Petzl GRIGRI Comparison and Review

[Music] hello and welcome to another rock climber life video I'm your host gifs Akrid today i'm going to compare every gris-gris that Petzl has ever made I'm gonna try and help you choose between all of these grebes and decide if you need to upgrade if you have an old version which one do I choose [Music] okay guys like I said this is the Grigri comparison video I'm going to talk about all the gregory's and go over them the features and then at the end I'm gonna give my opinion on if you should upgrade to the newer versions or if you don't have a Gregory which one do you choose first off let's get right into it first off is the Grigri gen one this thing has been around for a long time since 1991 so that's that's 28 years now and 2019 so it's it's it's seen a lot of use people all over the world have used this thing for a really long time the overall weight of this device is 225 grams and the optimal rope size or what Petzl recommends you use for rope size is 10 to 11 so that that's the that's the only problem with the Grigri one is is back in the 90s you know 10 10 to 11 millimeter ropes or standard these days ropes are getting skinnier and skinnier for for single ropes it also has a large finger catch on the side here this this is a really nice feature and something I use all the time when I belay I'll show that in in a close-up but I don't see too many people use the finger catch I really like it so the large finger catch is really nice this is the largest device by far it's got a really long handle and I guess you know depending on how you look at it whether it's a problem or it's a or an advantage Petzl really hit this out of the ballpark you know when they made this back in 1991 so the the follow-on generations while they have been improvements yes they're somewhat small and in the overall design the layout the way you use the Grigri has never changed so this is the original kind of the og if you will to Gen 1 gris-gris can't get this anymore it's been around forever let's get on to the Grigri to the Grigri 2 was the first major upgrade since 1991 this came out in 2011 so still going on eight years now but people I see these these are probably the most popular I see out the crag just because you know climbing there was a big boom in the 2010 and Beyond timeframe so you see the most of these out the crag much smaller much lighter than the original gris-gris this clocks in at 170 grams versus the 225 from the original and the the big advantage with this one is the rope range went from an 8.9 up to an 11 so you essentially doubled your range in rope in rope thickness that you can use on this device just the way the Camus's design has kind of a Ledge to it and it really it really improved that for a lot of people because like I said ropes are getting skinnier and skinnier these follow-on editions of the Grigri they also they also on the back they should kind of a 2-star range and a 3-star range the three-star being the optimal range of where you you want to use this as far as rope thickness and then kind of the shoulders with a 2-star range where you're on the skinny end and the fat end so the three-star range where this where this is the best where the Grigri to shines is nine point four to ten point three so that's kind of right in the range where people buy ropes these days yeah there are some 9 to s you know things getting skinnier but 9 4 to 10 3 is kind of that sweet spot and that's it's 3 star 3 star zone where that 8 9 2 9 4 is the 2 star and the 10 3 2 11 is a 2 star this also has a large finger catch which I really like but overall the fit is much smaller the handle is much smaller I think that was a slight drawback perhaps especially for somebody like me who has big hands the handle being smaller it's just just a little bit more difficult to use and control that's the Grigri to then in 2017 just a couple years ago they came out with a big shift and a big change as far as you know Gregory's go because like I said they're all pretty similar this is the greenery plus I would say that this is probably the the safest device or the Grigri with the most safety features built in it's a bit heavier it's 200 grams the rope range is again even more expanded than the greevey - so now we're at 8.5 - 11 for the overall range with the suite bought being 8.9 to 10.5 so we're even stretching out that 3 star zone for where the Grigri Plus works it also has to wear plates so that's interesting there's a there's a stainless steel wear plate that kind of starts on the inside and wraps around the shoulder of the device and then of course just the main device itself the main outer casing itself is a wear plate as well so as to wear plates it also has an anti panic function now when I first when I first started using this a you know trying to figure out how it worked basically its there's some other devices on the market so when this thing is loaded up if you if you keep pulling on the cam it will slip and then it'll lock back up so that's the anti panic function so if somebody kind of you know it's belaying you and they freak out the biggest I would say safety issue the Grigri is if you if you tense up and you freak out and you pull harder they just keep fall even faster so the anti panic function helps that out and it will lock that cam back open or lock that came back closed it also has the blame owed dial so again a lot of features here in the Gregory plus the belay mode dial is on the back and what this is is you can either put it in lead mode or top-rope mode so it just has a dial right on the back and I was trying to understand what does this thing actually do so I almost have to reverse engineer it what this does is this just changes the spring tension in the device so there's spring tension associated with how the cam operates when you put it in leave mode the spring tension is stiffer or there's more tension in the system so that when when you're belaying a leader you're not you don't have those like nuisance you know cam activations so it takes more tension to activate the cam when you put it in top-rope mode you're not worried about paying out slack like you are when you're playing a leader so that decreases the spring tension and it it will lock up much easier on the inside it also has a small area for and you can write your name or get it engraved I guess if you really want has a small nameplate it has a larger cam on the inside which is how they're you know engineering those larger rope ranges the biggest issue I see with the Grigri plus is the finger catch it's very small has the smallest finger catch doesn't really have any about any lip to it and it has a little bit longer handle than the Grigri too so that's a that's a nice bonus I think you know Petzl found out that the smaller handle is like I said more difficult to use so they made the handle a little bit longer on the follow on generations with the Grigri plus it also has a couple extra safety features built in one of which is there's this extra lip right here on