Birdie

Gri gri will be more flexible in the future, I bought a device specifically for single pitch sport (Beal birdie) and wish I just got a gri gri cause it allows for further development of skills.

My argument would be the assisted devices, gri gri, neox, Beal birdie , ect. all have more of a freeze up issue. If the device freezes up and doesn’t cam you’re out of luck. All tube style devices will ice up sure but they wont freeze up to the point it might not work It’s all a choice of acceptable

a lot of rope twisting can be avoid by keeping the rope path in one plane. all grigri style belay devices i know apply this improvement except for the grigri itself for unknown reasons. they are the edelrid pinch, the camp matik, the mad rock lifeguard, and the beal birdie.

I would recommend getting a low use used standard then. Don't be afraid to get them at a discount or lightly used. They are solid devices that are easily inspectable. If you're not comfortable with that, buy new. Now it is it my opinion that the alternate assisted brake devices (Beal Birdie, ect) ar

I have a beal birdie and absolutely live it, definitely a solid deal if you want a cam device

The Beal Birdie is a device that obviously emulates the design principles of the Grigri, but it doesn’t differentiate itself in ways that are actually useful. It just looks different and feels clunkier.

I like arguing on the internet and I like belay devices. You see tons of people saying shit like they won't let people belay them with other belay devices like the Smart or Pilot or Jul or whatever Based. Indoors I am a pilot user predominantly and as a result I am MUCH more skeptical of a prospecti

Just seems like they were designed to change the game, and to try to become the new standard, since the community has been stuck on the grigri for going on three decades. Problem with that is the game doesn't need to be changed, anything the grigri needed petzl came along and changed in the next ite

Grigri for assisted braking. There are some devices that are like 10% better than a grigri in certain aspects but for all-around versatility, safety, and quality control they're the standard for a reason. With that said, ABD's from reputable manufacturers are good and safe too (e.g. Trango Vergo, Be

From using the Lifeguard and the Beal thing, I think not leaving any slack inbetween the brake hand and the device makes it easier. Edit: Beal Birdie