Is it safe to rap with a Gri Gri?

[austinconrad]

I've been reading and getting mixed opinions on this. Any thoughts?

[theriault]

its safe, as long as you load it right and are on a single line..... try it out on the ground first to make sure you understand how it works, its tricky at first

[*Chris*]

I've been reading and getting mixed opinions on this. Any thoughts?

I've probably used a grigri to rap well over 100 pitches. It's no more, or less safe than at ATC style device... just different.

As Marty mentioned it is a single strand device so that limits it's use in most normal situations. It's failure modes: improper loading of rope into the device, improper system rigging, and letting go of the break hand are identical to the potential failure modes for an ATC. Knowing the device's function solves #1, knowing that it's application is for single ropes only solves #2, and backing up your brake hand with a prussic can solve #3.

Although I use it to rap extensively for fixed-rope situations I almost never bring it with me in day-to-day climbing. To clean and rap a pitch you'd either need to:

1) feed an end through your rap point, tie into it, and feed the other side to the GriGri... thereby lowering yourself down the pitch (drawback is that the rope is moving... so make sure it's on metal and not soft-goods. drawback #2 is that you'll have no way of confirming that you have enough rope to rap the pitch before committing... so tie a knot in the free end and hope to god that it doesn't get sucked into a flake as you rap and it gets pulled up. )

or

2) simul-rap with someone else using a GriGri (drawback is that this is generally accepted as a trickier situation... not to be attempted unless you... and your partner know exactly what your doing)

Both options are more of a pain than just tagging along the extra 60g or whatever the weight of an ATC is.

If you wouldn't rap with it than I certainly hope you wouldn't belay with it either. Right?

[*Chris*]

... and one more thing:

a GriGri will never be as smooth a ride as an ATC device. You'll find that this is especially true on modern ropes that are <10mm and even more so when they get wet. Rapping on a wet 10mm rope with a GriGri can really suck. Rather than controlled decent it's more like: Drop 5 feet... come to grinding halt... repeat for length of pitch.


*sigh* I'd really like to edit my posts for last minute thoughts like this. It's probably been 6-7 years since this site hosted any true anonymous flame wars. Haven't we been civil enough to earn this privileged yet?

[Dom]

I find this is the best method to rap with a grigri and be able to retrieve the rope from the bottom. I actually used it today!



This way the rope doesn't move.

Doesn't work with a tree or large biners though.

[austinconrad]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I have belayed with a gri gri numerous times and I have rapped with it as well. I just recently had someone tell me I was insane for rapping with one and I just couldn't understand why :S I will continue rapping with it. I rap with it in order to take pictures. I rap down a single fixed line and back it up with a figure eight on a bight below the device when I stop to take pics.

[*Chris*]

Yes... setting up for photos is 50% of when I'll be using a GriGri to rap and aid climbing is the other 50%.

Dom, I've seen that rig before. Seems like an awful big wad of knots and biners to get stuck sometime while pulling the rope. A big dude like me doesn't even feel the extra weight of the ATC. Petzl says their new reverso is 59g. That's less than my belay biner.

[theriault]

I use it a lot for cleaning and bolting routes.... you can set it up to self lower yourself, so you can pull the rope when you get to te ground.... tie a figure 8 to your harness, clip the rope in the anchor then load it into the grigri on the other side of the anchor.... you will self lower, simple and safe