Grigri Modifier Review

 

 

https://blissclimbingtech.com/gg-modifier/

Note: Full disclaimer - Yann  (Bliss Climbing Tech) provided me with a with a GG modifier for my evaluation free of charge. 

Disclaimer 2: This blog post is not a how-to or primer in LRS (Lead Rope Soloing). It is written for those who are experienced and competent. If you're inexperienced, seek out a mentor and/or appropriate source of info.

Disclaimer 3: all GG’s are not approved or designed for rope soloing. So do so at your own risk.

Disclaimer 4: Using the HUR position doesn’t protect against head first falls. You should ALWAYS have a reliable backup and you should ALWAYS wear a helmet. Also realize that depending upon the type of back-up system used, you will potentially fall the length of your cache loop+ if the GG doesn’t catch.

There are many ways to rig a GG for HUR position. Most involve some type of modification of the Grigri and involve drilling. While I don’t consider these mods to be dangerous, it can be tricky to do it well without messing up your GG. There are also several ways that don’t require modification. However, I consider those temporary and mainly for testing.

Both Kobe Burdack (FB LRS list) and I came up independently with non-destructive ways to mod the GG that doesn’t involve drilling, by gluing an external attachment point for the cord. Kobe's is 3D printed.

Mine is a custom shaped from a 1/2” square acrylic rod. The reason for the multiple holes was to experiment with different hang/attachment points and the effect they might have on my specific GG-rope combos. Both Kobe's and mine are permanently attached to the spine of the GG with glue.

Bliss Climbing Technologies (Yann Camus) has further refined these ideas and offers a slick way to attach a GG to a chest harness for rope soloing without having to make any permanent changes to the GG. 

Here's a quick summary of the GG Modifier's characteristics:

Pros: 

• Low profile
• Breakable cord attachment
• Angle of attachment is optimized
• Relatively easy to attach (follow the instructions!)
• Nice chamfered edges on the hole for cord
• Can be removed because of the type of glue used (Aqualseal+ FD)
• Keeps cord loop out of the way

Cons: 

• Price - expensive!

Additional thoughts:

• Color of GG Modifier: yuck
• Colors of cord: double yuck
• HOWEVER...this is a personal opinion and in no way affects it's performance. AND, Yann says he now offers different colors.

The GG Modifier is great for those who don’t want to drill and potentially mess up your GG. It eliminates the question of where and how to drill, is stronger than drilling the plastic spine, and eliminates the frustration of threading a cord through the interior of the GG. It’s a great addition to the LRSers who don’t want to permanently mod their GG. I can highly recommend it for a stock GG+ used in TR mode. However personally, I wouldn’t use it with a rope larger than 9.4 because of the feed friction. YMMV.

Because of the type glue that is used to attach it, I was able to attach and remove it from a number of GGs for testing. (see Yann's video for how to remove). While Yann has stated that it can be used on any GG or Neo, I’ll add my experience and opinion.

GG original (didn’t try - got rid of mine a couple years ago, so can’t verify)

GG2 - same as above - (general consensus is though, don’t use it for LRS HUR)

GG 2019 - works but I don’t recommend because of the strong spring and the potential for delayed catch and high clip failure (YMMV - some still prefer to use it in HUR position)

GG 2019* - modded to the nth degree (inactivated spring, shaved tab and other bits). Works well for me, but super grabby and will short rope you if you don’t know what you’re doing or panic clip.

GG+ stock - it works and is the easiest and safest way to non-destructively modify for LRS. 

GG++ modified to the nth degree. Works very well for me, but I don’t recommend - tricky to mod and get used to

Neox* - it works, but I'm still in the modifying and testing stage. The verdict is still out. (I’ve removed the cam arm spring and ground down the rope tab so far. More to come.) 

 

The negative comments above aren’t because of the GG modifier itself. It is my opinion based on the nature of these particular GGs used in the HUR position.

Bottom line. The GG Modifier is a great product for those who don’t want to permanently mod their GG and can highly recommend it for stock GG+ in TR mode if you're willing to pay the premium price.

End note: Unknown at this point in time is how long the Aquaseal+ FD glue will last, or if it will hold permanently. 

However, if the glue should fail, it should not be dangerous because the GG Modifier is only holding GG upright for feed - it's not relied on for fall protection.

As a final test, I trimmed it down somewhat and epoxied (JB Weld) it to the spine to make it permanent on one of my  GG+. This also allowed me to tweak it's placement slightly (and I like curves, not angles! :-). The stock GG modifier needs the length to provide more contact area for the Aquaseal+ FD glue.

