Mammut smart belay device

hey has anyone tried using the Mammut smart belay device? I've been reading mixed reviews, and I'm not sure about it. It sounds great, and I've really been interested, but if it's no good I don't want to spend that much money. Cheers.

For single pitch sport or trad they work great but it's a bummer to not have the two rope option when you are doing rappels or setting up an anchor to bring up a second if you don't have the alpine smart. As far as I'm aware you can't put the normal smart in guide mode.

Really depends on your purpose. I've been using mine for a couple years now and it is a great alternative to an expensive grigri (I got my smart for around $15 which is about what you'd pay for an aperture style device anyways). That said it does seem to be a lot less reliable than a grigri in biting down on the rope. This is my preference because it requires your belayer to be more attentive than many get in the habit of being with a grigri.

Problem of course is I know plenty of people who treat a smart like a grigri. Not that a grigri is auto-locking either but they don't seem to understand that no matter how many times I tell them they can't take their hand off.

Regardless, if you use it correctly I really like the little bugger.

I have one and I like it for most purposes. It is an "assisted" locking device vs. autolocking but I find it locks up quite well when using our 10 mm rope. I have not used it on smaller ropes. It is a little awkward at first to feed rope when belaying a leader but improves with practice. Works great with toproping & for gym climbing. I use it to belay my son, who outweighs me by 30 lbs & it helps me hold him with very little effort.
I use a BD Guide ATC on multipitch climbs (more versatile, lighter-can use in guide mode to belay off gear, can rap with it, etc) but use the Smart for single pitch stuff and in the gym

There is an extensive discussion here on mp.com about Mammut Smart
Mammut Alpine Smart Review

just ordered the new one as it was on sale on steep and cheap. there are two sizes for rope diameter and i got the smaller one which is designed for ropes 7.5-9.5 -- my rope is 9.2; paying out slack for belaying the leader is really smooth.

there was no "rope slippage" that an ATC provides (to reduce forces on gear in the event of a fall). maybe it would be impossible to design a device that could give you just a bit of slippage and then suddenly lock into auto block mode. granted, i was using a rope at the upper end of the size range for that model. in other words it might give you a bit of slippage with a smaller rope diameter.

i belayed my second up using the auto block like i would with an atc guide with a very important difference regarding where you put your biner. without trying to explain it on here i will say just make sure you watch an instructional video before giving it a test run: youtube.com/watch?v=tw551l0…

if you fail to put the biner where you need to, it is a huge pain in the ass to bring in slack to bring your second up.

rappelling was really nice because the device auto blocks there, too. the new model has the ability to do a double rope rappel so no problems there. setting up my prussik seemed kinda pointless.

the safety, versatility, and overall ease of use makes it an easy buy.

tanner jones wrote:j there was no "rope slippage" that an ATC provides (to reduce forces on gear in the event of a fall). maybe it would be impossible to design a device that could give you just a bit of slippage and then suddenly lock into auto block mode.

I'll sell you one that's pretty much new if you want.

I'm a big fan of the Megajul by edelrid. You can double rope rap with it it is small and made of SS so it will last longer.

I agree with Larry, I have the MicroJul and if I could find a MegaJul I would have one of those too. super light and ins't putting aluminum particles into the rope as much as a standard atc device.

Thank you everyone for responding, I love all the feedback. I am brand knew to climbing, and I am buying gear piece by piece. I already have a few things. Man this stuff gets expensive. I figure the smart belay will be helpful starting out till I get the hang of it.

Ramb0 wrote:I figure the smart belay will be helpful starting out till I get the hang of it.

Dont use a smart, grigri or any assited braking devices until you are SOLID with am ATC

Thats all there is to it

;)

I agree with Bearbreeder completely. His posts are some of the best and contributory on MP, so take his advice. If you are new to climbing you should be 100% proficient with a normal tube style device i.e. ATC, BEFORE you graduate to an assisted braking device.

Get an ATC Guide on sale, it will serve you well for years, it is more durable than some of it's competitors (i.e. Petzl Reverso), and you will never grow out of it. It is an extremely versatile belay device that you can learn sound belay techniques on, including TR, lead belaying, multipitch, belaying from the anchor, swinging lead efficiently, etc, and these same skills can be translated to more specialized devices like a Mammut Smart, Click-Up, etc.

I picked up a smart alpine a few months ago when I saw it on sale at EMS. I think it works really well.. It's takes a little bit of practice to get smooth at lowering or rappelling but the assisted breaking is a nice backup. It's become my go to device for cragging.. I still bring the ATC- guide when I go into the backcountry though.

Having the built in backup when rappelling is really nice when you're trying to untangle ropes..

I second bearbreeder. Learn competent belaying (from above and below) with a tube-style device before "graduating" to any of the "assisted" braking devices. Doing this guarantees that you will learn the right attitudes and procedures and will have solid transferable skills, regardless of what gadget you ultimately adopt.

This is most definitely not the case if you start with one of the "assisted" braking devices. These gadgets can and do create a sense of complacency about braking that is not always warranted, and all require special hand motions that may not be transferable from one device to another.

Awesome! Thank you allow your advice!

+1 for the mega jul. Any Atc user can learn it with minimal training, and it does all the things the Smart Alpine does with a wider rope range.