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socalclimber
Apr 10, 2011, 1:11 AM
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So, has anyone used these before? Any thoughts? I just got one, but I haven't used it yet. Has anyone seen the "blocking" portion on the bottom cause wear on fat belay loops?
Just curious.
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OCD
Apr 10, 2011, 1:27 AM
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I have been using one for about 4 months now, about 4 days a week outside. on the "sharp" side of the of the gridloc, small hole, I put the gri gri and seems to work well, and I have had any problem with the wear and tear,
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socalclimber
Apr 10, 2011, 1:39 AM
Post #3 of 29
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That is what I would expect with the grigri, I was referring to having the small end on the belay loop if you are using something like an ATC or stitch plate. Thanks though.
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northfacejmb
Apr 10, 2011, 5:39 AM
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We just got some at our gym and they're ok. Personally I don't like the added fuss that the locking part causes and I haven't had problems with a normal biner. I have noticed that they don't fit on gym harness' massive belay/tie-in loops very well. The only they'll work is if you clip the big end of the gridlock to the harness and belay off the small end. This works ok, but I've noticed that the keeper loop gets all wonkey when lowering and personally causes me concern.
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shockabuku
Apr 10, 2011, 10:27 AM
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I've been using one for about a month or so, 2-3 times/week. Haven't noticed any undue wear but I wouldn't expect to yet. I do put the smaller end around the belay loop. Sometimes when I put it on it binds up a little around the tripled part of the belay loop - I expect that it may cause a little excess wear over time.
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socalclimber
Apr 10, 2011, 2:12 PM
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Thanks!
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jbro_135
Apr 10, 2011, 3:54 PM
Post #7 of 29
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I have one of those skinny arcteryx harnesses, and I find the belay loop fits in the small end of the gridlock with a good bit of room to allow free movement. I can't see any problems with wear, but I've only had it for two months of occasional use so far.
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bearbreeder
Apr 11, 2011, 4:38 PM
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im still trying to figure out how big cross loading is an issue for belay biners .... i do use a belay master, but thats more to ensure its locked
i doubt there are many accidents as a result of cross loaded belay biners ....
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garythenuke
Apr 12, 2011, 2:05 AM
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bearbreeder wrote: im still trying to figure out how big cross loading is an issue for belay biners .... i do use a belay master, but thats more to ensure its locked i doubt there are many accidents as a result of cross loaded belay biners ....
I've had my belay biner crossloaded. I check frequently and a couple times I've corrected it, other times it is in the process of correcting itself.
I have a belay master and a gridlock. I like the belay master for every reason EXCEPT that the cable on my ATC bottoms out on the belay master but not at all on the gridlock.
I haven't had any issue with excess wear, but it does take a little more "fiddling" to get it clipped. But not too much more than the belay master.
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socalclimber
Apr 12, 2011, 12:58 PM
Post #10 of 29
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Interesting responses. I'm not worried about cross loading. Just curious about the wear issue. I guess we'll see.
Thanks.
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michael1245
Apr 12, 2011, 1:30 PM
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I have it. I like it.
You'll fumble with it the first few times, but it doesn't take long to figure it out.
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mattm
Apr 13, 2011, 2:15 PM
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socalclimber wrote: So, has anyone used these before? Any thoughts? I just got one, but I haven't used it yet. Has anyone seen the "blocking" portion on the bottom cause wear on fat belay loops? Just curious.
I got one and liked it so much I ordered a second.
The blocking part isn't "smooth" as you point out. That said, I seriously doubt there will be any increased wear on the belay loop. The design keep the loop AWAY from that area for the most part. I GUESS I could see a fat loop getting rubbed a bit but I suspect it would be pretty negligible. You'd have to climb A LOT to see a difference.
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rj95lss
Apr 27, 2011, 1:32 PM
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I have been using mine for about 3 months now at least 3 times a week with a grigri and I love it. I have never really had an issue with cross loading with my grigri, but have several times with an ATC (using a pear shaped locking biner).
When I first heard about the gridlock I thought "what a great idea" and bought one the same night. I have since ordered another one for my ATC as well.
I have noticed that the sharp end of the grigri is seeming to wear on the gridlock but I have not seen any wear on the belay loop of my harness. I ordered my second gridlock to use only with the ATC as the first one may shorten the life of my rope due to the grigri abuse on it.
All in all I love them and will probably use nothing else until something newer and better is developed (hard to imagine at this point)...
THANKS-
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rgold
Apr 27, 2011, 2:01 PM
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I've never heard of an accident caused by cross-loading of the belay biner, but the potential does seem to be there...I've certainly looked down and seen my biner in a cross-loaded position on multiple occasions. Like many things that could be a problem but probably don't matter, it's nice to have a solution that just eliminates the issue altogether, as long as it doesn't complicate life.
I don't think BD has the best solution. I like the Simond Spider HMS screwgate better.
They both keep the biner oriented on the belay loop, and I don't think wear will be a problem with either. But the Simond biner has the advantage that the little mini-gate can be used to hold your belay device, making it impossible to drop the device while you are unclipping the biner from your harness. This won't work with the BD model, which opens the retainer when you open the gate.
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shockabuku
Apr 27, 2011, 2:31 PM
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While the Gridlock opens the retaining part when opening the gate, as a practical matter, the belay device isn't going to fall out of the biner if it was locked in the small end.
