ATC

Most of the comments thus far aren’t aware of the differences between a standard ATC, and an ATC Pilot. You can’t go wrong with a grigri or Pilot but the Pilot is the better option for most first devices IMO. Unless you’re gifting it to someone. My recommendation is not as a former Black Diamond rep

Oh my God, I had this bullshit happen in real life. I was ice climbing (well, top-roping in the Ouray Ice Park) with my wife belaying me. Long story short, some dude walks by and accuses her of having an unsafe belay. In reality, she was properly using a BD ATC, but he insisted BD stopped selling th

IMO, everyone should learn on a non-assisted device first to build strong brake-hand-always-on habits, and then if assisted braking is desired, get a Grigri because it's more or less the standard ABD. I started on a BD ATC-XP, which worked very well. I would recommend a two-lane device, and to get a

Why two belay devices? Skip the ATC, it’s antiquated, especially for gym climbing. Skip both carabiners, get a D shaped locker for the Grigri or Neox. Black Diamond has produced faulty avalanche beacons which have killed people, and BD put off issuing recalls - consider whether you want to trust and

or Black Diamond ATC Pilot. (the edelrid one is called the "Jul") Any of the mentioned devices will be a great upgrade from a basic ATC style, both in usability as well as safety.

I have a Giga Jul and use it as my primary device for gym and outdoor sport climbing. It's super versatile, and can be used with double ropes as well as for rappelling, but if you're not going to be doing that, then your options are more open. I haven't used the Ocun Bow, but it looks to be the same

I stick to screwlocks for basically all my carabiners (save for a couple small wiregates I have for clipping shoes/chalk to my harness). For a belay device, assuming it's an ATC style, get a round stock carabiner - ie it looks like it's made of a cylinder of metal instead of the flattened profile th

I’m a small person who often belays larger ones. I found the ATC a little too unforgiving, so I switched to a Black Diamond Pilot. Way cheaper than a grigi. The shape of the device gives you a clear, simple way to control the rope’s max speed alongside your brake hand. I use a Neox now (a lead-centr

8.5 mm ropes are really scary with regular belay devices. Get the green Black Diamond Alpine ATC or something else that is actually designed for thin ropes.

The Neox and Revo pay out slack the same way as an ATC. I haven't used the Neox but I've heard about the noise that it makes, so I'm not sure it's worth it. Revo is great for paying out slack - it's so smooth ☺️ Its downside, though, is that it's a bit pricey and that it's assistance kicks in only if