petzl reverso 4 vs black diamond atc guide

Petzl reverso 4 vs black diamond atc guide full#

I practiced releasing the brake using carabiners, nut tools, and redirected slings with one and two climbers at a time, and lowering climbers full pitch lengths. In real-time scenarios and improvised testing stations at my local climbing gym, in the field, and at my home, I tested the efficiency and ease of releasing the various assisted braking systems. The Pivot's swiveling loop allows its angle to adjust to increase the ease of releasing the brake and lowering a seconding climber from an anchor above.ĭuring more than six months of guiding, climbing, and ski-mountaineering in diverse alpine and rock environments in Colorado, Alaska, Canada, France, Italy, and Switzerland, I compared the Pivot to other popular belay devices (especially the Petzl Reverso 4 and Black Diamond ATC Guide) in a variety of situations such as toproping, crevasse rescue, belayed skiing into steep couloirs, top-belaying multiple climbers at a time on multipitch rock and alpine climbs, rappelling, and rock rescue practice. The DMM Pivot is the only device on the market with a pivoting clip-loop for assisted braking, which adds less than an ounce of weight compared to the Petzl Reverso, the Pivot's closest competitor in shape and design. The manufacturers of these devices recommend keeping a brake hand on the rope while belaying and catching a fall, hence the proper phrase used for these devices-'assisted braking' rather than 'self-locking.' Other examples of this type of belay device include the Petzl Reverso 4, Black Diamond ATC Guide, Cassin Piu 2, Edelrid Mega Jul, Kong Gigi, Mammut Smart, Mammut Bionic Alpine Belay, and the CAMP Ovo. When weighted, the climber's end pinches the brake-end and keeps the climber from falling. When you're belaying a following climber off the anchor from the top of a pitch, these devices assist your brake hand by directing the climber's end of the rope into the device above the brake-end of the rope as it comes back out. In common-speak, we are talking about 'auto-locking' or 'self-locking' plate devices such as the DMM Pivot.

In the modern climbing era it's become regular practice on multipitch routes to belay from above with a belay device that has an assisted-braking function.

Petzl reverso 4 vs black diamond atc guide