WildCountry Revo - First Impressions

Like Michael, if a beginner is going to belay me, I'd want them to have this. As long as they keep the amount of slack rope to a reasonable level, it seems pretty much guaranteed to stop you from decking.

Frankly, the Revo feels like a good first version of this system. Right now it's a usable (and extremely safe) belay device, and hopefully in the next few years there will be new versions of it that fix the problems.

Just spent another day trad climbing with it and like it more and more each day i use it.  There is no smother device, feeds like butter.   Cant wait to do some aid soloing with it.  

I spent a day (finally!) with this.  It is fantastic for lead and is almost too easy to use.  The little latch that I've heard so much about is far from a concern for me.  It definitely does not participate in the mechanics of the device.

I found that lowering with the revo can be tough using the standard ATC brake rope slide style and can be rather jerky.  My partner decided to forego that method and just use a hand over hand approach which was far smoother and easier (weird).  I gave that method a try and I was definitely surprised to see that it worked so well.  When I was lowering with a standard ATC slide style I felt like there was not enough friction to lower the climber in a controlled way, hence the jerkiness because I kept grabbing the rope to try to slow it down before the device locked.

With the hand over hand method, I felt like it was easier because it seemed like it took way less effort to control the lower and I felt more secure as I had a solid grasp on the rope at all times.

To lock the Revo while a climber is hanging on the rope was also easier than I thought that it would be.  Once again, my partner got it figured out.  While I hung above him and he was holding my entire weight, he just grabbed the brake strand below where his brake hand was at (with his other hand) and let the rope slide through his brake hand while holding with the other hand below.  He didn't exert any holding effort on the lower hand, just a tight grip to act like a backup knot.  The revo locked reliably within a fraction of a second once he started to allow the rope to slide and I really didn't move much at all.  He did raise his brake hand up to about level with the tuber (not below in a normal ATC locked off position).

Edit: I should mention that I cleaned a route while being lowered and my belayer had *no* trouble at all locking the device at each stopping point while I unclipped draws.  I also did not notice that I was stopping below where I wanted to be.  This was my partner's first use of the device and he had no trouble with it all.

I was also able to lift the tuber while my partner was hanging on the rope and lock the device with very little effort.  I did have to raise my brake hand up to about level with the device or just above in order to engage the lock on the tuber.  That method didn't seem (to me) as reliable or trivial though as my partner's method which he executed several times in a row just to show off...

I feel like this device has the Gri Gri beat, but I'm not a Gri Gri fanboy, so maybe I'm not defending it adequately.

What is y’all’s interpretation of this diagram in the manual? What methods have you used to lock the Revo when already weighted?

Ryan McDermott wrote:

What is y’all’s interpretation of this diagram in the manual? What methods have you used to lock the Revo when already weighted?

It means you can only rest at 3 minutes after 4:00

Ryan McDermott wrote:

What is y’all’s interpretation of this diagram in the manual? What methods have you used to lock the Revo when already weighted?

If you read the manual it has an interpretation given.

13. RESTING

• Keep one hand on dead rope
• Bring other hand to grip the REVO and rope

In my experience fully opening the hand on the dead rope when the rope is fully weighted causes the REVO to lock instantaneously and the climber falls maybe 1". We tested this numerous times with backup belays and it seemed very repeatable in the gym.

Owen Phillips wrote:

If you read the manual it has an interpretation given.

In my experience fully opening the hand on the dead rope when the rope is fully weighted causes the REVO to lock instantaneously and the climber falls maybe 1". We tested this numerous times with backup belays and it seemed very repeatable in the gym.

this.

Owen Phillips wrote:

If you read the manual it has an interpretation given.

In my experience fully opening the hand on the dead rope when the rope is fully weighted causes the REVO to lock instantaneously and the climber falls maybe 1". We tested this numerous times with backup belays and it seemed very repeatable in the gym.

Keep tension on brake side

Turn jaws up, a bit effort required

While keeping the jaws up, slowly let the pulley rotate while lifting brake side up, roughly 1 rotation. Revo locks up

So now that the hype has died down, and people have had some time with it, what are your thoughts?  For me, I've only used it twice but I'm sticking with the grigri. 

Brad Johnson wrote:

So now that the hype has died down, and people have had some time with it, what are your thoughts?  For me, I've only used it twice but I'm sticking with the grigri. 