To Extend or Not to Extend?

 TO EXTEND OR NOT EXTEND

Or, how to make a mountain out of a molehill

The following is written up while I'm bored and (mostly) not climbing as per my (a non-climbing) docs advice while waiting for double hernia surgery. It's meant partly in jest, but has some practical advice also.

When TRSing, many people feel they need to extend the top device to make sure that, in the event the top device fails to lock up, the secondary device will not slam into it preventing it from locking up. I personally seldom extend the top device and have never experienced them colliding and rendering the back device ineffective. I know, it only takes once… However, in reality it may be more of a common TRS myth than reality (and lord knows there's plenty of those), though I'm open to being proven wrong. 

If you are of the persuasion that you need to extend the top device, there is a simple way to do this using a 25cm 12mm Sterling dyneema sling (or equivalent - the more common 30 cm slings are a bit too long for my tastes) looped around the belay loop and connected to the 'biner of the primary device. It extends the primary device up ~4" which is more than adequate to keep most devices separated in the event the primary fails.

                        normal climbing mode                                                 top device failure mode

A common practice to extend the primary device up, is to use a Quickdraw. To me using a QD has several potential drawbacks. while the sling extension has some advantages:

1)  The sling is lighter and simpler.

2)  A QD can extend it far enough up that it can become an issue in relation to the face. While at rest, it may seem that it is not anywhere near your face. However when you "fall"/weight the rope, the harness is pulled up on your waist, while the upper body compresses down due to gravity. This is body specific. This drastically reduces the clearance between face and device especially if your head pivots down. If you have a long torso, you may not ever experience this. Whereas those with a normal or short torsos could more likely experience the potential for adverse interaction.

3)  It's not just the face that can be an issue. Hair can also become an issue. This happened to my son years ago and it not only caused an issue for the device locking up but also was difficult trying to extract hair from the device. He ended up having to pull out clumps of hair from his scalp in order to free himself  (no knife - ouch!) Word of warning - if you have long hair make sure to keep it out of the way (and carry a small knife)! A practical (but not life threatening) concern for keeping the devices separated: if the back up toothed device does make contact with the primary device, it may be difficult to release the toothed device so that you can continue climbing or transition to descending.

4)  Finally, when using a quickdraw to extend the upper device, you also greatly increase the # of connections and complexity of the system. In designing systems, simpler is almost always better and safer. The number of connections using the different methods:

• Direct to belay loop - 2: 'biner to belay loop; 'biner on TRS device
• Looped sling - 3: belay loop to looped sling; looped sling to 'biner; 'biner on TRS device
• Quick draw - 4: belay loop to QD 'biner; QD 'biner to dog bone; dogbone to top 'biner;  top 'biner to TRS device.

Finally, the above info is in relation to using both devices on a single rope. If you are of the persuasion you need to use two devices with each device on a separate rope strand, then use a normal 30 cm/12" sling works well - double looped through the connecting leg loop strap and harness belay loop keeper - exactly like the belay loop This gives about the same ~4” of separation as the method above but also helps separate the two strands of rope. 

There you have it. How to 'make a mountain out of a molehill'.

PS Device separation can also be slightly modified by your ‘biner selection (smaller for backup, larger/longer for primary device).

Thoughts on Using the Wild Country Revo for Both Top Rope Solo and Lead Rope Solo

This is a re-creation of a series of posts I did on the FB Rope Solo list years ago when the Revo first came out. When I changed my FB  identity because of getting hacked, all my posts were lost. This is basically a recreation and archive of the content of those posts. NOTE: I no longer use the Revo, but for those who are dedicated to it, this blog post may prove useful. Climb safe!

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The Revo is a relatively well known self-belay device in rope solo circles that is used as a poor man’s Silent Partner - that is, a bi-directional feed device that operates on the basis of centrifugal force/speed lock to stop rope feed. The main advantages are the ease of feed and the ability to catch head first falls. However, it is seldom used/mentioned as a TR solo device. It’s possible to use if for both LRS and TRS if you’re aware of its limitations and are willing to use it within those constraints. I will not detail the use of it as a LRS device as there is plenty info/resources on that if one searches. This will detail my experiments and limited use of it for TRSing.

First, a bit of background info on the Revo. Functionally it is two separate devices in one. For normal belaying, it is similar to an ATC, where one hand always stays on the brake strand holding it in the event of a fall. The climber’s fall is stopped by the friction of the rope being forced down into both the “V” slots ears. Functionally this is no different than an ATC.

