UKH

Couple of new "assisted braking" belay devices coming to market imminently, has anyone tried either of them yet?

Do they pay out slack to a lead climber better than the existing GriGri (2019)?
A couple of reviews are saying the Neox is very smooth, but not as good for top roping.

In reply to Alpenglow:

Both do.

The Pinch is imo a better all rounder but the NEOX is even less grabby than the Pinch.

In reply to jezb1:

Thanks, what made the Pinch a better all rounder?

In reply to jezb1:

You haven't done a Pinch video yet have you? I saw your Neox vid, really interesting! 

In reply to Alpenglow:

My NEOX video is here: https://youtu.be/ETKWlKkzyHI?si=oKBt5xACrJpPG1xH

The Pinch works better than the NEOX for belaying from above, abseiling, using to work a route solo, all imo of course. The NEOX fills a niche within a niche.

In reply to TobyA:

Not yet… my Pinch was a pre production one and they had issues with the spring in the handle. My spring is somewhere at Torbryan 😂

Waiting for another one.

In reply to jezb1:

Thanks Jez, great video on the Neox - looking forward to the Pinch one.

Last question, how do the two compare for top roping?

In reply to Alpenglow:

I picked up a Neox before we came out to the Alps. We spent yesterday climbing with it on single/multi pitch crag. 

For me, it’s an improvement over the grigri because you don’t have to hold it open to pay out quickly, even though I’m adept at that and have used a grigri since they first came out. For slack, it pays out just like a tube device, actually, probably smoother. Otherwise, locks off great for working moves, belaying seconds and top roping. Lowering off action may be slightly more controllable compared to a grigri but there’s not a lot in it.

I tend to walk in and out a lot belaying single pitch, and this basically removes the need to do that when a leader is clipping. Do I *need* a Neox? No, the grigri is a great device in experienced hands. However, I will probably end up using it because of the ease of paying out without adopting another hand position. It is a grigri fundamentally, with the rope running around a pulley instead of directly on the front of the cam. I’ll be interested to see the longevity of the pulley bearings in use…the grigri is bomb proof in this respect.

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

I'm yet to try a Neox, but I had a couple of questions, if you (or Jez obvs) don't mind.

In terms of feeding out slack, I've only seen (in videos) people feeding the rope in from the bottom while simultaneously pulling rope out from above. But can you just let the rope slide through your braking hand while pulling from the top? That would mean pulling up two armfuls of slack would be pretty quick. I can do that with my megajul at the moment, using the thumb loop to disengage it. 

And is it *impossible* for your climber to pull the rope hard enough to lock the device, i.e. if they're climbing out of site above a ledge and you're keeping the rope fairly snug, and then they go to clip unexpectedly and pull up on the rope, will the Neox lock? And if it does, what do you do to unlock it and feed out slack? How hard is it to unlock it? 

In reply to RyanOsborne:

Yes as long as you pull smoothly and not too hard otherwise the device locks.

No otherwise it wouldn't lock if you fell. The best solution if it locks is to take a small step forward to reduce the tension and feel the rope through. It is also possible to use the thumb on the back of the device method (something Petzl never endorsed with the original device).

In reply to Graeme Hammond:

It's on their website (for the grigri+ at least)

 

In reply to RyanOsborne:

I'd used mine a fair bit prior to the video but I've used it quite a lot more since as well and I'm even more impressed now.

To answer your question it's going to depend on the rope. I used it on an 8.7mm the other day, and it was basically impossible to short rope someone however you belayed. When using it with a well used 9.8mm rope you're going to have to feed it through.

Depending on the rope your climbing could pull the rope hard enough to lock it. It unlocks instantly as soon as the live rope is unweighted, like a GriGri.

The device isn't foolproof but if you belay attentively it's super forgiving.

I've been going to the crag with the NEOX and the GriGri, it's the NEOX I've been using. (Single pitch sport).

I have tried thumbing it to block the cam. I found that less good a tactic compared to the GriGri, but actually having tried it a bit more (mostly on my new Mammut Core Protect 9.5mm) it works really well, but in reality you don't need to thumb it.

In reply to timparkin:

Yeah, they show it being ok with the regular GriGri too. As you'll know, it's grabbing the whole device rather than as per your screenshot that they say is not acceptable.