I'm getting ready to purchase a BD ATC Guide but was wondering if anyone has any experience or comments about the new Reverso. It looks very similar to the Guide with slight variations. Does this represent an improvement over the Guide?

saw a pretty cool video demo on the petzl site for the reverso3.
pretty cool feature to unweight/lower the follower, can fit a biner through the hole. different from the ATCguide. lighter too. petzl always makin good stuff. now imagine if they put their heads together and made some cams!

looks like its a cross between a ATCguide and trango B52.

i love my atc guide though.

Greg,
The ATC Guide is bomber, I have been using one for a couple of years and have found it to be the most versatile belay device I have owned (including a Trango BRD) It has only one weakness, the weight. The benefits of the Reverso3 will be it is considerably lighter and it takes a key-lock biner in the front notch to lower (instead of a girth hitched sling like the ATC Guide)

Well, hopefully that helped a little,
Doug

Unless you need such a device right away, if I were you I would wait to make your purchase.

The new Reverso is lighter and smaller than the Guide ATC plus it allows you to belay with a wider range of diameter ropes. That, plus the fact that you can slip a carabiner into the lowering hole quickly makes it a more useful and lower profile belay device. I think it is supposed to be in stores July 1st. While I haven't seen or used the finished version I have seen and used the final prototype and I like it more than my Guide ATC.

Jack

The Reverso 3 might be lighter, but isn't a little extra mass beneficial for dissipating heat?

My old Reverso used to get so hot on rappel when I would stop I could practically watch the sheath fibers melting, not to mention the branding iron burns I'd get if I happened to brush against it. Not so much a problem with the ATC Guide.

good point. AND not to mention the typical reverso-razor-blading...

something to note- BD designed the guide before most of the smaller carabiners came out...so, if you really want to put a carabiner through the release hole, an Oz or Nano will fit just fine. of course, the point of the hole being too small for a carabiner was to keep folks from using that as a hang point.

you know, I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of patent-design issue with bd.

R3 indicates a range 2 strands @ 7.5mm & greater; 1 strand @ 8.9mm & greater -- with good workability for 10.5 and acceptable workability for 11mm.

ATC-G indicates a range 7.7mm to 11mm.


I've found 8.5mm to 10.2mm is workable for me for any device other than the Reversino which is workable for my 7.7 twins - but not for the larger diameters.

I don't see a patent issue arising. The GI-GI was the same thing and there were steel plates prior to that and they all are the same idea.

I hope the Petzl work with thicker ropes. I'm limited to new and under 10 with the guide.

i will also chime in that my ATC guide is a pain in the ass with ropes bigger than 9.8. however, it is awesome with my 9.2.

glad to see that the R3 has a bit more material so wont blade as quickly. i know that any device will do that if you rap on it a bunch. every normal ATC i owned did the same thing. heck, my first gri gri has blades on it.

Thanks all for the comments. I did watch the video on the Petzl website. I think I'll wait until the R3 is available so I can scrutinize them side by side. With a company like Petzl one has got to think they believe they've built a better mousetrap.

Anyone get their hands on one yet? I held one the other day but haven't used one. Just curious.

I also wanted and rev 3 but in a hurry to the crag had to buy atc guide..pretty sweet rig

I have found the Reverso 3 to work well in autoblock mode and on rappel with a 10.5 line. No noticable difference from my ATC Guide.

Mike,

Is there any noticeable difference when belaying a climber on toprope and rapidly taking up slack? I have found that with the ATC that the teeth in the grooves can be a little grabby, especially with a thicker rope like a 10.5. Supposedly the R3 improves on this.

I traded in my old reverso for a new one. I like the way it handles with thin ropes. I climbed the other day on a 10.6 the other day and I had a hell of a time pulling/pushing/feeding rope through in auto lock mode. Rappelling with the larger diameter rope was a bit of work for the 50-75ft then it was pretty smooth. I’m not sure if like it more then the old style.

Greg,
The Reverso 3 worked well on top rope belay also. I recommend this divise mainly because it is easier to lower someone in autoblock mode. I don't think there are any negative trade offs by this improved feature of the Reverso.

I think it's harder to belay 2 at once with the Guide (ropes seem to bunch more, at least for me). While the Reverso (new or old) has always treated me right.

I'm with John Fodor on this. I've been using an original Reverso for years loving the auto-locking feature for belaying a second with all diameter ropes. I was so excited about the new Reverso3 when it came out so I ran out and got one. Belaying a second with the new one on a 10.2 Sterling rope is quite the effort. I have a partner who uses a BD ATC Guide so I'll compare it with that. I might just stick with my regular Reverso though

I hate how much friction is in my ATC guide in autoblock mode. I went to the store with a well worn rope and my worn ATC guide.

I set up an autoblock with the Reverso, Reverso3, and my own personal well used ATC Guide.

The Guide actually had the smoothest pull! I think this is due to the wear. I forget which of the Petzl devices had the most drag, they were all 3 relatively close.

One interesting note is the Reverso3 autoblock hanger is 90 degrees to the Reverso and Guide. This will make the device sit sideways to the cliff instead of out. Also, you can (try to) lower with a 'biner with the guide, just like the Reverso3. I tried this using my Guide and I couldn't get enough leverage to lower so the method is suspect for me.

I left the store with my used ATC guide. I guess these things get better with age.

FYI, a couple of weeks after my last post I tried the Reverso3 and the ATC guide again SIDE BY SIDE ON THE SAME ROPE - another Sterling rope, a 10.1mm - it's just this rope is a little newer than the one I had first belayed with which was comparable.
Huge difference! The Reverso3 belayed the second with ease and I rapped on it fine and felt very little difference between it and the ATC Guide. I've also belayed with it using my Sterling doubles and of course it is effortless with those. So I am happy again and will continue to use the Reverso3 but carry other devices if I think I will be using someone else's rope that is thicker or older.