Secondly, the Revo also has a backup system in case the primary system fails. I.e. if the belayer were to lose their grip on the rope and it started zipping through the device. In this scenario, the internal wheel starts spinning and at a certain speed (~4 m/sec), the centrifugal force cause cogs to pivot outward that catch in notches in the body and stop the rotation of the wheel. The wheel is like a narrow “V” groove pulley with internal ridges which provide friction on the rope, stopping it from sliding through the device. This operates independently of the external ears/jaws. 

It is this second function that is of interest for LRS/TRS. The first ATC-like function of the external ears/jaws actually can cause additional friction that impedes the rotational speed of the wheel and thus slightly delays the lock-up. When the Revo is used for TRS these ears/jaws also cause extra friction on the rope which makes the feed less than desirable. (There are other undesirable features but they’ll be covered below at the end of the post).

This friction of the jaws on the rope can be mitigated to a degree by having the rope pass through a fat aluminum belay ring as it exits the Revo (see lead photo). This acts as a smooth bearing surface that protects the rope from getting sucked into the jaws and causing friction of the TRS rope feed. This can be easily tested by getting a rappel ring (the fat, totally round cross-section ones work best: https://hownot2.com/products/aluminum-rappel-ring) and stuffing a bight of the rope through it before inserting it into the Revo. 

For TR testing, I used an old 10.1/10.2 rope with some weight on the free rope end. I never tested or used it with a second back-up device - but I always used an occasional back-up knot to keep me off the deck if it failed. I used it for a month or two and found that it fed well enough that I was happy to use it as my my main TRS device - especially for doing laps. If this interests you, test it for yourself and see what you think. It may or may not make a significant difference with skinnier ropes (<9.4) I only tested it with the larger rope.

Drawbacks

There are several drawbacks to using the Revo as a TRS device. Ultimately this is why I moved on to other devices (see my other blog posts other devices I've used). If interested, you should assess its strengths and weaknesses in relation to your routes, goals, style, and risk assessment.

1. Rappelling: Because the rap ring functions to decrease the friction of the ears/jaws on the rope, this means that it takes an inordinate amount of pressure holding the free strand of rope to keep a controlled descent. There are many ways this can be mitigated such as using a Freino ‘biner; putting a bight of rope around the load strand; putting on an ATC below the Revo; or using a ‘biner and quick link in line to create a makeshift 'biner brake to create additional friction; etc. I'm sure there are other ways also.
2. There is no immediate lock-up like many TRS devices when weighting or falling on the device because the of the speed actuated lock-up. It takes 3’-4’ to to gain enough speed to lock up (unless you have modded the internal spring inside the Revo.) This can be disconcerting if that’s what you are used to; if you’re climbing pushing or limits; or, if you are climbing on terrain with objective hazards where you want an immediate lock-up. If you’re on overhung terrain and or mainly climbing below your red-point limit, it is less disconcerting once you practice and get use to the delayed lock-up. 
3. Finally, once locked up and hanging on the Revo, there is the possibility of it unlocking due to the weight of the free rope. This could result in a repetitive lock/unlock situation that while disconcerting, is probably not dangerous in most situations. Only experimentation with it will tell if this will be an issue for you. It is dependent upon the weight of the free rope, which is an interplay of the the height of the climb, size/weight of the rope, and the friction on the rope caused by the terrain (i.e. if less than vertical).

TRS Conclusion:

If you’re interested in just using the Revo for TRS and have tested the rap ring and considered all the factors above, you can stop reading here. If you’re interested in using it for BOTH, TRS and LRS, read on. There is a modification to the ring that will make it easier to use for both. The modified ring is NOT necessary if you are only going to use it for TRS.

Modifying the rappel ring for LRS

If you also use the Revo for LRS and would like to use the rap ring for TRS, there is a mod that can be performed that will turn the Revo into an “all-in-one-device” by leaving the rappel ring permanently attached to the Revo. Leaving it permanently attached does not interfere with LRS (or TRS).

Steps for modifying the rap ring

1. Drill a series of holes to make a groove in a 2x4 to hold the ring securely vertically while drilling it. 
   
   
   
2. Clamp block to drill press to hold it steady.
3. Drill hole, slightly larger diameter than the cord, that goes through the side of the rappel ring. Getting the hole started is the biggest challenge and might require you to start the hole perpendicular to the ring then turn it 90 deg..
   
   
   
4. Once hole is drilled, use a larger drill bit or a conical grinding burr on a Dremel tool to slightly chamfer the sharps edges of the cord hole.
5. Feed a 6”-8” piece of 2mm accessory cord through the drilled hole in the rappel ring
6. Tie each end of the cord to each side of the jaw using an overhand knot.
   
