What is a silent partner, and why are they so expensive

I keep seeing posts about people selling silent belayers in the for sale forum and they go for like over 500 dollars

Why are they so expensive?

They aren’t produced anymore, they are the only device designed intentionally for lead soloing, and there was a whole thing on ebay a couple years ago that really jacked up the price.

John Clark wrote:

They aren’t produced anymore, they are the only device designed intentionally for lead soloing, and there was a whole thing on ebay a couple years ago that really jacked up the price.

They’re not the only device intended for lead soloing, the Soloist and Soloaid were also intended for  lead soloing. The Silent partner did feed better and more “hands free” IMO than either of those devices or others that I’ve tried, making them desirable for free climbing vs aid climbing. It also didn’t require a chest harness like the other two. For these reasons and there are not many alternatives, and because they’re no longer made, the demand has been high and the supply has been low, so prices have gone up.

I’ll also say that I think the demand is somewhat “theoretical” because there is a lot of interest and little supply.  And I mean interest, not demand for actual use. A lot of people think they want one, but wouldn’t actually use one. My experience with solo devices was that I tried it a while, and I did get up some cool stuff, and got some satisfaction out of it, but ultimately realized it wasn’t something I was going to stick with. It’s a lot of extra work, a lot f extra fear, and a lot of extra futzing with gear. Sure there are some people who master this and continue LRSing and I think that’s awesome, but I bet for every one of those there are 10 people like me who sell their devices. So I do think if there was even a small supply of SP’s that’d support just the resale market, they would not be so expensive. 

I'd add that bro climbing culture has increased demand for a belayer that can't talk.

I have the Soloist and my bro has the Silent Partner. Our work schedules keep us from climbing with a partner. Until recently I had been climbing Lead Rope Solo since 2012 because I had no one to climb with. ( I've sent 200+ pitches with it). I prefer my Soloist because I watched my bro go inverted during a lead fall on overhanging terrain. The chest harness makes this nearly impossible on the Soloist, but to each their own I suppose.  The price definitely went up after Rock Exotica quit making them. SPs are definitely higher because of the complicated centrifugal clutch, but it is heavy! It dangles down while climbing too. My Soloist is always upright and weighs about what an original Gri gri does.

A Silent Partner is a bit of gear you will, in your lifetime, never encounter. You will see pictures of them, and some old guy will say he used to have one before he fell on hard times and sold it for a few sawbucks. But suffice to say, you won't own one or feel the need to own one. Ever. 

DeWeese, I thought you were on the Revo train these days?

Where can you get one for only 500?

Sylvester Jakubowski wrote:

Where can you get one for only 500?

Do you have access to a time machine?

I have a hunch that the most recent explosion in price started when reel rock did the piece on Pete Whittaker ropesoloing the freerider. IIRC at the time, every gym bro learning how to trad climb and their brother were sniffing around for one to brag about having.

John Clark wrote:

DeWeese, I thought you were on the Revo train these days?

Only for shortfixing with a partner on a wall, otherwise I always reach for the SP first when soloing 

I do miss mine, she was great breaking in and out of aiders. I’m curious about the new Neox, it looks to function like a grigri (which I’ve used for long Aid solos), and seems to incorporate the flywheel clutch… Or whatever that’s called. New solo possibilities on the horizon?

The Silent Partner was one of the better climbing investments I ever made. I climbed a bunch of cool routes with it during a time when I was new to the area and didn't have a partner, then I sold it for 3x what I paid and bought a Hilleberg tent that I've used to have several more really good expedition experiences. 

Ryan Crochiere wrote:

I do miss mine, she was great breaking in and out of aiders. I’m curious about the new Neox, it looks to function like a grigri (which I’ve used for long Aid solos), and seems to incorporate the flywheel clutch… Or whatever that’s called. New solo possibilities on the horizon?

Neox is most likely unsafe for soloing based on initial pull tests. 

consider to have a look at the El Mudo 3.

https://stonecrag.com/

There are lots of rigs these days that are superior to the silent partner in almost every way. I think the SP is still the superior product for certain niche applications (like soloing a wall) but I think it's become a niche soloing product. If you want a generalized good LRS rig just get a Grigri+ or any of the comparable rigs.

What Ricky said above ^

I had one many years ago and used it for a while then got out of rope soloing because i had sn abundance of partners. I bought it for $250 and then sold it 10 yeats later for $250. No reason to gouge people and I got my use out of it. 

In recent years I've gotten back into rope soloing and there are several devices that work well, or even better...you just have to know what you're doing.

I remember when there was a used one for sale for $99 and I thought to myself, "that's a good deal, but I rather have a new one, even if I have to spend a bit more and wait for them to release more". Well, Rock Exotica never released a new one again and that was the last SP I ever saw below $300. At $300 I said, "forget that! That's $100 more than a new one. I'll just wait for them to release more soon". And here we are today.

Silent Partner... I gave mine away in the late 90s. It was a piece of junk. Can't believe people are paying so much for them nowadays.