Trango Vergo

I also acquired a Vergo a few weeks ago, and really like the way it feeds and catches. For those having problems, in addition to pulling slack out to the side, pay attention to the position of your right hand (the one that is holding the device). If you play with the device for a minute, you'll notice that moving your right hand away from the belay loop and biner causes the top plate to rotate and can start to lock it up. If you keep the right hand in close, it feeds slack like a dream.

You'd probably figure out the motion naturally on your own just by doing what works, but paying attention to this detail removed all problems for me.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to release the Vergo once you short a climber? It's very smooth when you *can* feed slack through. I'm much lighter and shorter than my climbing partners, so I don't ever have much slack out, and one long rope pull of the leader to clip is like 1.5 armfuls of me, so I've been consistently shorting the climber.

It seems way harder to release the Vergo once you short a climber than with the GriGri. Because you need to feed out slack horizontally, once the Vergo gets yanked up, I can't find a fast and easy way to rotate it back horizontally to get more feed out. And it's worse with the Vergo oriented with its "LEFT" vs being clipped in oriented like a GriGri.

amarius wrote: My experiences are totally opposite to yours. It is easy to hold the way Trango wants, it never locked up on me feeding slack on both battered 9.8mm, reasonably fresh 10.2mm. Belaying on 9.4mm was scary till I caught the first fall - the ease of feeding the rope was disconcerting. Perhaps you were not pulling the rope correctly? - pulling climbers side to the side, perhaps a little towards the side of hip works better.

I've found that the vergo is incredibly easy to lead belay with. It's smooth and I've no issues at all with it catching when feeding rope and it feels comfortable holding it the way Trango advises.

Melodie wrote:Does anyone have suggestions on how to release the Vergo once you short a climber?

Basically you need to straighten a rope. Grab a rope with your left hand as close to device as possible and "open" the locked device using both hands like you open a book. And your hands are in position to immediately feed about 2' of slack.

So basically you just routinely give a slack grabbing a rope as close to device as possible (I mean touching the Cinch/Vergo) and applying just a bit of "rope straightening" force. This is a very natural move, not that much difference versus a normal feeding slack routine.

I tried out the Vergo for TR soloing yesterday and found some interesting things out.
It is a fine device for TR soloing, when you get the right amount of weight it feeds very well and the ability to lower quickly will be very beneficial to many people. I tried it alone with a bungee around my neck holding it upright, and with a minitraxion. The most important thing I found out is that The Vergo will not lock if used underneath a Minitraxion. This is because the Vergo locks when it is pulled away from your belay loop, so if there is something stopping it from moving away it will not lock. However I don't think this alone means it is a poor device for TR soloing, it feeds far better than a Grigri ever will. Also it makes much more sense to rig it above the Minitraxion anyway, all you have to do is weight the Vergo and unlatch the teeth of the Minitraxion and you're ready to go. If the Vergo was underneath you would have to unlock the minitrax while it is weighted.
The only thing I haven't fully figure out is whether the Vergo or a Vergo + minitrax requires more weight below the climber to pull the device through.

Hi: I was curious if anyone has been using the Vergo in guide mode to belay up a second? I'm not sure if this was discussed already in this thread, and the only mention I could find was in the user guide, but I'm not sure if they actually are referring to the same application:

vergo in guide mode?
If anyone has used it in "guide mode", I'd be interested in their feedback, in terms of ease of use and lowering?

ebmudder wrote:Hi: I was curious if anyone has been using the Vergo in guide mode to belay up a second? I'm not sure if this was discussed already in this thread, and the only mention I could find was in the user guide, but I'm not sure if they actually are referring to the same application: If anyone has used it in "guide mode", I'd be interested in their feedback, in terms of ease of use and lowering?

Yes, belaying a second from above is easy with a Vergo. Much easier than a tube-style in guide mode.

FrankPS wrote: Yes, belaying a second from above is easy with a Vergo. Much easier than a tube-style in guide mode.

Well heck Frank, you made me wanna get one! Could you rappel easily as a GriGri with a Vergo?

Bill Kirby wrote: Well heck Frank, you made me wanna get one! Could you rappel easily as a GriGri with a Vergo?

Bill,

I've never used a Gri-Gri, only a Cinch and now a Vergo. I also carry a tube device on my harness, so I've probably only rapped a few times with the Cinch or Vergo. I prefer to rap on two strands and rarely have a need for a single-strand rappel.

FrankPS wrote: Bill, I've never used a Gri-Gri, only a Cinch and now a Vergo. I also carry a tube device on my harness, so I've probably only rapped a few times with the Cinch or Vergo. I prefer to rap on two strands and rarely have a need for a single-strand rappel.

I think I still wanna check out the Vergo. My GriGri 1 is like 10 years old. It's great for the gym but worry about belaying with skinny ropes or taking it up a multipitch. Thanks for the info!

FrankPS wrote: Yes, belaying a second from above is easy with a Vergo. Much easier than a tube-style in guide mode.

Thanks Frank...if the second falls and locks the device, and needs to lower, do you just use the lever? Just curious how it feeds in that scenario? I presume it's the same as lowering someone on TR, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

ebmudder wrote: Thanks Frank...if the second falls and locks the device, and needs to lower, do you just use the lever? Just curious how it feeds in that scenario? I presume it's the same as lowering someone on TR, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

Mr. Mudder,

When lowering someone from the top, it's best to redirect the brake strand through a carabiner above the belay device for added friction/control. Just as you should when lowering in guide mode with an ATC. You could just pull the lever without doing that, but there's less control and more risk.

FrankPS wrote: Mr. Mudder, When lowering someone from the top, it's best to redirect the brake strand through a carabiner above the belay device for added friction/control. Just as you should when lowering in guide mode with an ATC. You could just pull the lever without doing that, but there's less control and more risk.

Thanks...or I should say, my second thanks you

anotherclimber wrote:

Thanks for posting this!  Mime was included in the recall.

Cameron Fisher-Gomez wrote:

Thanks for posting this!  Mime was included in the recall.

FrankPS wrote:

Just realized what this was for!

Supposedly they will be fixed and ready by July. 

Cool, so glad I bought one just to be out a device for four months

Ditto