Clickup / Alpineup - What shortcomings have been encountered?

We have a bit of discussion relating to issues with the mammut smart, the megajul, and *a lot* relating to the grigri.

The clickup on the other hand I haven't heard much about, that might be because very few people own them, or that they've been quietly doing their job without issue.

It's been a while now since it came out, what accidents/problems/malfunctions/failure modes have eventuated?

When it came out it looked to be a very promising assisted braking device, without some of the short comings of some of the other devices.

If you've never seen the two devices and want something assisted, I think they're worth considering:
climbingtechnology.com/en/o…
climbingtechnology.com/en/o…

I've been using the click up of almost 2 years now as well as the grigri. The click up is by far my favorite assisted brake belay bay far. Never given me a days trouble and this is my go to device. I will be getting an alpine up soon for multi pitch and trad. I have used a partners one and it is fantastic.
The only downside of the click up I have found is on some thicker gym ropes, it can be a bit stiff to belay comfortable, but then same with the grigri.
The grigri I have been using hasn't been a bad device, but I've had a lot more hang ups and potential issues with misfeeding or paying out rope on lead climbing.

I have had mine for 3 years and I own all the other devices listed above and prefer the alpine up. I really like alpine up; enough so I bought one for my climbing partner to replace her ATC.

For me the drawbacks include:
It's large and relatively heavy.
It has a tendency to twist the rope when rappelling in autoblock mode.
It's low friction mode does not have enough friction. The low friction
mode is nice for rappelling.
It wears out belay carabiners quickly. The one it comes with has a super
durable finish which last quite. That carabiner is difficult to
replace and lately I have been using rock exotica pirate. Next I am
going to try the Edelrid HMS Bruce (a steel carabiner which weighs a
reasonable 134 grams).
Autoblock belay works reasonably well.

What I really like about it are:
I like the assisted locking when belaying.
I like belaying a follower with the device locked up. You can easily take
in rope while the device is locked off.
I like rappelling while in autoblock mode. The rope does not slip
through the device which makes is easy to work on getting rope untangled
and down the cliff. I am using an Edelrid 9.6 mm single rope; sometimes
smallish twin ropes (8.5 mm?) It works well with the twin/double ropes
too.
It is durable.

I've had mine for at least three years, maybe more (don't recall when they first came out). There's nothing better for belaying with half ropes (8.5mm Mammut Genesis in my case), where the demands of handling strands that can be heading in different directions making belaying harder.

The handling is better, more intuitive, and less likely to short-rope the leader than either the Smart or the Mega Jul, the hand motions are the same as for an ordinary belay plate, the braking power is greater, it is almost impossible to accidentally circumvent braking (only by threading the device backwards to begin with), and there isn't a sudden release from the locked position when lowering or rappelling. This makes it arguably the best device to hand to a relatively inexperience belayer.

Lock-off during rappelling on my 8.5's is totally solid and of course not subject to the failure modes of a leg-loop prussik.

Most of the downsides have been mentioned but I'll second them:

1. Heavier and bulkier than some other devices. (Its about the size and weight of a Grigri).

2. It seems more awkward to thread than other gadgets, making it perhaps more likely to be dropped.

3. Handling starts to decline on ropes much over 10mm. (Worthless in the gym).

4. Like any belay device, it can lock up when pumping slack if your technique isn't good. Unlocking is fast and simple, but that's a special-purpose gesture you have to learn for the device.

4. Tends to twist ropes on rappel.

5. There's a tad too much friction at the start of some rappels, obliging the rappeller to feed rope into the device at first. Not a problem with 8.5's, but could be more of a pain with fatter ropes. CT gives a karabiner kludge to make rappelling easier in thicker ropes, but with that extra biner I find rope twisting to be really excessive.

6. No better than others at direct off-the-anchor belays. If you do a lot of these, the DMM Pivot is the way to go.

7. Low-friction non-locking mode is aptly named and, in my opinion, should never be used for belaying a leader. The only thing I use it for is top-rope belaying.

8. It is a bit hard to unlock when partially weighted, i.e. when you land at the base of a rappel. It helps to rap to sitting position and then stand up.

10. The device has a spring-loaded plastic handle to make releasing it easier. This looks like a possible weak point, but I haven't had even a hint of trouble. The position of the rope in the belay channel is mediated by a spring-loaded plastic tab, and I've had no trouble with that either. If the device is going to be used in the winter, I'd worry about having water freeze around that tab. (If the tab doesn't work, braking power will not be compromised but handling will become much more difficult.)

11. Jim Titt's tests suggest possible rope damage under very heavy static loads.

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME DEPARTMENT

Some people think the assisted-locking devices provide protection if the belayer is incapacitated. Well...maybe...maybe not. One of the Juls failed decisively at one of the outdoor equipment expos, and I don't think the test was as severe as this one of an Alpine Up:

youtube.com/watch?v=nFn4xzV…

The biggest disadvantages are cost, weight, and complexity. For the price I can buy several lightweight alternatives that perform equally, ie braking with twins. In a scenario where weight is of no concern I'd just use a GriGri...or one of the other four belay devices I bought for the same money.

I've used the AlpineUp a couple of times and liked how it worked, I just can't ever picture a time when its advantages outweigh its disadvantages for my uses.

rgold wrote:3. Handling starts to decline on ropes much over 10mm. (Worthless in the gym).

Right. The gym ropes I've tried it on were too thick, too worn, or had bunched sheaths. YGMV I guess.