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.
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.
