Petzl GriGri
Reddit take
AI summary of the Reddit excerpts below — not a quote
The Petzl GriGri is widely regarded as the industry-standard assisted braking device, favored by professionals and recreational climbers for its reliability in gym and outdoor settings. While it is highly praised for its safety benefits, the community emphasizes that it is not foolproof; the device's camming mechanism can be easily defeated by improper technique, such as a belayer panic-gripping the device or accidentally blocking the cam during a fall.
Pros
- Widely considered the industry standard used by professionals
- Provides reliable assisted braking for increased safety over manual devices
- Versatile enough for various applications including multipitch and lead soloing
- Long-standing, proven design that predates many common alternatives
Cons
- Cam can be accidentally overridden or 'defeated' if held incorrectly during a fall
- Does not automatically feed slack, which can be cumbersome for soloing
- Lead soloing is described as a 'special kind of masochism' due to the friction and handling required
Caveats
- Safety is entirely dependent on the belayer not blocking the camming mechanism
- Requires specific hand positioning on the brake strand to ensure engagement
- Mixed opinions exist regarding its efficiency as a dedicated descending device versus a belay device
Best for
- General gym and outdoor lead/top-rope belaying
- Climbers who prefer a mechanical assisted braking device
- Multipitch climbing scenarios
Avoid if
- You are prone to panic-gripping the device during a fall
- You require a device that is impossible to manually override
- You want a dedicated, high-efficiency descending device for long abseils
This summary uses balanced time weighting with about a 6-month half-life. The evidence is older, with a median mention age of approximately 432 days, which is generally acceptable for stable climbing hardware but suggests a lack of very recent community discussion in the provided sample.
Sentiment
11 positive (48%) · 10 mixed (43%) · 2 negative (9%)
Trust + time weighted score: +42% · raw score 39%
What redditors said (10 of 23)
Fun fact, the GriGri is older than the ATC.
I have a grigri for belaying, but I was under the impression it's a belay device and not a descending device.
Parent context: from this description I think they mean 'tunneling'. would make me nervous with a standard atc but totally fine with a grigri, and is demonstrated in [this video from petzl] at 5:30 Reply: from this description I think they mean 'tunneling'. would make me nervous with a standard atc but totally fine with a grigri, and is demonstrated in [this video from petzl] at 5:30
IMO, just get a Grigri. The Revo can be a little... contrived. Neither are "safer" than the other, both are assisted braking devices.
In the end we had just seven cams, 16 draws, 15 free carabiners, one cam hook, one ascender, one Micro Traxion, and one Grigri.
A Grigri isn't entirely reliable and can be easily defeated (such as your ascender or other equipment/body/etc. accidentally pushing down on the Grigri's cam).
Dont get me wrong. I like the safety of getting belayed by someone with a grigri.
Parent context: Hey guys so I was looking for some advice that I havent found much of information online. So I have recently started out door climbing a lot. But none of by friends know how to belay so I just go by myself. I use my grigri and just pull up the slack as I climb up the wall. Is this dangerous and if so is there any other devices yall recommend me doing this with? Reply: Dangerous is a loaded term. Like a lot of climbing, what you’re doing is unlikely to kill you if done correctly as long as you know what the failure modes are. For example, one that has caused accidents is when people grab a grigri when they fall and defeat the cam.
As a sidenote free lead soloing with a grigri is a special kind of masochism, even with all the fancy lil' gadgets we have to make it suck less.
I've got all the gear to climb outside (quickdraws, GriGri, ropes, slings, biners etc).
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