Gri Gri

[darkstar]

Have many of you climbers used the petzl gri gri ? I love the things and now use 2 of them one for the laynerd and one to replace the taut line hitch ... very easy to move around if you use the rt. dia. rope .... ???????????? dark :alien:

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Do NOT use them with half inch arbo ropes. The ropes are too large and the camming action will not function correctly.

In low load situations you can expect the rope to slip. The GG is meant to be used as a belay device with a brake hand ALWAYS on the rope.

There are better, and cheaper, adjusters to be used on a lanyard. Make one out of cord for a few dollars and you'll be safer. The GG is different from the Grion.

 

[darkstar]

you are correct only use them with proper dia. rope ... but for the laynerd 11.5 mil or 12 will never slip ... plus you can change it out really quickly ... ive used many different methods and a french climber taught me gri gri use in tree climbing i love it now ... always with the proper diamenter rope ...but i disagree you do not have to have a break hand on the rope .... thats one reason they were designed ... they will only slip in low loads with a 11 mill or smaller rope ..... .dark

 

[Tom Dunlap]

but i disagree you do not have to have a break hand on the rope .... thats one reason they were designed

I've read plenty of reports about ropes slipping and the climber falling on rock climbing forums. A few weeks ago at the AR seminar we had a setup where one group was using the GG and it slipped because of low loads. It does happen.

 

[kf_tree]

darkstar

tom has schooled me many a time on things like this.....you are fighting a no win situation....trust me. he is right.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

I used a GG like that for a while. After getting a couple of "butt-pucker" slips I quit using the GG in place of a hitch or other descender. When I did get the slip I never was cutting or doing anything critical. had the GG slipped when I was moving around with a hand or chain saw in my hand it could have been an injury.

The "Oops Factor" was too high for me. You might find other results.

 

[NickfromWI]

Just thought I'd share...

Evil Tom wins again.

love
nick

 

[Stumper]

Just thought I'd share...



Evil Tom wins again.

love
nick

Evil Tom is dead. The good and righteous Tom posts here.

 

[Lumberjack]

Distel or a VT on a lanyard works wonders.

No reason to use a mechanical device for me. After you get it tuned for YOU its better than any mechanical device out there. Hard to tune aluminum.

 

[Ekka]

Yeah, so imagine you go off on a limb walk, leaning back with tension on the rope, all's fine, then you gotta get around a little branch going straight up, so you grab the branch, stand up, no weight on GG get around the branch, lean back and OOooops ...

For $5 get yourself a prussik or hitch etc. TD's right.

 

[darkstar]

a gri gri can hold over 9 kilanewtons of force ... most hitches fail under 1 ... standerd belay devices fail around 2 ... of course the manual shows you must have the break hand on ..this is because some folks thread the gri gri backwards ... you are correct the gri gri slips under load loads .... ive seen alot of european tree climbers using them because you change over limbs etc really quickly ... many tree climbers around here use them after watching me race around a tree ... i always load my gri gri with weight to prevent slipping when i make a cut .... and i have my laynerd tight as well muti directional so im in good position ... okok i know you guys wont agree they are best i just wanted to hear what yall thought ...one thing i really like about them while rockclimbing ..is if i pull off a rock and knock my belayer unconcious as i fall the gri gri will still catch me .... even when im using a 9 mill rope ... plus they are great for aid soloing ... on rock .... k thanx yall dark

 

[Lumberjack]

a gri gri can hold over 9 kilanewtons of force ... most hitches fail under 1 ... standerd belay devices fail around 2 ... of course the manual shows you must have the break hand on ..this is because some folks thread the gri gri backwards ... you are correct the gri gri slips under load loads .... ive seen alot of european tree climbers using them because you change over limbs etc really quickly ... many tree climbers around here use them after watching me race around a tree ... i always load my gri gri with weight to prevent slipping when i make a cut .... and i have my laynerd tight as well muti directional so im in good position ... okok i know you guys wont agree they are best i just wanted to hear what yall thought ...one thing i really like about them while rockclimbing ..is if i pull off a rock and knock my belayer unconcious as i fall the gri gri will still catch me .... even when im using a 9 mill rope ... plus they are great for aid soloing ... on rock .... k thanx yall dark

Your wording is riddled with errors.

No ANSI appoved hitch (cord) fails at 1kn. 1KN is equal slightly under my body weight. Hitches SLIP, but rarely fail from loading. Slipping building up heat, its possible.

The reason it shows the hand on the tail is NOT incase its threaded backwards. What would your hand do to slow down a falling climber? NOTHING. I have a I'd, not a gri gri. The reason it has the hand there is to offer some loading on the tail to increase the friction available inside the device, to better handle the load. Flat out wrong on the logic of the hand on the tail side of the rope.

Explain how a device that operates as your friction hitch (do you climb SRT or DdRT?) speeds up getting around limbs? Both are held on (in advanced climbing) by a biner, both are the same for most practical purposes when compaing this attribute.

I have seen loads of people top trees, and spike on trims, show up late, not show, show up drunk... point is its still wrong. You claim to have seen many european climbers using them, still makes it wrong. I dont think that it would be allowed for use as a friction hitch over the ocean, they are very strict over there.

You always load the Gri Gri to prevent slipping? I thought it didnt slip? Weird that you must load it to prevent it. Yet now you say it slips. Wouldnt slipping be bad for a climber?

I dont keep up with the competitions but as far as I know, NONE of the best climbers use a gri gri for positioning themselves. And they literally "race" around the tree. They (as far as I know) use mainly HITCHES for their climbing line and lanyard, with several using ART devices or similar for their lanyard.

Its not the best, your using it in a application that it was not designed for, nor is it suited for.

Thats what it is DESIGNED for. As a (semi-automatic) BELAY, NOT for work positioning. The I'd is designed for work positioning, the Gri Gri is for belay.

The right tool for the right job.

 

[darkstar]

your perfectly rt. .. the gri gri is used as a belay device .... and yes i do say it will slip under LOW loads ... im not writing this to argue i just wanted to hear feedback thanx a million ..... the gri gri is mostly for rock climbing ...petzl did introduce a laynerd set up for tree climbing with a gri gri ..... ... and that was kila newtons .... a hitch will fail far befor a gri gri under extreme loads ... as will any other belay device or knot ......... in fact the rope will burn tear etc. ok ? dark

 

[Lumberjack]

The lanyard set is the grillion, which is an adaptation as i understand it of the Gri Gri. Kilo newtons, Kn=224.5 pounds I do believe.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Where are you getting your information about hitches "failing" ? Define your terms.

Just because somethings never happened doesn't mean it won't ever happen.

You'll do what you want. From experience and what I've read on lots of forums, this isn;t a great application of the GG. Using it for a rap device where you have a constant load and a brake hand works well. Using the GG for a lead solo device is also frowned on in most rock climbing circles. Use a Silent Partner.