I think it's an extremely safe, but fairly annoying to use, belay device. The annoyances will hopefully be fixed in a 2nd version of it. Unless you're really concerned about safety, I'd give it a pass.

Bill Shubert wrote:

.... but fairly annoying to use, belay device.

What makes it annoying?

Ģnöfudør Ðrænk wrote:

What makes it annoying?

Two things:

1. After a couple weeks of use, I started seeing the problem others see, that the latch holding the revo closed stops working and it pops partway open when catching a fall or lowering (the carabiner prevents it from opening fully). This does not seem to be a safety issue, but just feels really wrong when this latch gives way during use.
2. In some cases, especially with thick or stiff ropes, during lowering the rope friction will lift up the jaws on the climber side of the rope. This means that the "wrong way" lock is activated, which doesn't grab the rope, but does make it "tick" very loudly and vibrate on each revolution of the pulley.

Incidentally, I just got an email today that Wild Country is hoping to fix these issues soon. The email said something about within a month, but that sounds incredibly ambitious for reworking a mechanical design like that. I hope they make it, we'll see! If they can fix these two issues then it will become (IMHO) a great belay device.

Bill Shubert wrote:

Two things:

1. After a couple weeks of use, I started seeing the problem others see, that the latch holding the revo closed stops working and it pops partway open when catching a fall or lowering (the carabiner prevents it from opening fully). This does not seem to be a safety issue, but just feels really wrong when this latch gives way during use.
2. In some cases, especially with thick or stiff ropes, during lowering the rope friction will lift up the jaws on the climber side of the rope. This means that the "wrong way" lock is activated, which doesn't grab the rope, but does make it "tick" very loudly and vibrate on each revolution of the pulley.

Incidentally, I just got an email today that Wild Country is hoping to fix these issues soon. The email said something about within a month, but that sounds incredibly ambitious for reworking a mechanical design like that. I hope they make it, we'll see! If they can fix these two issues then it will become (IMHO) a great belay device.

I had exactly the issue no. 2.  Plus almost rope burn since there is very little resistance lowering a heavy climber. I returned my Revo to REI. Lesson learned, never trust the hype! 

Ben Hc wrote:

I had exactly the issue no. 2.  Plus almost rope burn since there is very little resistance lowering a heavy climber. I returned my Revo to REI. Lesson learned, never trust the hype! 

for others who may have this issue (too little resistance when lowering), try the hand over hand method of lowering.  It sounds like it would be less than ideal for a smooth lower, but that's not been the case for me.

Byrne wrote:

for others who may have this issue (too little resistance when lowering), try the hand over hand method of lowering.  It sounds like it would be less than ideal for a smooth lower, but that's not been the case for me.

That would be really slow. In my own comparison between SBG, Revo and Black Diamond Pilot ATC, the Pilot is the best if you have a heavy climber and need full control. I returned the Revo to REI, didn't work for me.

Ben Hc wrote:

That would be really slow. In my own comparison between SBG, Revo and Black Diamond Pilot ATC, the Pilot is the best if you have a heavy climber and need full control. I returned the Revo to REI, didn't work for me.

Exactly what I thought too.  Until I tried it and it worked just fine.  Too late for you, but I do think that others should give it a whirl before writing this method off.

Byrne wrote:

Exactly what I thought too.  Until I tried it and it worked just fine.  Too late for you, but I do think that others should give it a whirl before writing this method off.

We did try that method for my wife. We also added a 50.- US Petzl Freino just to get more friction and resistance to the Revo. Doing a 100+ belays a month it's all about safety and comfort. A few times, the climber side of the Revo locked up when we lowered fast. That was really weird. For the amount of money I expected more from the Revo, so I returned it to REI.

Ben Hc wrote:

We did try that method for my wife. We also added a 50.- US Petzl Freino just to get more friction and resistance to the Revo. Doing a 100+ belays a month it's all about safety and comfort. A few times, the climber side of the Revo locked up when we lowered fast. That was really weird. For the amount of money I expected more from the Revo, so I returned it to REI.

Want to sell me that freino?

Brad Johnson wrote:

Want to sell me that freino?

REI carries the Freino, Petzl makes good products.

Took my first lead solo fall with the Revo today.   It was an easy 5.10 that I had done several times before and felt comfortable on.   The fall was unexpected, a small foothold snapped off resulting in a fall of about 8-10 feet.  I still wouldn't use it if i were belaying someone working a route, the Grigri is still better for that IMO but in all other cases I am using the Revo, nothing feeds smoother.