Petzl Grigri on 9mm KMIII - ahhh, that's better

Ron · Oct 22, 2009

Petzl Grigri on 9mm KMIII - ahhh, that\'s better

Well, Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!! I thought I was going to have a video to go with this, but my recorder didn't......record that is. I suspect it was some kind of operator error.

Anyway, back to the subject - did I mention this is the third time that's happened! Where was I - oh yeah. Guys the difference in performance of the Cinch and Grigri on KMIII 9mm rope is night and day - period! There's that much difference.

I was out climbing today, NOT recording the climb with my helmet cam......Grrrrrrrrr (I thought it was recording and it wasn't). I had my Grigri on my KMIII 9mm rope - it climbs right - it rappels right. You can release very slowly and smoothly, you can go fast and stop almost instantly, or you can 'feather' it to a stop. I'm very impressed with the Grigri's performance.

So what's all this mean? Well first it means I'm not gonna rely on that #$%^&!!! remote for my helmet cam recorder. I'm gonna do everything from the recorder itself. Was there anything else? Oh, on Lava and Velocity I'd take either the Cinch or the Grigri - probably which ever is cheaper. But if I'm climbing on small diameter rope, it's a no brainer, I'm going with the Grigri.

It is interesting that the Grigri is spec’d for 10mm – 11mm rope and the Cinch is spec’d for 9.4mm – 11mm rope and the Grigri performs beautifully on 9mm.

Rocks_and_Trees · Oct 24, 2009

Re: Petzl Grigri on 9mm KMIII - ahhh, that\'s better

What climbing style were you using? SRT? That's interesting Ron, thanks for sharing.

jf1962 · Oct 24, 2009

Re: Petzl Grigri on 9mm KMIII - ahhh, that\'s better

Have you ever look at the Eddy ?

Later from SO-CAL..

Edelrid Eddy Belay Device

The Edelrid Eddy is the perfect belaying device for sport climbing for either novice or the experienced climber. The Eddy doesn't need much explanation and in simplicity is safety. Easy to thread, the rope follows logically the rope flow. A controlled descent with an emergency break system eliminates the "panic pull" syndrome which can lead to serious accidents. The Eddy provides maximum safety whether top roping or lead climbing with easy paying out of rope to the leader. Can be used for single ropes with diameters from 9 to 11 mm.

Features:

* Self-braking system: if the rope suddenly comes under tension (eg. in a fall), the cam pivots to pinch the rope, thus helping the belayer stop the climbers fall.
* Usage is similar to that of a conventional belay device:
- giving/taking in rope is done using both hands to slide the rope through the device,
- falls are held by holding the free end of the rope,
- for lowering and abseiling, the rate of descent is controlled by the hand holding the free end of the rope (the rope is released by the handle)
- if the handle is over extended, the cam will engage - avoids an accelerated fall.
* For single ropes 9 - 11mm

Ron · Oct 25, 2009

Re: Petzl Grigri on 9mm KMIII - ahhh, that\'s better

Rocks_and_Trees - I was on a RADS set up.

jf1962 - I did look at the Eddy; it costs double or more than a Grigri or Cinch and it's heavier than either. The only thing I know of that it has that is better than the Grigri or Cinch is the panic feature. But, then, I've never heard of one incident where the lack of a panic feature caused an accident that wouldn't have happened anyway.

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My choice right now is the Cinch - no contest. It doesn't work as well on 9mm rope as I'd like, but it's not designed to work on 9mm rope. It works great on PI, Lava, and Velocity. I did notice a little more drag on the PI when ascending. It isn't a problem - just noticeable.

The Cinch is light, compact, simple to install and uninstall and can be easily tethered to prevent a drop.