Will click-up catch a fall if brake hand out of position?

Had a friend get dropped by his belayer who was using a click-up device. Clipped anchors, hopped off and rope just zipped thru the device. (Thankfully he will recover in time.) It got me reading about this device which I am not familiar with at all.

I don't want to get into the classic tube vs ABD debate, but rather I am interested to know the failure mode for the device from anyone who uses it. If for example you let go of the brake strand completely, will it still "click" into locked mode if your climber falls? Second example, what if you're holding the brake strand lightly but have it well past the 90 degree plane? Are there other failure modes like loading it backwards?

It seems like a GriGri and certain other devices require you to actively disarm the autobraking mechanism by pulling on a lever, whereas the click-up does not. Does that make the click-up more likely to drop climber if the belayer is out of position? I recognize one can mess up with any device and the click-up is almost certainly a reliable device if you use it correctly. Just trying to understand if margin of error is smaller in any way, as some in my circle are saying.

Thx all, just trying to process what happened and to understand the safety implications better.

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/111361528/clickup-alpineup-what-shortcomings-have-been-encountered

Not sure if there’s anything in here that’ll help.

ETA I dont use this device but my understanding is, if the belayer was using it in low friction non locked mode this could easily happen if his hand wasn’t on the brake strand. 

I've been using one for a few years. IME the device will not lock if your brake hand isn't braking.

Thank you, that is helpful and might explain what happened. Any device used incorrectly can kill someone, but clearly some ABDs are less idiotproof than others.

To expand on my earlier comment - if you have the device "clicked up", then it will hold without your brake hand doing its job. In this respect, the device is different (and and potentially more versatile) than Grigri, Birdie, and other devices of that type, as these release their grip on the rope when the load is released e.g. when the resting climber pulls back onto the route.

No, the clickup (and alpine up) require simultaneous tension on both the climber and brake side to engage the “click”. Barely any tension is needed, but you do need to be gripping the brake strand. It should be treated like an unassisted tube device in that regard

This video is a must watch 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8pEe5X1-Lc 

Thank you for the video. Really thought provoking!

I thought the part where he tested not holding the brake side at all was the most interesting. As in, will an inattentive or unconscious belayer still catch a falling climber? Those results make a lot of sense based on the respective designs. Seems like Revo and Click-up are basically ATCs not ABDs if your belay technique and attentiveness is bad.

I'm not 100% sure about the methodology where he tests catch potential while yarding on the brake strand to keep it parallel to the climber strand. That just isn't how you feed some of these devices, even if you're trying to inject an armful of slack to your climber. After all, you're not going to be yarding on the brake strand away from the feed direction while trying to give rope, right? Also, I know some of the geometry-based devices are carabiner dependent and have recommended biners, so standardizing biners doesn't seem exactly right. But I guess there's still a good takeaway here that if you're inexperienced, using bad technique or haven't properly pre-tested your equipment, some designs are unambiguously less idiotproof than others. Or some strange corner cases where you get into some wacky positions. Good to know either way.

It feels like the maker may have slanted test design a bit to show more failure outcomes, because "hey, it would be boring to watch a video where nothing bad happened." Still very informative, provocative and something everyone should watch. Thank you.

Think I'm going to go do some testing in the gym now...

Was it a click up 1 or the current version

I assume it's the + but not 100% sure. Don't know the belayer to verify.