I have noticed one potential issue with the Gridlock. My daughter (13) grabbed mine off the floor of the gym the other day (while I was climbing) to use as her anchor attachment while she was belaying someone heavier then her. She didn't attach it correctly - she had her belay loop and the anchor daisy both in the large compartment of the Gridlock. If it had been loaded there would have been a large amount of pressure applied onto the bent tail of the gate that partitions the biner (captures the belay loop). I don't know what would happen but I could imagine a couple of options:
1. The tail/gate flexes and the belay loop/daisy passes into the small end of the biner with no immediate issue.
2. The tail bends or breaks off and the belay loop/daisy drops into the small end of the biner with no immediate issue but retires the biner.
3. The tail breaks off/deforms or the pin on the gate shears causing loss of integrity and total failure of the biner.
None of the cases seems to be desirable.
Anyway, my point is that there is a potential safety issue here that isn't present in a conventional biner and which some people might not consider. The user must be aware.
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rgold
Apr 27, 2011, 3:02 PM
Post #16 of 29
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shockabuku wrote: While the Gridlock opens the retaining part when opening the gate, as a practical matter, the belay device isn't going to fall out of the biner if it was locked in the small end.
This isn't true my friend. If, as is quite typical during the unclipping process, the small end is uppermost, the belay device will drop down to the large end almost as easily as with an ordinary locker. Once down in the larger end, it is susceptible to being dropped as the gate is being held open and the carabiner is rotated back to the large end up position.
Most climbers learn to hang on to the belay device while unclipping the locker so that this can't happen. But every now and then they may release the device for some reason, at which point dropping becomes possible.
The Simond is just a better mousetrap in my opinion since it keeps the biner oriented on the belay loop and is better at guarding against loss of the device.
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shockabuku
Apr 27, 2011, 3:16 PM
Post #17 of 29
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rgold wrote: shockabuku wrote: While the Gridlock opens the retaining part when opening the gate, as a practical matter, the belay device isn't going to fall out of the biner if it was locked in the small end. This isn't true my friend. If, as is quite typical during the unclipping process, the small end is uppermost, the belay device will drop down to the large end almost as easily as with an ordinary locker. Once down in the larger end, it is susceptible to being dropped as the gate is being held open and the carabiner is rotated back to the large end up position. Most climbers learn to hang on to the belay device while unclipping the locker so that this can't happen. But every now and then they may release the device for some reason, at which point dropping becomes possible. The Simond is just a better mousetrap in my opinion since it keeps the biner oriented on the belay loop and is better at guarding against loss of the device.
It sounds good on paper, but I don't see it and I'm sitting here playing with one. If the belay device wasn't in the small end to begin with then I agree it's fairly probable that it could be dropped.
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bearbreeder
Apr 27, 2011, 3:33 PM
Post #18 of 29
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IMO ... i personally think that if it was a "real" safety issue ... then BD should ethically stop selling all other biners as belay biners ... and only include gridlocks in their starter BD momentum starter package that all the gumbies buy
note that DMM should probably do the same
by selling other "belay" biners ... they are basically saying that they are "safe enough" ... they certainly have been for the last few decades, is there an entry in NA accidents about where a properly locked and setup belay biner snapped and caused an accident?
im waiting for all those gumby deaths from all those gym and outdoor sports climbs that take more whippers than i ever will to die ... because they use old school belay biners
if it is a real issue ... expect to see comps and gyms require the use of gridlocks ...
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desertdude420
Jun 7, 2011, 3:48 AM
Post #19 of 29
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If you actually read the instructions that come with the BD Gridlock carabiner, it shows how to rig it with a Grigri. You should use the small section, not the larger section of the biner.
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qwert
Jun 7, 2011, 7:49 AM
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Question to all that have the Gridlock:
Could it be that it is made of a rather soft alloy?
Yesterday i tried the gridlock, and i really liked it, however it already showed quite some wear (small "rope groove" in the biner). According to the owner its not very old, and hasnt been used with extraordinarily dirty ropes.
qwert
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Muenchener
Jul 6, 2011, 10:44 PM
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qwert wrote: Question to all that have the Gridlock: Could it be that it is made of a rather soft alloy? Yesterday i tried the gridlock, and i really liked it, however it already showed quite some wear (small "rope groove" in the biner). According to the owner its not very old, and hasnt been used with extraordinarily dirty ropes.
The reason my Gridlock has only seen indoor and sport use is that when I tried to use it for alpine multipitch, I more than once came so close to dropping my device while fiddling the Gridlock on and off my belay loop that I switched back to a normal HMS krab.
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shockabuku
Jul 15, 2011, 6:12 PM
Post #22 of 29
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So after using mine for a while now I've decided that the two segment nature of the Gridlock is a PITA. I constantly get my finger stuck in the gate while trying to manipulate the biner around my belay device and belay loop. I think I'll go back to a regular biner.
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desertdude420
Jul 15, 2011, 11:42 PM
Post #23 of 29
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I have to agree. After using the Gridlock on several multipitch trad routes, I have decided to only use it for my GriGri since it works perfectly with one if used in the small hole..
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Taylorp.
Jul 16, 2011, 3:17 AM
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I just got one to use with my basic for TR solo. It works great for that but i would never use for a belay
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MS1
Jul 16, 2011, 3:30 AM
Post #25 of 29
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shockabuku wrote: So after using mine for a while now I've decided that the two segment nature of the Gridlock is a PITA. I constantly get my finger stuck in the gate while trying to manipulate the biner around my belay device and belay loop. I think I'll go back to a regular biner.
Yeah, I gave up on mine after a month. Too much trouble for a fairly theoretical benefit.
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