I looked around when I was buying an auto locking ATC. I liked the grigri but struggled to get it to lower well with the thicker gym ropes. I guess I was just spoiled because everything else I tried was worse than the grigri. This little guy is great for everything, and I recommend it to most newer climbers. More experienced climbers will probably be just fine with a regular ATC, but most experienced climbers probably know that already. Don't let the ease of use spoil your good ATC form, but this guy makes everything else seem like much more hard work.