The GRIGRI 2 belay device with assisted braking is designed to facilitate belay maneuvers. The GRIGRI 2 works equally well for lead climbing and top roping. Compact and lightweight, the GRIGRI 2 will accompany you for many years, on climbs all over the world. The GRIGRI 2's design allows for excellent descent control.
Description
Hand motions are the same as with classic belay systems: both hands on the rope. A fall is stopped by gripping the brake side of the rope with your hand.
Assisted braking: during fall arrest, the belayer holds the brake side of the rope, the cam pivots and pinches the rope, increasing the braking action until the rope stops sliding.
The GRIGRI 2's design allows for excellent descent control. One hand holds the rope and the other uses the handle to unlock the cam. The patented handle design allows a very gradual release of the rope. Combined with the strong braking action of the cam, it gives a great feeling of security when lowering a partner or rappelling.
The GRIGRI 2 is compact and very light at 170 g
Built with a stainless steel friction plate and cam to ensure a long life for the product
Diagrams for rope installation engraved on belay device (interior and exterior)
Material(s): aluminum side plates, stainless steel cam and friction plate, reinforced nylon handle.
The GRIGRI 2 belay device with assisted braking is designed to facilitate belay maneuvers. The GRIGRI 2 works equally well for lead climbing and top roping. Compact and lightweight, the GRIGRI 2 will accompany you for many years, on climbs all over the world. The GRIGRI 2's design allows for excellent descent control.
Description
Hand motions are the same as with classic belay systems: both hands on the rope. A fall is stopped by gripping the brake side of the rope with your...
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Device Type |
Brake Assist - Mechanical |
| Weight (g) |
170 g |
| Belay Brake Assist |
Yes |
| Rope Options | 1 rope only |
| Guide Mode |
1 follower only |
| Teeth |
No |
| Rope Range (mm) | 8.9 mm - 11.0 mm , optimized for 9.4 mm - 10.3 mm |
| Certification |
CE, EN, UIAA |
The bottom line is the GriGri 2 has an amazing reputation in the climbing scene all over the world. It is a safer option than any tube belay device and it can do things that other belay devices can't. There are other assisted belay devices out there but they are almost all just a knock-off of this device. I highly recommend the GriGri 2.
Despite the high pricetag, GriGris are one of the most popular belay devices in the world. The reasons are many and varied. Its assisted locking mechanism saves you hand strength and, with proper technique, can improve your safety margin. Furthermore, when compared to the other assisted locking models, the GriGri 2 is lighter, smoother, and competitively priced. Although most climbers will still need a secondary device for rappelling two strands, we believe the GriGri 2 is the best device for the most belay applications.
After 20 years of success, Petzl updated the original design in 2011, making it 25 percent smaller and 20 percent lighter than the original version, with the same braking power; the new version, cleverly dubbed the Grigri 2, is also compatible with ropes from 8.9mm to 11mm, to keep up with ever narrowing cords. Of course, the development of a new product coincided with the development of bad habits and climbing accidents due to improper use, so a few years before the release of the Grigri 2, Petzl stepped up its efforts to educate the public on the correct usage through videos and posters hung in climbing gyms.
I took the GRIGRI 2 on two different sport climbing trips, one to Lander and one to Shelf Road. On both trips it logged many vertical feet and lowers, as well as a few whippers by my friends. The device is easy to load and feed rope and when the climber does fall or weight the rope, the cam clamps down and arrests the fall. Unlike other devices, its easy to understand how it works, and that makes it easier to use correctly. As with all these devices, the brake hand still has to always control the rope strand, but it will stop the falls quickly and efficiently for you. Using it while a friend is hang-dogging a route is really where the device shines. You don’t have to keep your hand cranked over, the GRIGRI 2 does the work for you by holding the weight in the cam.
My co-tester, Eddie, made a simple comment about the device: “It feels more like you’re belaying.” It’s true, for whatever reason it feels more like you’re belaying. I think what Eddie was alluding to is that it gives you more control. More control when feeding rope, catching falls, and lowering. Those are the three tasks that the device is designed to accomplish and it accomplishes them better than the old one. Success on Petzl’s part.
The only thing I’d like to add is my impressions on the recommended range of rope diameters for the device. I think that the star rating that Petzl has adopted is a bit misleading for the average user. If stars were awarded for ‘ease of use’ I would bump the recommended range down a bit. My personal opinion is that the device performed flawlessly on the skinny ropes. I would say 9.1 to about 9.8 is going to give the user the greatest ease of use. Even the 10.1 felt just a little tight in the device but perfectly fine. The 10.5 felt outright stiff and jerky though this could also be attributed to the stiffened nylon of a 12-year-old rope. But that is saying something. I haven’t bought a fat rope in 10+ years and had to dig through my closet to find one! With most climbers using a rope in the 9.8 to 10.1mm range this device is going to be flying off the shelves. I would definitely hesitate before buying one if you still climb on an 11mm rope. Overall, a job well done by Petzl and I’ll be buying one as soon as they hit shelves in the U.S. Slated for release, springtime 2011.
We topped out the route with an hour of daylight left, which was just enough to get us down the descent and back to our packs before the perpetual twilight of night time in Vegas set in. The rest of the week was filled with long climbs in the beautiful canyons of Red Rocks, and the GRIGRI2 was a trusty companion on every route.
As we move towards lighter and faster climbing equipment, it is good to see Petzl has not compromised on quality, and has clearly put a lot of research and development into the GriGri 2. After 20 years, ol’ GriGri has manged to up the game, and deliver a belay job that will make your toes curl.
Petzl has discovered that exerting excessive force on the fully extended handle of the GRIGRI 2 can cause internal damage, such that the GRIGRI 2 handle may become stuck in the open position.
If you liked the original Grigri you'll love the new version. Aside from being lighter and smaller and handling thinner ropes, the Grigri 2 just works smoother, like buttah. For a truly seamless belay experience pair it with Petzl's Freino carabiner, harder to find but worth it with a little horn that allows full control for lowering a heavier partner. The good folks at Petzl deserve credit for taking a great product and making it signficantly better, and extra credit for clear instructions that include detailed drawings of usage in various scenarios.
The Petzl Grigri 2 features a list of upgrades, including a smaller body making it about 20% lighter than the original Grigri, and it will now accept ropes as small as 8.9mm. Keep an eye out in your local gear shop, they will likely go quickly!
This video is really long but very informative, first three minutes it shows Petzl athlete's opinion about GriGri 2 and rest shows instruction for using it. A well worth watching video.
A checklist helping you monitor your GRIGRI 2 Belay Device health, helping to know when to retire your personal protection equipment.
