Can a GriGri be used with thinner ropes?

This is not a GriGri vs Cinch type conversation!! I know it says the GriGri is rated for 10mm-11mm ropes, but does anyone use it on somthing around a 9.4mm? Success or Failure?

Absolutely. Just use it like an atc and you'll be fine... Don't do the shuffle. I've used a 9.2 a lot with a gri-gri, the reason it says not to go below a 10mm is because the thinner the rope, the more the gri-gri will slip. But if your a good belayer and treat it like any other device, it will not slip.

as monty pointed out a couple times - use it like another device (ie brake hand on at all times, not crossing both hands across your chest and acting like the token white gangsta rappa).

if the rope is new (read slippery) you are going to want to pay extra attention of the 3 people that i personally know who were injured when grigris didn't lock up, all 3 were using ropes with smaller diameters than recommended.

The new Grigri 2 is supposed to work with ropes down to 8.9 mm. It looks like they're now available for purchase on Petzl's website.

Yep, my wife belays me on a 9.5 all the time. But when you get to those smaller ropes the is a tiny bit of rope slipage that you need to account for before it lock up. So be sure to use it like an tube style and yank down on the brake.

slim wrote:as monty pointed out a couple times - use it like another device (ie brake hand on at all times, not crossing both hands across your chest and acting like the token white gangsta rappa).

This is always the case if you plan to use the grigri properly. Not just with sub 10mm ropes. It is an "assisted-locking" belay device. Not the falsely dubbed "auto-locker"

Why not just use an ATC and not try to use the Gri Gri for something other than what it was engineered to do? Using a tool for other than it's designed purpose can work,(as noted above) but is generally not the best practice.

Red wrote: This is always the case if you plan to use the grigri properly. Not just with sub 10mm ropes. It is an "assisted-locking" belay device. Not the falsely dubbed "auto-locker"

+1

I used a 9.2 with my grigs once, didn't have a problem but it was only for top rope belaying. My girlfriend was lead belaying me and convinced herself that if i fell, the device wouldn't have caught. Phhsshh, girlfriends.

Bill Olszewski wrote: +1

+1

also, petzl states in the grigri manual that according to their standards, 9.7 is totally acceptable too. i use mine with a 9.6 all the time... just takes belaying with the same attentiveness one should always have, lead or toprope.

multi language manual

Kyle Purcell wrote:Phhsshh

....Phhshh

The only thing I will reccomend is that if you are lowering with a newer thin rope (9.2), think about using a redirect off your leg loop for your brake hand to add a little bit more friction, or one of them fancy lockers that do that.

just be careful. I was toprope soloing with a gri gri on a 9.2 or so the rope was new and a little "waxy" i fell and the thing did not catch. I decked from 50 ft sustaining major injuries. Now I have used it since on thin ropes (i do not toprope solo with it any more) even rapped a 8 mil tag line on a wall route. I still use the device all the time but just use a little caution with a thin rope.

Kurt Burt

no backup knot???

my thoughts exactly

Chris90 wrote:This is not a GriGri vs Cinch type conversation!! I know it says the GriGri is rated for 10mm-11mm ropes, but does anyone use it on somthing around a 9.4mm? Success or Failure?

I have used mine on a Petzl Fuse 9.4, and it caught just fine. It did create a scary lower and my climbing partner was pretty light. A redirect on my leg loop solved this problem.

When belaying, regardless of the diameter of the rope, I treat the GriGri just like a tube device, my hand is always on the brake line and down in a lock off position unless feeding out rope.

yep no back up knot. I was sport climbing a harder route with a low crux and thought it wasn't necessary. I should have just hung from a bolt tied a knot and would have saved some grief. The point is still though that the device is not made for thinner ropes and while most us do it just a warning about it. Many things came to the forefront after that, but the biggest thing is complacency. That is what got me. I climbed a lot that year as well as my hardest. Fact of the matter is I got way too comfortable. That is my #1 thing I teach my clients nowadays is how to respect the equipment and respect the forces of gravity. I don't fear climbing at all, I fear lack of respect. But I am back to normal as can be and have learned many things from it.

Kurt Burt

hmm. All good info. Now do I wait till march for a GriGri 2, or just buy one now...

Once while I was self-lowering with mine and brand new Petzl Fuse I lifted my brake hand up higher than the device to pick a booger or something like that and immediately took a quick 10 foot zip until I arrested the fall. With a thin rope you can't go into mindless grigri belay mode and zone out like you can w/ a fat rope. Treat it like an ATC.

Chris90 wrote:This is not a GriGri vs Cinch type conversation!! I know it says the GriGri is rated for 10mm-11mm ropes, but does anyone use it on somthing around a 9.4mm? Success or Failure?

I use it with my 9.1mm, it works fine you just have to make sure your hand never leaves the rope, dont trust the cam to lock on its own.