the back so when you are lowering sometimes the the climber and I've heard it happen I've never seen it personally but it is possible that the climber end of the rope could slide under with the previous generation with this generation it has this kind of edge right here this piece of metal so the climbers m can't slide under and it'll stay in position that's the Grigri plus it's a lot going on with it Oh in addition the the belay mode dial it has a pin so this thing isn't going to keep going back and forth on you has a little pin that you can lock it into place now the last one the the new new 2019 brand-new for this year this is the Grigri funny enough they didn't call it the Grigri 3 they just went back to the Grigri so 175 grams about the same as the Grigri 2 however it's got that same huge great rope range that the Greer Plus has so 8.5 all the way up to 11 with the three-star range being 8.9 to 10.5 it doesn't have all those built-in safety features that the Grigri plus has this is more of your standard gris-gris it has a nameplate on the inside the larger cam for that increased range that's how they get that has the longer handle same as the Gregory Plus which is great but then they they put that finger catch back on there really like that the finger catch is great and then again that extra safety feature that piece of metal right here on the side like I said to keep the climber end from slipping under accidentally so this is the the latest and greatest really nice fit and finish overall looks great but you know all the Gregory's are great so that's pretty much in a nutshell the the features of each gris-gris throughout the years now I'm going to tell you my opinion on all these Gregory's and would you upgrade or which one you choose what to do because you know you're probably watching this video and saying wow he's kind of all look the same that they are you know they're all Gregory's so first of all let's start with a greedy one if you have one of these and you use a thick rope call it 10:1 is kind of a standard number ten 1/10 2/10 read all the way up to 11 and you like it and it works for you that's fine stick with the Grigri one if you're getting into skinnier ropes it's difficult to find thicker than and then ten mil ropes these days if you're getting into the nine range got a upgrade this is no longer safe it is heavy and it just doesn't have the same fit and finish and kind of smooth rounded edges you know it kind of has like some sharp edges where you could cross load of being or it's happened to me you know it's easy to it's easy to fix of course because it's right on your harness but yeah it just doesn't have the same fit and finishes the new ones so that's the biggest thing if you use thinner ropes this has got to go if you used thicker ropes and you still like it sure you can still keep it it's still a great device it's been that way for 28 years the Grigri to kind of a mess here here we go three agree to the Grigri to is it was a great improvement over the Grigri one it's uh it's a lot lighter and it really increased that rope range nine four to ten three is again that three star range if you're using skinnier ropes than that I have friends that use nine twos this kind of their send rope you know the lightest rope they can get this has got to go you got to get the new one so if you're using this the skinniest ropes on the market for four single rope applications you got to get the new one if you use that nine four to ten three and you like the gree to and it works for you and you like the the smaller handle you have smaller hands and you don't have a problem with a small handle keep it it's a great device it's been around since 2011 and I see probably the most of these out the crag these are very very popular and they'll probably stay that way until you start seeing the new ones popping in people's packs so again nine four to ten three if you're getting in that smaller range gotta upgrade the grier e+ Mex is the rear e plus this is this is what I would consider a specialty device it is more expensive because that all has all these safety features why would you ever buy this here's the reason if you if you own a climbing wall a climbing gym if you have a lot of different the layers of all different abilities bilang you or belaying at your facility if you own a guiding company this is the answer that's that's what I think the reason for this device is this has all those safety features if you're gonna people top roping learning to lead all those different things this is this is where this shines it has the most safety features has all sorts of stuff going on has that increased range but I wouldn't I wouldn't necessarily get the greevey plus because of the range I would get it because of the safety features if you have nubile layers or a variety of the layers because we work at a wall you're a guide this is the one you want I think that's where this device shines is if you have a lot of people using your device it is the safest if you know if you had can define a gris-gris as like you know safe or safer or safest this is the safest the most features so for guides and climbing walls riri plus now the new new the Grigri the 2019 version if you're using really skinny ropes if you're using like nine twos nine O's get this one it also has the longer handle so if the Grigri too if you have big hands like me and you want a longer handle this is an improvement for sure it's it's going to be a smoother device it's going to be easier to use and has that increased range so that's that's pretty much the difference between the Grigri 2 and the Grigri you know the new greenery is the increased range and the longer handle and then the added safety feature of this back and larger can things like that but those are more minor than to me than the increased handle length and in the rope range so that's that's why I would get the Grigri the new greevey if you don't have a device and you're an experienced belayer then you get degree read because that's what's available right now and it's it's the best of the three standard Gregory's if you don't have a device or if you are a guide like I said and you're working in a climbing wall then you get the greer e plus so pretty much that's what that is what it is available now is the Gregory plus and the new Gregory so hopefully that makes sense the fit and finish of this is fantastic it just has rounded corners everything is very smooth you know it's not going to hang up on your carabiner you know getting cross loaded it's a great device Petzl you know knocked it out of the park again so that that's pretty much it in a nutshell I hope that makes sense and you can make a good decision on which greer each to pick which greenery to get and with that this has been another rock on the rock video thanks for watching [Music]

Channel: Gif Zafred

Views: 32,883

Keywords: petzl, grigri, rock climbing, belay, review, comparison, climbing, belaying, atc

Id: GIGFWPdYudw

Length: 16min 27sec (987 seconds)

Published: Sun May 12 2019