Why I think the Petzl Grigri belay device is ace and whether it's suitable for trad rock climbing

There must be a million Grigri videos on YouTube, but there's not one of mine, oh wait, there is now. It's about the GriGri but I mention a few others like the Click Up, the Smart and the Revo. I also chat about whether they're any use for trad climbing and direct belays...
Please do fire away with any questions...
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[adaptivo]

I’m an RCI and ML and a climber of modest grade with 25 years’ experience. I think this guy is a great teacher, at least in the YouTube medium. I’ve seen a lot of Instructors in my line of work (rope access) and being a rope access (IRATA) Assessor (and an Instructor for many years) I feel I have a sense of when someone is passionate, clear at communicating, dynamic and effective. For me, JB is fantastic. Having had to talk into a camera a few times, it’s not nearly as easy as he makes it look!!
I’m really enjoying his videos and I feel it’s really helping me focus towards one day attempting my WML, MCI etc.
Wishing you all the best and I must / will subscribe etc.
A.

[bobcase]

I like the Megajul - really versatile, simple and light. It takes one or 2 ropes, can be used as an ABD, or reversed to act as a conventional basic belay/abseil device. Can also be used in guide mode too. It’s been my preferred device for a while.

[dsnewby]

Really like your calm and diplomatic attitude when sharing your knowledge. Makes it smooth to follow along and build oneself's impression while staying critial. Keep doing what you do!

[matthewdavies]

personally i feel more in touch to my climbers needs using a body belay

[gedheaton]

Great vid again, now there are many, many good vids on all aspects of climbing/scrambling etc, all as said full of seriously useful info, but what many lack is a sort of virtual attachment to the viewer, you have nailed it JB and confirmed to me by someone who recently did their ML Assessment & Training with you.
I also love the way that you usualy take the time to reply to comments
Keep up the great work Jez, be safe and Cheers'.

[mgunthe]

Really nice video. I loved that you actually went into some of the physics of the type of device will influence the Newtons a piece of gear. I had wondered about that so it was really nice to have it mentioned here. Also super interesting, as you said, to see how petzl lays out calculating fall factors. I learned a lot here. Cheers!

[cornishlad]

I love a grigri for indoor lead and sport when using 9.8 and smaller ropes. Top rope, bottom rope and trad I tend to use a guide plate. Love the additional functionality of the guide plate with direct belays. Also a neat trick that can be used to switch from an extended abseil to ascent if you need to switch around mid-decent.

HOWEVER... If someone's projecting a route the grigri is coming out regardless. Rather more comfortable if someone's sat around for ages.

Have you had a chance to play around with the new beal birdie? A mate bought one and I've gotta say, I might be buying one before too long.

[ytBC]

Picked up one recently, great for bottom rope belaying but definitely require practice for lead belaying, . Feels very strange at first but after a while the advantages of using a Grigri become apparent. Outdoors I've been using it to abseil, inspect routes, and in time will look at using it to ascend a rope. Might be another video on that topic JB, thanks for all the videos so far, excellent source of info.

[jonnylowit]

I tend to find that most of the people who tell me they hate grigri’s or other ABD’s have never had proper instruction on how to use them and upon a good chat and some active learning most of them tend to like the use of them by the end of the session. I took a huge fall on looking glass rock in North Carolina and if it wasn’t for a running belayer and a grigri I’m sure I would have been on the floor rather than the 2m off it I landed!

[SomeGuy-sjly]

I like grigris, i typically prefer using an atc tho. Same reason i like manual transmission. Makes you pay a bit more attention.

[logiconabstractions]

The GigaJul is an interesting ABD for use with 2 ropes.

[tonymankey]

Got to love a Grigri for sport climbing

[lukethornton]

I love them for indoor bottom roping but I feel super uncomfortable using them for lead climbing so I stick to a standard atc. Great informative video.😃

[chrisbrown]

Love the grigri with a skinny rope once it's use has entered muscle memory, which takes a while. I do agree it's smoother once you know it. The thing I love about the clickup is you can hand it to any ATC user at a wall or sport crag and get a safer belay. Much more intuitive and easier to use safely.

[kasparl]

Thanks, this one is good to know.
And what are your thoughts on Edelrid jul type of devices? So light and simple, it should be loved by many, but I don't hear a lot about them..

[arnoldkotlyarevsky]

Have you considered trying the edelrid megajul? I have been using one for years now and though it is not perfect at anything it is workable-to-very-good at everything. Relatively cheap. Extremely lightweight. Durable. Thoughts?

[mnewman]

Top work on the videos, been a staple while trying to hone the skills in lockdown!! What's your opinion on using a grigri to repel? I've never quite got my head around how it would work but would love to not have to carry two devices for the same job ...

[liam]

I'd like to know if you have seen/used a Beal Birdie and what your thoughts were on it if you had.

[saxonhigdon]

With the revo it works in either direction. It pays out super smooth (as you said). As intuitive as a tube. It will lock up with an arms length of slack (plus on a lead fall youve already built up that 4mps, so not sure about that "ride", ive never seen it). It holds the lock, but only takes .005 of a second to disengage. Which the auto lock is only for worst of the worst case scenarios (or lead solo) so who cares anyway..? In my opinion. The only down sides are weight, cost, and the fact you can only run one rope. All of which are issues shared with half this list, especially the grigri. Winner in my book, with the exception of the giga jul.

[zivanovic]

You can put everything aside when you have a Beal Birdie and BD ATC...