The Mammut smart alpine is awesome. Rappels great if you have a brain and understand how to maintain a constant pull on the device. It auto locks if you blow it rapping as well as belaying, and it can be used in guide mode to bring two people up and it costs 40 dollars. The fact that people have this religious affinity to the gri gri is, to me at least, seemingly irresponsible. The gri gri is a great device for sport pitches and in the gym. I've never used it aid climbing but can understand the benefits as well. But the fact that you can't rappel without using a biner block to get your rope back and it's weight makes me reach for my ATC or Smart Alpine more often. It's no war, it's personal preference. If you like lugging extra expensive stuff around while trad climbing (?) then bring your superfluous gri gri. If you like going light and enjoy versatility then bring your ATC. The load difference most likely doesn't make that much of a difference... I know from experience that there is a softer catch with the smart alpine than with the gri gri but it's marginal.
one thing to add is that the gri gri is the "safer" device all other things being equal ... i have had cases where the mammut alpine smart does not fully assisted lock .... it depends a lot on what biner you use and the position of that biner ... it is rare but it does happen ... you should of course always have the break hand on ...
the gri gri aint a "hands free" device, but it generally works well enough for some big names to solo on it ... against petzls recommendation of course ;)
Rgold thinks mammut smart stinks for rapping. I disagree, especially when dealing w howling winds, stuck ropes on multi pitch, having automatic back up for two strand rap is just awesome. Why would you want a device where if your hand comes off it's game over? I know people say you can tie auto blocks but the reality is most people don't. So this device acts like a gri gri plus protects you on rappels.
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