Do-it-all belay device

Once we finally got our hands on one of these nifty little tube-style belay devices, our testers were over the moon for its unbeatable versatility and additional stopping power. It’s light (2.3 oz.), and the smartly designed shape makes it bite down on the rope during a fall—just like an assisted-braking belay device (think Grigri or Cinch). You get all the features of an auto-blocking tube (two-rope rappels, guide mode for following, belaying) with the increased safety of those other mechanical devices. “When my partner took the big ride off his project in Clear Creek Canyon, it caught the rope just as well as my Grigri, but when we went to hop on the four-pitch Playin’ Hooky, I could still use it to belay him in auto-block mode from the top, as well as do the four rappels,” one Colorado tester said. The Mega Jul is made of stainless steel, which is more durable than other tube devices that utilize aluminum. (Take a look at your aluminum tube-style device right now. Chances are that there are some sharp grooves forming on the brake side.) Plus, it offers two rappel modes: one that works like normal when your weight and gravity move the rope through the device and one that utilizes the assisted-braking feature. This rappel mode locks the
rope off and keeps you from moving down unless you put the nose of a carabiner in a specialized hole, and then use the biner as a handle to lever the device, which allows the rope to move through and you to move down. The one teeny-tiny nitpick is that it’s best to have someone show you how to use the device since it’s so unique—or watch a video: climbing.com/megajul.