Petzl Grigri Belay Device

works great, solid edition to gear

The Grigri saved me this weekend. Belayer wasn't experienced enough and wasn't ready for my weight, lost control of the rope but the Grigri worked as designed.

I like the auto locking feature for beginner climbers/belayers, it's a great safety feature. I just worry, and my personal experience confirms that, using a Grigri or other auto-locking device makes people lazy and careless: taking break hands off the rope, not watching the climber, or worse. I suggest weaning the beginner off the use of these devices very quickly.

This is a great device for taking newbies climbing. i love the picture on the grigri that illustrates which way to feed the rope. i don't personally like it as a lead climber though, when I need rope in a hurry and the thing locks up as I try to yank the rope up! But it functions as designed. i find it a little bulky for multipitch climbing since you have to have your ATC with you anyways, it becomes an extra piece.

I borrowed a friends Grigri. I wanted to teach someone about climbing, but at the same time I did NOT want to take a fatal chance with a newbie belaying me. I showed him how to use the device, and how to always make sure he was watching me and what to do if I fell. I felt confident in him belaying me and ended up trying some dynos due to the fact that it was a self locking device. I fell in love with the thing when we both realized how simple it is to lower someone with it. If you want the best device out there, here it is.

It's a Grigri, the end-all be-all of autolocking belay devices. Contrary to other reviews, I have had no problem feeding rope to a leader, and contrary to Petzl, it will hold a 10.0 rope just fine. The only thing is that both climber and belayer HAVE to make sure it's threaded the right way. It's not a safety shortcoming, just do it right. I have a friend in the hospital with two shattered ankles right now from a Grigri threaded wrong. That said, it is an amazing device, easy to feed, easy to lower, easy to ascend, etc. There's a reason they haven't changed the design in 12 years.

The Grigri is the best. It is nearly impossible to screw up. Its self locking function is killer. I love it on lead belay. And if your out with some newbies and their hanging a lot you as the belayer can rest too.

these even works for idiots! the only way to f this up is to ignore the 3 pictures and the 2 page pamphlet sold with each unit. remember, load it backwards....it always makes for a good thanksgiving story at the 'rents house!

Every time i get to use the grigri i am totally happy with how smooth it feeds the rope and lets the climber come back down. The cinch sucks, cheaper and its a no brainer why. This is the only one to get, also great for route setting for going up and down on the wall.

Simple, standard, its a GriGri. Pros: easy and safe to use once you've got the basics down. Cons: not as smooth belaying a leader as other non-autolocking belay devices.

Pros: great for belaying a top roped climb and can belay a leader with some practice. Cons: can cause a hard catch when belaying a leader not as good for trad belays. Heavy.

Like Kleenex or a Frisbee, there's a reason people will refer to any locking-assist belay device as a Grigri. Can't go wrong with this thing, just make sure you follow the directions.