not my choice for lead belaying

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

I got this with the intention of lead rope soloing and it has worked well for me in that regard. I hoped that it would also be good for other uses, but i prefer my Gri Gri for most other belaying. It is easy to feed and catch with. It catches fast. Every time I've caught a lead fall with it I pull in an arms length of slack and pull down to brake, but the assisted lock feature catches before friction from the tradition tube action does. My only gripe is that the assisted brake doesn't stay locked as well as the gri gri so taking multiple falls and rests means the belayer has to do the braking by holding the rope in the brake position. I thought I might be able to work around this by pulling the brake strand off to the side of the device and popping up the brake, but that is harder that I tought it would be.

Anonymous

Innovative smooth lead belaying

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

I have been using this device for a while now and I absolutely love it. The Revo functions like a tube style belay device and pays out slack even smoother than my ATC. Great for cragging. Not the best for projecting as proper technique requires a lot of force on the brake hand compared to GriGri or classic tube style.I like knowing that a fall would be stopped even if something were to happen to my belayer. It is a bit heavy and bulky but worth the investment.

adam K.

Excellent for what it is

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

I used this intensively while climbing and guiding and I enjoyed the benefits of this device but it still is just another tool but does not replace anything on my harness. This is great addition to the world of assisted belay devices as this one is essential a mechanical tube style device. Belay as you would with any other tube device with the added confidence that the Revo will lock if something goes wrong with the belay. It feeds very smoothly but does not provide as much friction when the rope is weighted which makes it a tough device if the climber needs a extra tight belay or if the climber weights the rope often. You can't easily belay off the harness, as you would in a multi pitch terrain, with this device, and due to the lack of bite it is tougher to single line rappel with it as well. It has its place with teaching new belayers how to belay and giving them the freedom of doing it while still having a built in backup. This would make a significantly better addition to a program or climbing gym than a gri-gri,

Patrick Betts

Whole new belay experience!

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

I was given the Revo from Backcountry, but this review Is my personal opinion. The Revo will definitely make you the cool kid at the gym or crag! it is a unique belay device that acts like a hybrid between an ATC and a Gri-Gri. You operate it closer to that of an ATC, but provides a safety net for big falls or fast lowers (we had fun with this feature). Below is the rundown: Pros: Assisted belay! Can't lower too fast and if your climber takes a big fall the Revo will automatically lock. The rope flows smooth through the device by rotating around the inertia reel inside, much smoother than a Gri-Gri. Minimal friction and reduces any heat build in the device, so you don't have to worry about being too hot after a long lower. Was able to feed and take rope with ease and match my climber's pace. You have to pull pretty hard for the auto-lock to activate, this didn't get in the way of my belaying. The Revo also has bi-directional loading and works well for the ambidextrous. Sleek design! Cons: Heavy for a belay device! Outweighs the Gri-Gri and ATC by far. Since there is not much friction, felt like I had to break a little harder than when using an ATC. This really wasn't much of an issue though. Cost compared to other belay devices. Overall, I am having a great time with the Revo! It's a lot of fun and significantly reduces the risk of an accident at the crag. Not sure how it would work on a multi-pitch as most of my climbing is single pitch, but probably similar to that of a Gri-Gri. I gave it a 4-star rating due to the weight and relatively high cost of the Revo, but it works great. If you have a few extra bucks then I recommend this product for your climbing adventures!

Chase S

Works well but not perfect

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

I was given this product from Backcountry, but this review Is my personal opinion. Before I get into my product test of the Revo I think it's important to note that "THE REVO IS NOT A GRI-GRI AND DOES NOT OPERATE LIKE ONE"! I tested the Revo over several days in Rifle, Colorado and used it in all the typical situations, including lead belaying, top rope belaying and project belaying (aka working a route/hangdogging). I found several pros and cons with the device that I have listed below. Pros: In terms of ease of use the Revo is very user friendly. It pays out rope and takes in slack like butter. The locking feature works well and gives the leader an extra level of assurance when being belayed by the not so attentive belayer or newer climber. In the event of a leader fall the locking feature can sometimes lock and then quickly unlock when the belayer pulls down on the brake side of the rope. This doesn't affect the operation of the device but does take some getting used to. Finally the Revo works in either direction so you cannot thread the rope in backwards and the device works the same whether you are right or left handed. Cons: Weighing in at approximately 10oz (per my scale) the Revo is one of the heavier belay devices on the market. But since it is designed primarily for single pitch cragging I don't think this will be an issue for most climbers. One of the biggest issues I found with the Revo was its tendency to lock when pulling in slack to quickly. This happened to me several times when my partner yelled "take" and I pulled the rope in to fast. Once it locked I was unable to pull in rope until I manually pushed down on the locking mechanism with my free hand. I adjusted for this by pulling in slack more slowly but it was still frustrating when it happened. Additional Considerations: Although the Revo is not meant to operate like a Gri-Gri I think some comparisons should be noted for those who are used to the latter, especially for project climbing. When belaying someone that is "working a route" and hanging a lot (this applies to topropping as well) the Revo does not lock up and hold the weight of the climber like the Gri-Gri does. So for this reason the Revo would not be my go-to belay device for this type of climbing. But for lead belaying and onsight climbing the Revo works great and is a much safer option than a typical tube style belay device. For these reasons I think this is an excellent belay device for newer climbers and those who don't typically project routes.

Steven L.

Revo in action

Steven L.

Wild Country Revo Instructional Video

Here is a brief rundown of how to use the new Wild Country Revo.

Cole Seaton