7. Cut ends close and burn/melt the ends. 

                         

If done as shown in the photos, the cord will be completely out of the way and can’t interfere with the internal Revo wheel and centrifugal lock but allows the ring to hang close to the Revo body when using it in LRS mode and both strands hang down. If you don’t use a cord to hold the rappel ring in place while LRSing, it will slide down the rope and be non-functional and cause other havoc. With it attached, you never have to take the rope out of the Revo when transitioning from LRS/rapping/TRS. You can virtually use the same setup without any changes - something that can’t even be said for the Taz Lov.

Addendum

If you don’t like the idea of attaching the rappel ring “permanently” to the Revo, you can also put a larger loop of cord through it and tie it off in a loop that hangs the ring from the ‘biner. You’ll need to play with the length of the cord to get it just right. I personally did not care for this method as well as the method detailed above.

When using a Revo there are other potential negative considerations such as re the durability of the Revo; potential for shredding the rope sheath during a high factor fall, etc.  These issues are beyond the scope of the this blog and for you to research and assess.

What I would do differently:

Instead of the Revo hanging down from the belay loop, I would attach a chest harness/lanyard to the Revo ‘biner and hold it up. This will keep it from sliding up and down the belay loop and slightly shorten the distance of a fall. It will also hold the Revo higher up so that it will be easier to grab the rope for clipping. In some of the photos you can see some of my experiments for attaching the Revo with a cord directly to the harness and in others the holding the 'biner up on the belay loop with accessory cord.

Further Adventures of: the Trango Vergo for TRS AND LRS

Four years ago I wrote a blog post on the using the Vergo for TRS. This is an update to that blog and new material on using it for LRS also. If you’re not familiar with the Vergo or using it for TRS, I suggest that you read and digest my previous blog first. https://sicgrips.blogspot.com/2020/08/vergo-for-top-rope-soloing.html All the same warnings apply here. The Vergo is not made for rope soloing and the manufacturer has explicitly warned against such use. It will void the warranty, and you could likely be injured or killed by using it beyond the manufacturers design parameters and instructions. With that out of the way, onward. You’re been warned.

In the first part I’d like to update my setup for TRS. In the past I was using a 1.5 - 1.75 accessory cord loop tied around the release handle housing. I was using as small a diameter cord as possible (given what I I had on hand) in order to keep it from rubbing on the side plate as it rotated when locking up. I have since switched to using 1.0-1.1 dyneema. It’s smaller, slicker and stronger. This further insures that it will not rub and interfere with the rotation of the side plate. I tie ~ 2" loop and use a overhand knot, then burn the ends and use a drop of super glue on the knot. The second change I’ve made, is that instead of fixing it to the handle housing, I now either clove of girth hitch it to the small ‘biner/clip that I use to attach the Vergo to the chest harness/sling. It stays attached there and to put it on the Vergo I slip the loop over handle and onto the handle shaft housing. When switching to Lead mode, I take the loop off the hand and leave it attached to the 'biner/clip on the chest harness. This allows for two incremental improvements. 1) it keeps it out of the way when the Vergo is used for LRS and, 2) if the Vergo is used for normal belaying there is one less thing to get in the way. If you are only using the Vergo for TRS and not for LRS or normal belaying, tying it to the handle axle housing as before is still a valid way to go.

The other changes I’ve made to the Vergo TRS system is I’ve gone to using an auto-locking DMM Ceros ‘biner to attach it to my harness and I’m also using Avant Climbing’s Flex-Link anti-crossroad protectors to keep it centered on the ‘biner. https://avantclimbing.com/products/flex-link-anti-crossload-protector This is even more important for LRS and the higher possible forces that can be incurred during a fall.

OK, now onto the main new info. While people have used the Vergo’s predecessor the Cinch for LRS, it was not popular because of some known weaknesses - mainly, there had been some accidents with people using it for normal belaying. Also, it was known that the steel pin that is used for pinching/breaking the rope, was made of a softer steel, that over time, wore down and caused it to slip. Also, the release handle on the Cinch was extremely small and was hard to use due to the amount of pressure needed and the lack of control. These things were all remedied in the latest version of the Vergo. The new hardened steel pin wears extremely well.

