on its own strand. When you have to quit you sit down on the Cinch, disengage the MiniTrax (which is not weighted) and rappel easily. Done and done.

Kevin Presley wrote:Is the reverso safe, say for a 3 foot fall, or would a gri gri be better? Ocasionally you have to make a move or two before you can pull up the slack. I welcome any opinions or recommendations. Thanks.

Neither is adequate IMO, in that you are required to pull up slack. Find a system that allows hands-free climbing. (Do a search; this has been discussed ad nauseum on that other climbing site.)

Why do people keep needing to re-invent the wheel? Can I solo with an ATC? Can I solo with a munter mule on an old oval? Can I solo with an upside down modified tibloc?

Look up the Mini-traxion system. it is the gold standard for a reason.

^^ Party Pooper ^^

Ryan Huetter wrote: Look up the Mini-traxion system. it is the gold standard for a reason.

I can understand why some people like this setup while doing routes several hundred feet long (like in Yosemite where it's popular). But, try running laps on a route on TR with two MiniTrax's and tell me how easy/fast it is to switch over and rappel every time. Especially when you're climbing in a place like MA where there isn't a single route over 100 ft.

Also, MiniTrax's have sharp teeth, the Cinch does not. Something to consider if you'll be falling at all in overhanging terrain and forgot your prusiks.

Don't hate on us geeking out over solo systems, I think it's a good way to bounce ideas around and see what things work better than others.

I think I would rather have to pull out the slack than set up weighting the line at the bottom and sometimes routes meander a little.

I am kind of liking the idea of the Cinch and the Mini Traxion, I would be a little afraid to give up the solid back up knots though. The Cinch seems pretty user friendly.

In the event of a hard fall would the Traxion shred the rope?

Weighting the line may sound like a task. But you do it in two seconds by coiling the extra rope and dangling it from a kleimheist on the two strands so the coils are like a foot off the ground. Then, when your route wanters, the rope (which really isn't all that heavy) just follows you where you go.

Begging your pardon, but only one option makes sense to me: the USHBA (pref titanium over the alum).

It feeds with only a knot of rope for weight at the bottom of your anchored top rope, and feeds effortlessly. Cost is marginally higher than a gri gri, and no teeth like on the Mini Traxion.

Believe me, for top rope soloing, you'll convert to the Ushba on the first move you make off the deck. Just remember to tie back up knots (and no, weighting a rope during TR practice runs in order to tie safety knots is not cheating).

I've used the Soloist with good success for both solo leading and TR'ing. I'm thinking about heading out today and trying the gri gri, but still not sure. Did a lead route today with the Soloist, worked fine, as usual.

My two pennies.

Juan

Hey that USHBA seems pretty slick, I've yet to see one in person.

But it still doesn't solve the dilemma of having to switch over to rappel. How do you deal with this? I'm sure there is an easy way that I'm just not thinking of.

I think another big reason why I like the Cinch is that it is designed as a belay device and is made to withstand leader falls. I know we are just top-roping, but it seems like there is a potential for awkward torquing forces when you use a device this way, and I don't know if an ascender is intended to endure those kinds of things. I sure would like to try out a USHBA one of these days.

ushba works fine

I've used a Gri Gri a ton and like it. Yeah, you have to pull up the slack but you've got to pull up the rope and clip it when you're leading, so... I don't see it as an issue.

I use a Grigri for lead and top roping and I have never had a problem. I do recomend a 54 kn Steel beener for all soloing.

Hey, thanks everyone for your opinions. It is hard to pick a device by just reading the manual. Hearing experiences from the climbing community is much more valuable.

Ill throw another one in the mix. The Petzl Microcender. I imagine pretty similar to the Ushba. No teeth to tear the sheath and has a pocket in the face that the cam rides up against. This prevents the cam from completely smashing the rope.

A friend of mine used to TR solo with a Gibbs, and then he did a modest drop test and the cam cut through more than half the rope... Yikes!

I do tie the rope up off the ground but the weight is nearly unnoticeable and the device slides smoothly.

Recommend using a chest harness to keep it oriented correctly, I use a double length sling for the purpose.

Maybe climbed 500 pitches with this setup, works for me.

One more to add. I use my petzel shunt for tr soloing. Its an asender that will work on one rope or two. Easy to install with just a binner to your harness, it also slides very nice with just a little rope weight. The Shunt has many uses and is a fun little toy.

The Petzl Shunt multi-purpose device is designed for ascending as well as a backup brake for rappelling, occasional self-belays, or top rope belays.

http://www.rei.com/product/471161 shunt

I skimmed all the posts and the LAST one mentions the Shunt. The Shunt is the one I use. When possible, I tie a backup every 15' or so and clip that into my harness. I don't like relying 100% on anything mechanical.

The Petzl 'Basic' Ascender or Micro as Dominic says is designed for top-rope soloing and I've found works better than any of these other devices when combined with a simple tied-on chest harness...I've put a few 100k on this over the years with no problems between the gunks, eldo, lumpy, etc...
I haven't used a back-up as I can't usually take my hands off the rock to tie knots. And I watch the device and the two locking carabiners on each end of it closely.
The min-traxion is also favored for this set-up and used extensively although i haven't used that system.

I've tested the USHBA and thought that it's a bit sketchy for this purpose as it requires a camming action that only activates when the climber leans back- if they lean-in while falling the cam usually doesn't engage!

A gri-gri, ATC guide, or anything similar aren't the greatest in this application.

Gee Eli, we should worship the ground you walk on. What happened to the cardinal rule of redundancy in your system? If you want to trust a mechanical device 100%, that is your business. Also, your comparison between a "mechanical device" and a car "mechanic" was just plain stupid and totally irrelevant....not even CLOSE to being a decent comparison.