i personally do not own the petzl stop. i do however have a story to tell from yesterday. in my experience in using the stop, it's lowering is very smooth and fluid. Yesterday, however, 3 other cavers on rope and i were doing some rappelling into a cave on a cliff, and then rappelling the rest of the way to the ground. The first rappell into the cave from the top of the cliff went smoothly. When we went on our final descent to the ground, the petzl stop user must have gotten their trigger snagged on their shirt which gave them a freefall deck from 25 feet. the device did NOT lock off automatically. I must caution eveyone using this device to ALWAYS use a backup, and ALWAYS ensure that the device is completely clear from obsruction especially the trigger. If you do not follow these guidelines, you may shatter some bones in your feet.

I gave the device 2 stars due to it's fluid lowering when handled properly. The safety of the device is of HUGE concern on this. If you are going to be doing heavy or long dropps, i highly recomend a rappel rack.