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

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

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.

If you weren’t having issues with an ATC, then I’d recommend switching to a different belay device. I use the Black Diamond Pilot, and I personally think it’s much better than a grigri! It’s much more intuitive, easier to feed rope, and in my (controversial) option is safer.

I reread you post and just wanted to add one little bit of rappelling advice. Generally, when rappelling into water, you will want to NOT use a friction hitch backup. Especially if it's moving water or if don't know how deep it is. Imagine floating in the cold water of Mystery spring trying to untie

I still feel like I can’t give enough slack out quickly enough with a gri gri and I’ve been climbing for 10 years. I’m not tall and my arms aren’t long so when my climber clips high I struggle to get the rope out quick. I use the black diamond pilot or the mammut smart. They act a lot more like a st

Black Diamond ATC pilot or mammut smart are my recommend devices if you need an ABD. I use my grigri and Giga Jul all the time but my Pilot is my lead belay device in the gym. It is lighter, more intuitive - especially if you already know a standard tube style device, and smoother than a grigri. All

As someone who owns (and loves) the GriGri I'm actually gonna recommend against it for this. For indoor top roping I find the thick fuzzy ropes are just a massive pain to use with it, lowering my partner (who's fairly light) feels as though I have to force the rope through the GriGri with some of th