Secondly, the GriGri allows belayers to relax a little more while a climber hangs. Ashima Shiraishi was once dropped this way. It should be mentioned that the GriGri creates other possible risks - feeding slack to a leader sometimes requires a gentle push on the camming mechanism, and if the thumb is left in place, the device will not lock. Because of the camming mechanism, the GriGri also helps mitigate the risk of a belayer somehow losing grip on the brake strand.

I had a friend get a concussion after getting yanked into a roof on a belay (yes, he wears a climbing helmet now), and if he hadn’t been using a GriGri, his climber would have dropped. In rare circumstances (like rockfall) something could happen to the belayer, and a GriGri will still catch a fall. Especially when climbing outside, some variables are beyond control. What you’re paying for when you buy a GriGri is assisted braking, that is, the ability to lock down on the rope without constant tension from the belayer. No matter which device you’re using, make sure you have a thorough understanding of how to use it before you’re out in the field. Buying a GriGri (or any other new-fangled device) will never absolve the belayer from being knowledgeable, reliable, and attentive. I repeat: there is no device on the market that will compensate for bad habits or sloppy belaying. NO BELAY DEVICE WILL MAKE UP FOR BAD BELAY TECHNIQUE

(You can also compare the GriGri and ATC to other top belay devices in our belay device buying guide.)īefore we get started, there’s one extremely important preface to everything in this article. To put these devices to the test so I could shed insight on these questions, I climbed up all kinds of single pitch and multipitch climbs, indoor and outdoor, trad and sport, long and short. The GriGri is now a household name among climbers, and it’s the second half of our test.įor many climbers, the question remains: which belay device should I use? Is a GriGri worth the investment? Can I get by with a single belay device? Which one should I get first? As is often the case, the answer is…it depends. The GriGri, released in 1991 and named after an African good luck charm, was a revolutionary moment - a belay device with a cam that would actively lock during a fall. The goal was to create a safer descent device than the venerable figure eight, ideally something “as trustworthy as a seatbelt.” In the late 1980s, Petzl assembled a team of expert climbers and started fiddling around with belay devices. The most popular modern tube-style device is the Black Diamond ATC (in its various forms), which will make up half our test. Named after its designer Fritz Sticht, the device was a precursor of the tube-style belay devices we still use today. Periodically, belay devices come along that change climbing the way the iPhone changed cell phones.

More belayer fatigue in some circumstances.

Other specific uses (routesetting, simulclimbing, etc.).

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