BD Gridlock screwgate biner

So the Regrettable Climbing Purchase thread got me thinking - I like the looks of these things and will probably get one. Seems like a good concept, have any of you MP'ers tried one out yet?

A friend had one at the BRC the other day, and showed it to me.... I wouldn't really need it for most things, but it looks like it could help keep my soloing stuff where it should be better than the normal belay biner I currently use.

Even though it doesn't seem necessary, I sure do have to keep flipping my belay biner around all the time. I wouldn't object to picking one up. I think one or two things like a revolver carabiner or a link cam add some versatility to your rack.

I bought one a couple weeks back and like it a lot. It keeps the belay biner (and grigri) oriented as it should be... a must for rope soloing and short fixing, as well as just for regular belay duties. Yes, it takes an extra half beat to get everything loaded, but once you get the knack of it it goes pretty damn quick. Anyway, I think it's a good buy.

I picked one up and love it for belaying single pitch with my GriGri. I haven't tried to take it on any multipitch routes yet as it does not seem very versatile.

Cool Erik, thanks for the feedback. Seems like it would just save me from having to look down at the belay loop to double check orientation when the leader inevitably says "watch me".

I've got one and I think I'm a fan. It works very well in a single pitch setting. However the drawbacks are pretty obvious. It takes an extra second or so to load (no biggie), and can be somewhat annoying in multipitch belays and awkward hanging rappels.

If you climb mostly single pitch, go for it. If you're planning on some tight quarters at the belay ledge, a traditional belay biner might suit you better.

I bought one too and am pleased. No more cross-loading.

I've posted this before when the gridlock came out:
All this talk makes me want to try the "no twist belay loop" on my CAMP harness. Never liked the thought of threading a biner through the webbing. I've always thought that only using half of the webbing's thickness was not confidence inspiring, but I know its more than strong enough to hold a car.

"No Twist Belay Loop: This is a patented feature from CAMP. An extra opening in the belay loop holds the belay carabiner securely in place so it cannot flip around and get loaded incorrectly in the event of a fall. The loop is reinforced with a piece of Hypalon to create extra friction for the carabiner once the webbing has stretched out after several uses. The No Twist belay loop is also nice for keeping the belay biner down and out of the way while climbing. This eliminates the need to attach and detach the biner at each belay making it far less likely to be dropped."

I just checked and its 24kn strong when threaded, vs 30kn when clipped like any other belay loop.

It does what it's supposed to do. Makes me wonder why somebody didn't think of this before.

Greg Speer wrote:It does what it's supposed to do. Makes me wonder why somebody didn't think of this before.

DMM did with their original Belay Master, 10yrs or so ago. I had one of those and loved it for walls and such, but the plastic piece snapped off a couple times and it was a pain to have to close the locker screw just to rack the biner on your harness. DMM currently has the Belay Master 2, which is pretty similar to the original, just with more contoured biner/plstic interface. The Gridlock provides the benefits of the DMM, without the drawback of the separate plastic thing. [Edit to add: another purpose of the DMM plastic piece is to promote the locking of the screw gate, as the plastic couldn't be closed otherwise - the Gridlock doesn't have anything to promote that.]

Garrett R. wrote:...can be somewhat annoying in multipitch belays and awkward hanging rappels..

Hey Garrett, can you expand on how the Gridlock has been annoying for you in theses situations? I've used it for setting up my ATC-Guide in autolock mode and have used it for multiple raps without complaint so far, so am interested to hear your take.

I got a BD Gridlock and really like it. It really does prevent the biner from rotating and cross loading while belaying.

My climbing partner has one and really likes it. He let me use it for a few pitches and I can see myself owning one. However, I have a giant collection of HMS biners and keep finding other gear to throw the $15-$20 into.

Not a piece of kit I'd claim to be a waste at all.

Bought it, love it. Much nicer and less cumbersome than the DMM Belay Slave. I personally think its worth the price of admission. Keep the biner secure in position of its strongest point.

I haven't held one of these in my hands, so sorry if I'm wrong, but doesn't this carabiner make you screw the gate up in order to lock it? Meaning that vibration is more likely to unlock this locker?