(Yann Camus / Bliss Climbing)

Recently I’ve seen renewed interested in using the Vergo for LRS. While there is still much derision by some that it is an inferior device and even dangerous, after seeing a recent Vergo LRS setup my interest was peaked to try using it for LRS. The main piece of info that was missing for me was how to suspend and hold it up so that it that it would feed and lock-up. Using the TRS loop or just letting it hang from belay loop on a ‘biner, both were horrible for LRS feed. On a post on the LRS FB list, one poster suggested that if the plastic thumb button were pried off, it would expose a hole through the hollow axle that a piece of cord could be threaded through, which could then be connected to a chest harness. (this makes it similar to the Cinch.) This allowed it to feed well for LRS. However, their setup appeared awkward and less than optimal to me so I experimented until I came up with the current version seen at the start of the blog and below. With my setup it's easy to transition between LRS and TRS (see below).

The black plastic button can be pried off by carefully by inserting a wide flat blade screwdriver underneath it and gradually twisting the blade. It will pop the clip and plastic rivet off (which can be seen on the inside of the axle). While it won’t hurt the function of the Vergo, and it can still be used for normal belaying, it will permanently remove the thumb rest and you’ll not be able to replace it. After it is removed there will be a 3-4mm hole through the center of the axle/pivot. This will be used to attached a new loop of cord that will be used to connect to a chest harness for LRS. This new connection point give extremely easy rope feed.

I used a 10-12” piece of 3mm cord with the core removed to make the new loop. Strength is not that important since it is only required to hold the device upright while climbing. That means it only needs to hold the weight of the device and rope feeding from the cache loop. It DOES NOT need to hold the weight of a fall - that is held by the ‘biner through the Vergo and belay loop. A 3mm cord without its core when tied with a Water knot is just the right size to be crammed down into the hollow and stay put out of the way. The process looks like this:

Tape both ends of the cord tightly with painters or masking tape. Cut through the taped end of the cord to give a clean cut.

Take off tape from each end and pull the core out.

Tie an overhand knot about 2" from end of cord then insert the cord through hole in the Vergo so the knot is on the gray steel side of the Vergo. (These photos were taken with a piece of cord after I had already threaded and rigged mine up.)

Rethread the other end through the knot in the opposite direction of the overhand knot. (This makes it a Water knot.) Dress the knot so that it makes approximately a 2” diameter loop

Cut the end of the rope that will be facing inside the hollow so it’s about 1/2” and burn the end until it turns into a molten blob and acts as a stopper for the knot.

After it cools, jam the knot down into the hollow and seat it down in as far as possible.
Cut the outside end short and burn it to form a molten stopper blob. The end result should look like this with a smooth loop of cord and the knot hidden out of the way:

 

My current setup looks like this:

                              LEAD mode

                      TR mode

Climbing with the Vergo looks like this:

1. Climb route 
2. At top of route fix the rope to the anchor
3. Undo MT if used for a cache loop
4. Rappel on Vergo and pull gear
5. On ground (or at previous anchor) unclip Vergo from chest harness
6. Flip Vergo and rope 180 deg. and attach TRS Dyneema loop over the handle so that it is around the steel handle housing.
7. Reattach 'biner to the belay loop, and
8. Weight rope and climb back up to anchor in TRS mode.

At this stage I have not taken any real whippers on it - just short little test falls. I'm from the generation where the ethos was that you climbed at a level where you don't expect to fall. I'll leave it to you young'ns who are used to whipping while projecting, so please do judicious testing with this setup. Be careful out there!

Many people who use a GG, Vergo, Cinch other other improvised device for LRS, often have a fairly taught connection between the belay loop and chest harness. I usually run mine so it's less taught so that the belay loop 'biner is almost slightly free hanging within the belay loop. Initial tests have shown that it might possibly be able to lock up during a headfirst fall if the connection goes slightly slack. This will require further testing with it rigged to a dummy weight and shoved backwards off a cliff. Should this prove reliable, it could be the first device that would allow TRS/ LRS/ and headfirst fall protection. Note however, that this is at the conjecture and initial testing stages, so don't count on it. Even if further testing shows it likely to lock-up in a headfirst fall, there should always still be a reliable backup of some type.

Since I consider all this experimental, I'd appreciate any thoughts and experiences you have if you try a similar to this setup. All my experimenting with the Vergo has been with 9.4 - 9.5 ropes. It would be interesting to see how this setup works with small ropes from 8.5 to 9.2. If you experiment with small ropes, do so cautiously. Please post any comments below. Thanks!

  

  

Warning: If using knots as a backup with the Vergo, they should be either anchored to the harness / full strength gear loop, or, if on the free line below, they should pass through a quick link on the belay loop or auxiliary belay loop. If not, the knot will jam against the Vergo and because of the nature of the design, it could cause the two halves to blow apart in a high factor fall. This has NOT been observed but IMO this preventative measure should be taken. However everyone's risk factor varies.