Smart

Left handed belay instructor here… Like it or not, the industry is moving towards assisted breaking devices, so don’t buy an ATC. On toprope, you can actually apply some pretty slick left handed technique with a GriGri, but not so much when lead belaying. Any of the geometry assisted devices (BD Pil

This happened to me before - lowering a heavier climber and I got my hand stuck in the ATC and it was so painful. I got an auto braking device (Mammut Smart) which feels a lot like an ATC but has the auto brake similar to a grigri. I personally don't like a grigri because it is harder on lead belay.

I use a smart alpine, which is a twin-tube version of the Mammut Smart. There is an odd motion that you can do where the curve of the belay biner can bind in the device, locking it up and preventing rope from traveling in either direction in it. I think it is better to have the wider belly, as well

The mammut smart and atc Pilot are geometry based and use almost the same technique for belaying as your reverso, with the benefit of the backup that you’re trying to figure out. I’m not a fan of making something that is not complex more complex because I don’t want to pick a tool that already exist

If you only ever plan to do single pitch climbing with anchor hardware, it's fine. Very similar to the Ederlid Jul2, Ocun Bow, and Mammut Smart. However Petzl Grigri or Edelrid Pinch are better at locking off the rope if your partner is projecting and hanging lots, or if you have a weight difference

It works great. Replace the Mammut Smart 2.0 with the GriGri+ and you’ll get how I use it. I rappel down the tree with it. Is it the intended use? No but it’s a common practice with those who hunt from a saddle

I always sing the praises of my Mammut smart alpine. It's the twin tube version, and it's been with me on more pitches than anything else. It is pickier about rope sizes, but as a single device for everything, it can't be beat. It has the smoothest rappel action and the smoothest belay action. One t

I started with a figure 8 backed up underneath with a schwabish hitch connected to my linesman loop (dominant side). Very easy to do. I'm now running a Mammut Smart 2.0 (same backup to linesman) and it's easier. It just requires a 9-11mm rope and an HMS carabiner. I don't want a mechanical device on

I guess I would say you should consider moving to something like a geometric device like Jul2, Mammut Smart, BD Pilot, etc. It won’t make you any less attentive because it’s a passive device but it will offer more controlled lower and save you in the very unlikely event you lose the brake strand. Al

theses days i see no good reason to use a manual tube device. yes they work fine, but you are adding risk into the system. every year there are many accidents that would have been avoided if the belayer used a brake assisted belay device. i’ve switched from a grigri over to a neox and i love it. a m