Both the good and bad comments that you hear about the safety of the Grigri are true. If used properly, it is a phenomenal and safe device. If used improperly, it can cause a belayer to make a serious mistake. Personally, I employ the Grigri for three specific uses: (1) setting routes at a rock gym on self belay (tying backup knots below the Grigri about every 6-8 feet for complete safety), (2) belaying in rock gyms that require Grigri use, and (3) belaying in unique situations like belaying a climber who wishes to "work" a route for an inordinate amount of time. In my opinion, the secret to safely using a Grigri as a belay device is extremely simple, but many climbers never learn the proper belay technique for a Grigri, or get a little complacent or lazy, knowing that the Grigri is "self locking". The secret is to use your brake hand on the rope with a Grigri the same way you would with any other belay device: brake hand never leaves the rope, brake hand is always prepared to pull down to the brake position to arrest a fall. In this way, if the lever is properly in the released position, then this normal belayer braking movement is redundant. But, if the lever is inadvertently left open (from contact with rope or harness, or from a belayer forgetting to release it), then the baking movement of the brake hand will arrest the fall just like it would with any other standard belay device (ATC, Sheriff, etc.). With proper use, as described above, the Grigri is quite safe. Yes, it must be used properly to be safe, but is that not true of most every piece of climbing equipment? A Grigri is a great piece of gear, when used properly. It is versatile and useful and is definitely worth having. It might cause a tiny bit of confusion for left-handed people like me. But take a few minutes, position it properly and you can make it work!
Allows belaying and lowering of a climbereven where the latter is heavier than the belayer. A handle allows easy control of the device and smooth runn...More at eBay
Fantastic prices with ease & c...(Stock status: N/A)
Description of Petzl GRIGRISelf-braking Belay DeviceDevice for belaying a leader or a second and for single rope descents.Features:Self-braking system...More at Amazon Marketplace
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