Which belay device do you hate? Why?
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I already know a contingent of people find the gri gri to be noxious. And I’ll allow that it takes a bit of practice and some tips to get the hang of it. It’s hard to decide if it’s a cult to hate it or to love it, really. For me, it was the mega jul. I really wanted to love that sexy piece of stainless steel German engineering, but belaying felt a little halting and rapping was a complete stop-start bag of crap. That 30-meter journey convinced me to throw in the towel. Fortunately, it retained good resale! However, I fully blame my own lack of intellect and perseverance for the failure in that belaytionship, I’m sure it’s awesome in the right hands. |
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the eddy. borrowed one from a friend when they first came out, used it once and i'll never touch it again. aside from the fact that you load the rope opposite of a grigri (which drove me nuts), it was way to big and bulky. 10/10 fail. |
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Darren Mabe wrote: No memes in the text thread, please ;). |
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Colonel Mustard wrote: |
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Colonel Mustard wrote: This thread IS a meme. |
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The original mammut smart thing. Horrible to rack, not great to use |
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It takes up my entire pack when I bring it to the crag, it won't work with long pitches, and paying out slack is a pain. It's hard to rack because it weighs 35 pounds, which means that it is not incredible for multipitches, and to top it all off, is very expensive. |
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Ezra Henderson wrote: Holy crap, that would be a lead belay for the ages! Hands free, yes? |
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Not a fan of the Mammut Smart, Revo, Juls or Sticht plate with the spring. I can use pretty much anything else. Mostly use ATC-Guide, GriGri & CT Alpine Up |
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The Trango Cinch and Vergo get my votes. They are very fiddly to use smoothly. They both have a true design flaw, if the belayer turns their left hip toward the wall, the device does absolutely nothing. The Cinch was discontinued because the rope can just pop out of the device under normal conditions. They are the only devices I will not let some one belay me with. |
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I haven't used very many devices, but of the ones I have, the worst has been the revo. It has far too little friction, so catching and lowering is more difficult than it should be. Also on the note of the cinch, a few months ago, I had a friend deck from the top of a climb because his belayer's belay device failed on him and if I remember correctly, their partner was using a cinch. Luckily they walked away with only minor injuries though (this happened in a gym) |
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I am seeing a lot of red flags in this thread. |
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Shane F wrote: If you arrived at that conclusion because of my comment/video in another thread, more conditions are necessary to cause the device to not lock up: you have to also be holding it level such that the left side of the device is pointing in the general direction of the first bolt, and you have to have zero belay grip. The device does catch if the exit path of the rope is downward (even without a grip in my tests). Don't point the exit path toward the first bolt and it's a great device. All devices have edge case failure modes of some sort, and this one is easy to avoid if you know it exists. |
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Dating myself here; The Standing Shoulder Belay, and the Dulfer Sitz for rappelling. The reasons are obvious to anyone that's used them. |
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Elaine Gilstrom wrote: My first thought reading your comment was that this is exactly why I like the Revo for lead belay in the gym: it keeps my belay habits correct for when using an ATC outside. Still, I agree it could use a little more built-in friction. Biner choice can matter some but it is not obvious what’s going to add friction. Plus, adding friction to the weight of the thing can be hard on the shoulder if quickly paying out slack. Sigh. Anyway, my answer to the OP’s question is that my “hate” depends on the combination of device, circumstances, and my proficiency with the device. I guess that’s really a non-answer. :) |
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Devices I've used: ATC, Grigri, Lifeguard, Birdie, Revo, Giga Jul, Pilot, Vergo I dislike lead belaying with the Grigri. Other than that, I have no major issues with any of those devices. All have their pros and cons. |
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ATC guide…. The only device that caused me to be dropped to the deck!!! Another time- but climbing with a real AMGA- single pitch GUIDE- he forgot to protect the 2nd (me) on a climb that had the crux followed by a 20 foot traverse then more up. So I blow crux and slide sideways…. I’m hanging in space, again. The Guide asks the same question “can you unweight the rope? “No” I said… Next thing- I’m on the deck- this time my ankle is hurting and the weekend is over. So whenever I see one of those on my belayers harness. I ask “do you have anything else to belay with??” F those things. |
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One of the very first reviews of the ATC Guide was done by someone who has / had an MP username. I thought it was Vegas Trad Guy but that search draws a blank. The review of guide mode very politely said it was dodge-y and should first be practiced in a safe environment. Get better partners! ;) |
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Dating myself here too but I hate the Petzl Neox! Why? If Petzl would start selling them.... I could change my mind. : -) |
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Devices I've used: ATC (BD, Petzl, WC), Mammut Smart 2.0, Megajul, Grigri, CT AlpineUp, Gigi if that counts At the bottom of my list is the Smart 2.0. It works fine, it's super light, but it makes no sense to me that it's only single channel. And I know the alpine smart was 2 channel but they don't make it any more and the device as a whole just looks like some weird sad dong. ATC in all forms is down there too but it's just classic and has a lot of uses so I could never hate it, I just prefer others over it. |