Overview of Petzl Neox Belay System

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Once more in 2009, my partner, Kristin, and I wanted to take a belay test whereas visiting a model new health heart. I’d been using the Petzl Grigri, the fundamental assisted-braking belay system, for nearly 20 years, and had under no circumstances failed a test—or dropped anyone. Nevertheless as we wrapped up, the health heart employee took us aside.

He pointed to a shiny informational poster behind him exhibiting Petzl’s official new Grigri technique: to feed slack, in its place of pulling by way of it ATC-style and hoping the brake-assisting cam didn’t interact—or pinching open the cam with the brake hand (which wanted to rapidly go away the rope)—you now wanted to hold out some convoluted gyration alongside together with your thumb to take care of your brake hand perpetually on the rope, albeit very close to the system. What sort of devilry was this?

“Successfully, Petzl merely bought right here out with this new technique, and we put the poster up remaining night time time,” he said. “So, I suppose I can transfer you…for presently.”

I’ve since dreaded belay assessments as a consequence of my tendency to utilize the Grigri the “harmful means”—which was type of the solely means when it bought right here out. Certain, the Grigri should not be, not lower than per the legalese, meant to be “arms free,” so what I was doing was technically unsuitable. And so, like many individuals who merely couldn’t grasp the “new means,” I found myself at all times wishing for a device that married the Grigri’s supremely reliable brake assist with the easy slack payout of an ATC.

Why, oh why, did such an element not exist—and who was going to invent it?

Successfully, it appears it was Petzl, by introducing the Neoxwhich appears exactly identical to the Grigri nonetheless is barely larger and heavier. (My dwelling scale locations the newest Grigri at 176 grams, and the Neox at 237 grams, or 6.2 ounces and eight.3 ounces, respectively.) There’s been quite a few build-up and anticipation spherical this technique, and I think about the hype is merited—the Neox feeds so simply and naturally, and locks off so reliably, that it’s going to make quite a few belayers every safer and better—whichever means they’ve been using the Grigri. In precise truth, even for many who’ve solely ever acknowledged the “new means” of Grigri belaying, the Neox takes rope coping with up a notch as a consequence of its speedy feeding and butter-smooth catches. And, for model new belayers combating the Grigri’s strict auto-locking mechanics, the Neox is a quite a bit friendlier chance.

The essential distinction between the two models lies throughout the cam. With the Grigri, the plate that pinches down on the weighted rope has a tough and quick, raised “plateau” at its coronary coronary heart that sorts one side of the rope channel. With the Neox, the plate design is principally the an identical, solely its coronary coronary heart is a freely spinning, spring-tensioned wheel, the important thing sauce that drastically improves giving slack—mainly, you get the free-running rope of an ATC with the cam-activated brake-assist of the Grigri.

My first experience with the Neox was with a couple of prototypes a buddy who works at Petzl delivered to Boulder, Colorado, this spring. They weren’t that far off the finished model, which I’ve been testing since early June, for lead belaying and toproping on ropes spherical 9mm in diameter, and single-line rappelling and ascent on 10mm and 11mm static traces. (The Neox is designed for ropes from 8.5 to 11mm.)

I’m undecided strategies to say it apart from I immediately cherished and nonetheless love the Neox, primarily on account of it’s possible you’ll, as with an ATC, whip rope by way of with the data hand whereas concurrently coaxing it by way of from beneath with the brake hand, which can now merely and on a regular basis carry on the rope. Even whereas belaying my 6’1” buddy Will, who will attain down by his knees and pull up King Kong-sized bytes when clipping, I’ve been able to maintain, with out the Grigri’s usually staccato short-roping. The Neox, in actuality, feeds with such buttery quickness that it just about looks like “dishonest,” though possibly that’s merely years of Grigri trauma talking. I’m optimistic newly minted lead belayers will equally acknowledge the Neox’s intuitive, snag-free effectivity.

The one caveat is that, unconsciously reverting once more to my harmful, outdated Grigri habits—taking my brake hand off to pinch the system open and reel out slack with the data hand—has introduced in regards to the Neox to lock up if my climber is pulling slack aggressively, giving the “click on on of dying” that presages a doable short-roping. Nonetheless, that’s purely individual error, and every time I’ve remembered to tug first with the data hand, abetted by the brake hand, and to take motion simply, the Neox has fed utterly. (Observe that you just presumably can moreover persist with the “new means”—if that’s your jam, you frickin’ weirdo.)

The flip side to a faster-feeding system is that the Neox lets just a little bit further rope by way of in a fall—not an unlimited amount, nonetheless usually about 6 to 12 inches. Associates and I seen this immediately with the prototypes, and I’ve confirmed this by means of using the Grigri and the Neox within the an identical day. The upside is that the Neox provides a softer catch, and, in a trad-climbing setting, will doable exert a lot much less stress in your excessive piece, serving to to stay away from the dreaded gear-ripper; the draw again is that, close to the underside, you’ll should be further heads-up. And if weight in your pack is a precedence, then possibly these additional two ounces will matter, though I actually preferred the Neox’s additional heft and longer lowering cope with.

The Neox was moreover preferrred for toprope belaying, taking in rope merely as simply as a result of it pays it out. And it was a delight whereas establishing new climbs on a tough and quick static line, whether or not or not whereas rappelling or ascending, using a jumar and etrier above the Neox for progress. The Neox felt means a lot much less jerky to me than rapping with a Grigri, and took in slack correctly whereas I jugged, as soon as extra because of the wheel’s {{smooth}} movement. On a multi-pitch in Alberta, my co-tester well-known how simply the Neox belayed from above as compared with a regular ATC/plate-style system. There was minimal resistance throughout the Neox’s spinning wheel, nonetheless he well-known, for Petzlto maintain up a brake hand on the rope to stay away from rope slippage. In a lead-belay state of affairs, he imagines the Neox might even be a higher chance for left-handed climbers, who can undertake standard ATC rope-feeding methods.

My final discover could possibly be, for many who’re a pre-2009 Grigri individual, to not journey between the two models, to stay away from the belay confusion described above. I indicate, really, at this stage I’d merely get a Neox—it really is that good, and successfully value the extra $40 over the Grigri.

Check out the Petzl Neox on Rei.com