Mammut Smart or BD Pilot?

Those of y'all who have used both or one of these devices, do you have a preference towards either? Heard good and bad things about both, so i'd like some other opinions. 

I prefer the pilot.  I find it much easier to feed rope with the thumb loop closer to me.  More practice with both would level the playing field, but I definitely prefer the pilot over the smart.

I climb with folks who use both, and we each prefer the one we settled on, so YMMV.

GriGri. Just bite the bullet, you'll thank yourself later.

It depends. I've owned a Pilot (and still would if my partner hadn't stolen it from me!), but I tended to chose the grigri over it for most circumstances. The Pilot seemed to be better at feeding out slack, but a little worse at holding a fallen climber than the one time I used a Smart. For what I was using it for - top roping, and belaying easy sport / trad climbing, it was okay. I think it's probably a situation where you learn the one you have, and that becomes your favorite. 

Don't know about the Smart, but the Pilot is sensitive to carabiner diameter, and probably the carabiner/rope diameter combination as well, had to try a few different carabiners before I found one that held without slipping (very slowly) when my partner was hanging. That said, I do prefer the lowering action over a grigri, it does feed quite nicely, and it grabs nicely in a fall.

Used them all - grigri is best hands down

Between those two? Pilot

But they're both single channel assisted braking devices. The megajul is a lot more versatile with 2 channels, super lightweight and has assisted braking as well. 

I prefer the smart by a long shot. First off, it's safer (see Hard is Easy yt channel about this). Second, it's easier on my thumb to lower my partner when the lever arm is longer. The both feed about the same.

I learned on the Pilot and my third eye was opened when I swapped to the Smart.

Joking aside, don't worry too much. Buy the one that looks cool, they're both good devices.

Zachary Henry wrote:

 it's safer

good one!

PWZ wrote:

good one!

https://youtu.be/v8pEe5X1-Lc

The smart + smarter is objectively safer for beginners.

I used the Pilot first but bought the Smart. Primarilly because Mammut designed it. Like has been said the Smart gives better lowering control I think.

These devices are easier to learn to use than using a gri gri "correctly".  For where breaking assist is required.

The Pilot feeds much more smoothly. It’s the device I recommend to climbers over any other for lead belaying, including the GriGri. 

Zachary Henry wrote:

I prefer the smart by a long shot. .... Second, it's easier on my thumb to lower my partner when the lever arm is longer. The both feed about the same.

Are you using your thumb with the Pilot as well??  Grab the whole thing with your hand and rotate it.  It's far easier to control imho.

Dave Baker wrote:

Are you using your thumb with the Pilot as well??  Grab the whole thing with your hand and rotate it.  It's far easier to control imho.

100% this

Dave Baker wrote:

Are you using your thumb with the Pilot as well??  Grab the whole thing with your hand and rotate it.  It's far easier to control imho.

I've tried it and find it significantly less comfortable to hold that way. To each their own, really.

I like the Smart more. The longer lever and the fact that you keep both hands on the rope makes for a more fine tuned lowering experience and it feeds super easy in my experience. I also think it's better/safer for lead belaying than the grigri, but the grigri is still smoother at lowering. This opinion is based off using the Smart with 9.2-9.6mm ropes and a round-stock HMS 'biner. It also helps to have a nicely flaked rope when belaying. The video posted by Zachary is really worth watching. 

Mammut Smart Alpine does a lot more than the DB Pilot.  The Jul is probably a lot cheaper than the Smart.

Update - I bought a Pilot the other day for gym / outdoor toproping use. It’s good 

Nice. I'm still edging towards the Smart. Can you lower by rotating the Smart like you can the Pilot?

I like my Grigri, but like the idea of a simple, intuitive machine (literally it's a simple machine) appeals to me too.

Zachary Henry wrote:

https://youtu.be/v8pEe5X1-Lc

The smart + smarter is objectively safer for beginners.

Eye opening. Considering the results with a large grain of salt — and especially given that he's specifically testing common failure modes — it's still a data point that would sway my decision.

Have heard anecdata that the Pilot slips slowly under load (could be carabiner/rope combo issue). Have also heard that the Mammut Smarter (not the Smart) is more hassle than it's worth, but looks to make a huge difference based on how it reacted in that video's test.

I find the edelrid mega jul fantastic