Grivel Clepsydra K10G belay karabiner

I'm not a technical reviewer, just a regular climber who has been around for a while - but thought I'd post up a review as I haven't seen any for this biner, and thought it might be useful for anyone considering getting one.

I picked up one of these to try out as my new belay karabiner. I've been using an Edelrid belay biner recently with a captive wiregate that goes around the belay loop on my harness, and got to like that feature very much. I don't really have concerns about cross-loading when belaying from my harness, but I do like the way the gate holds the karabiner in the correct orientation all the time - I find that there is less fuss when orienting the ATC correctly, and I never feed the ropes upside down any more. So when I sold that biner (part of a set with a Megajul) I went looking for another biner with a captive loop, and found this little work of art:

Grivel Clypsedra K10G

Grivel's twin-gate technology is covered in a couple of reviews on MP, but I haven't seen it in person, and haven't seen this belay biner before. In the hand the biner oozes quality - a beautiful finish, smooth action, and clever design. The weight is kept down by I-beam construction for the most part, but the working area is a nice wide-radius rounded shape, with plenty of space for munter or clove hitches. The belay loop attachment area is squared off so that belay loops sit square and snug, and the wire keeper gate holds it firmly in position. Not only does it stay in position, but the nature of the keeper means that even when the gate is open (putting someone on/off belay) the biner is firmly attached and isn't going anywhere.

I wasn't specifically looking for a twin-gate, but the advantages seemed obvious - if the gates are closed, they are locked, no need to check. How many times have I double & triple checked my screwgate, sometimes nervously while my climber is on the verge of falling? I like the idea of never having to even consider it again.

So how is it in practice? "Practise" is the key word there.... Initially I found the twin gate awkward to use. The recommended way of opening is shown below:

Grivel K10G open technique

The golden outer gate has a ridge on the side that protrudes beyond the black inner gate, allowing you to use the side of your finger or thumb to open it. It took me a little while to realise that when clipping the karabiner onto the belay loop or keeper loop on the harness, you don't need to open both gates - simply open the outer gate, and push the biner into place, the inner gate opens by itself. Then once it is on the belay loop, simply pull it outwards and the wire keeper opens and closes around the belay loop - simples. It took me a bit longer to work out how to easily get the ATC loaded and unloaded without removing the wire keeper from the biner. And taking the biner off the harness and racking it on a belay loop was positively fiddly and took 2 hands initially. I found it annoying when gym climbing and frequently swapping from belay to lead & back, and was concerned that on a multipitch, I'd be more at risk of dropping my ATC.

But then I found Grivel's videos, where the biner is demonstrated by Stevie Haston (the Clint Eastwood of the climbing world) who displayed gunslinger-slick moves in clipping, unclipping and re-clipping the biner in every conceivable circumstance. I too would like to be as cool as Stevie Haston, and spent some time in front of a mirror practicing my facial expressions (primarily a tiny, wry smile, as if to say yes, I do find this a little embarrassing but the pay is good). I also practiced the moves, and it has become much easier. Some actions are much quicker and easier than a regular screwgate, where 1-handed operation would be very difficult. Other actions will take a bit of practise, but I think after a few more sessions it will be second nature.

And I'm happy to put a little effort into changing my habits, as I really like the biner itself, and the little extra peace of mind in knowing that the gate is always secure. I tried all sorts of things to find a way to defeat the twin-gate, but can think of no real-world circumstance where a rope can get out of the biner without deliberate intervention by the belayer.

Pro: a very nicely made biner, very usable, all regular features of a good belay biner in terms of strength, good gate opening width, nice rounded working surface - plus excellent shaped belay loop attachment point, wire keeper gate for the belay loop, and innovative twin gate security. You get to look like Stevie Haston.

Con: some effort involved to learn new techniques for clipping / unclipping.

Overall - I like it, and appreciate the additional safety and usability. I wouldn't necessarily advocate going out and changing your current belay biner - but if you are in the market for a new one, I'd give this a try, I think the twin gate is fantastic in this application

Great review Alex, are the gates narrow enough to slide a grigri through?

Nick Drake wrote:Great review Alex, are the gates narrow enough to slide a grigri through?

For use with a Grigri, there is this .

Grivel Clepsydra S

Liberty shows expected delivery of the new S by 5-31-17 for UT warehouse, can't get my hands on it yet. The rhino type tab to keep the grigri off the spine is nice though.

Alex Rogers wrote:I too would like to be as cool as Stevie Haston, and spent some time in front of a mirror practicing my facial expressions (primarily a tiny, wry smile, as if to say yes, I do find this a little embarrassing but the pay is good).

If this is how you normally write your gear reviews, please write more! I'd pay you, but the pay is definitely not going to be good.

Nick Drake wrote:Great review Alex, are the gates narrow enough to slide a grigri through?

I don't use a GriGri, so I can't comment with any authority. The intro video from Grivel shows Stevie using a GriGri - but forum chatter and other online reviews said it was difficult to get a GriGri on, and one reviewer filed his down a bit... As per above, the K10S version was specifically designed for GriGri, but it has different gates etc and is a completely different biner, so I'll leave that for someone else to review. Cheers

Alex Rogers wrote: I don't use a GriGri, so I can't comment with any authority. The intro video from Grivel shows Stevie using a GriGri - but forum chatter and other online reviews said it was difficult to get a GriGri on, and one reviewer filed his down a bit... As per above, the K10S version was specifically designed for GriGri, but it has different gates etc and is a completely different biner, so I'll leave that for someone else to review. Cheers

Yes it seems that some models of the twin gates have wires which are too wide for the grigri. I have the ridiculously light plume twin wire for clipping my guide device to the anchor. That model can't accept a grigri.

Alex Rogers wrote: I don't use a GriGri, so I can't comment with any authority. The intro video from Grivel shows Stevie using a GriGri - but forum chatter and other online reviews said it was difficult to get a GriGri on, and one reviewer filed his down a bit...

I'm the one that filed a Grigri to fit. Didn't take much filing, just a very very slight enlargement of one spot on each of the two plates. Now it fits perfectly and has no issues. That said, the Clepsydra S looks like a better biner overall - I have a bunch of twin gates and strongly prefer the Lambda and Sigma, which both use the solid/wiregate combo. The Plume is awesome because it's light, but twin wiregates are hard with gloves and don't fit the Grigri. The Mega's split solid gate has terrible gate clearance. Somehow the Clepsydra is a bit better, but I'd bet the S variation is better still, though it seems to be smaller overall so maybe not.

Using these biners, you get the sense that Grivel is onto something really cool but still a half step away from getting it perfect. Kind of like the Edelrid Megajul for those that have used it...

Emmett Lyman wrote: Using these biners, you get the sense that Grivel is onto something really cool but still a half step away from getting it perfect. Kind of like the Edelrid Megajul for those that have used it...

Yes. I know what you mean. I recently sold on my MegaJul, just not quite there - but look forward to improved versions. Can see similar level with many of these Grivel twin gates. But for me as an ATC user, I think they have nailed the belay biner with this Clepsydra. 2 weeks in and I've got the handling sorted, and loving it.

I agree, the wire/solid gate is much better. I use a plume on rope-end draws of pieces "that must not come unclipped" and a sigma as my tie-in or tether biner. Not only do the wire/solid have greater clearance, but they also have a key lock nose so they snag less.

Very excited for the clep S.