Josh Olson wrote:I haven't held one of these in my hands, so sorry if I'm wrong, but doesn't this carabiner make you screw the gate up in order to lock it? Meaning that vibration is more likely to unlock this locker?

You're right that the gate screws up. However, with a belay/rappel locker it shouldn't be a big deal. It is right where you can check it, fix it, and deal with it. Any HMS biner is easier to belay and rappel with the screw gate up. You get used to it.

Josh Olson wrote:I haven't held one of these in my hands, so sorry if I'm wrong, but doesn't this carabiner make you screw the gate up in order to lock it? Meaning that vibration is more likely to unlock this locker?

its just like any other locker, you can flip it around so the gate faces down, doesnt have to be used in just one orientation. I actually find it works better(for belaying anyway) switched around. So the big end goes to your belay loop little end to the gri gri or other device.

Eric Dorsey wrote: So the big end goes to your belay loop little end to the gri gri or other device.

Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the anti-cross loading feature?

no not at all, it still keeps the belay loop and belay device oriented on seperate ends of the biner. Doesn't matter which side you use. I was using this thing all last summer with someone who was testing it for BD and it seemed this was the easiest way to use it for us anyway.

(quote) Hey Garrett, can you expand on how the Gridlock has been annoying for you in theses situations? I've used it for setting up my ATC-Guide in autolock mode and have used it for multiple raps without complaint so far, so am interested to hear your take. (/quote)

I agree that it works fine in the ATC autolock setup.
The best specific example I can think of is with an extended rappel. I use a double length sling with an overhand knot in the middle, and like to clip my rappel biner around this knot to get both loops that are created. The Gridlock takes quite a bit of additional handling to accommodate this setup. Most likely a fairly uncommon problem, but one I encountered.

Garrett R. wrote: (quote) Hey Garrett, can you expand on how the Gridlock has been annoying for you in theses situations? I've used it for setting up my ATC-Guide in autolock mode and have used it for multiple raps without complaint so far, so am interested to hear your take. (/quote) I agree that it works fine in the ATC autolock setup. The best specific example I can think of is with an extended rappel. I use a double length sling with an overhand knot in the middle, and like to clip my rappel biner around this knot to get both loops that are created. The Gridlock takes quite a bit of additional handling to accommodate this setup. Most likely a fairly uncommon problem, but one I encountered.

I just spent almost 3 weeks in Chamonix alpine climbing using the Gridlock as my primary belay biner. I generally use the same setup as Garrett for a tether for clipping into anchors (as a backup to a clove-hitched rope) and for clipping in to anchors on rappel. For climbing/belaying I found that I liked the Gridlock - it prevented cross loading and was one less thing to think about in the middle of 20 hour days.

However, after the first route, I found myself using a regular biner for rappelling. The divider in the middle of the biner can sometimes get hung up or snagged when loading an ATC and after nearly dropping it when setting up a rap, I realized that in scenarios where you'll be threading and unthreading it frequently (i.e. long rappels) the negatives outweigh the benefits, especially while wearing gloves. When you have to stuff it through a rusty quicklink that already has 5 pieces of old tat threaded through it, it starts to get snagged pretty readily and it can be a hassle to get it oriented properly. Gloves and cold/stiff fingers only compound the issue.

So for me, the Gridlock shines during all summer climbing, whenever I'm using a Cinch or a GriGri (where cross-loading is even more likely), in the gym, and general cragging up to maybe 3-4 pitches. For ice or alpine climbing, I'll generally belay with the Gridlock, but switch to my Mammut Bionic HMS for rappel.

Here's a short video from Cham where you can see the Gridlock on rappel. Interestingly, it shows it in a really good light here. The purple Titan sling is my personal tether. The Gridlock is clipped in below the shelf created by the knot and is actually forced to stand up so when it comes time for me to thread the ropes into the ATC, it will be easy as pie. I'm pretty sure this is an anomaly though cause in all my pictures of routes climbed after this one, I'm using my Mammut biner to rappel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc6Tb-g7pow

EDIT: The video isn't showing up for me, not sure why. Here's a direct link in case you can't see it: youtube.com/watch?v=Rc6Tb-g7pow