Submited By: Chris Brain on 05/12/2010
To put it simply this device is amazing. I have used it in all aspects of my climbing, it really excels belaying indoors and top roping, but is outstanding for sport climbing. When using the “new” method of belaying (see the petzl website) it is so easy to feed a rope to a lead climber and the device locks up really effectively every time. Many people seem to find them clunky or difficult to belay a lead climber with, but with a bit of practice and patience it really pays off. The grigri works really well when a climber is falling regularly or is working a route on top rope an takes out a lot of the strain of belaying. The negative sides to the device is that it is only rated for ropes between 10mm and 11mm (9.8mm permitted apparently) so doesn’t work with newer thinner ropes. It also only takes a single rope so loses a bit of versatility there, and it is only meant for bolted protection and isn’t really for trad climbing due to it shock loading the gear more. However, if you watch almost any climbing video you will see climbers using it with natural protection, you just need to understand and accept the limitations of the device. It is also a little heavy and bulky. All that said, it is an excellent piece of equipment and leads its class for a lock assisting device. It will only be beaten when the lighter, thinner rope compatible grigri 2 comes out next year.
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