Like a Grigri, but lighter.

By Dominick Layfield Ranked #560 - Belay and Rappel Devices July 3, 2006

After reading a copy of "Accidents in North American Mountaineering," I was sold on the idea of an auto-locking belay device: it seemed that a huge fraction of disasters could have been averted if an auto-locker was used. (Note that Trango, for legal reasons, refuse to call the Cinch an 'auto-locker'.)

I've had my Cinch for about a year, and I love it. It is just like a Grigri, but lighter. It works with skinny ropes too!

The upsides are the same: improved safety (if a rock fall hits your belayer, you're still safe); improved convenience (grab that sandwich while your leader dogs the route). The downsides are similar: no double rope belay; jerky lowering (particularly with a slick new rope).

Like the Grigri, it takes a little getting used to. I highly recommend carefully reading the docs on the Trango website.

View Details: Trango Cinch Belay Device

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