GRIVEL Master Pro Belay Device

With the rope outside the t bar there isn't enough friction for a descending climber, with the rope inside, there's too much. The whole point of a belay device for me is to be able to change the angle of the rope in your hand to control the speed of the descent. With this, it's either too fast, or too slow.

Not very quick to give either...
Disappointing.

This has got to be one of the best non-mechanical belay devices I've used so far.
It really helps hold a climbers weight and is pretty versatile.
This belay device grips the rope so well I'd be happy holding onto the dead rope with just a finger and thumb (not that I'd do that obviously!).
The only gripe was that I had trouble lowering some lighter climbers as it held onto the rope so well! A quick read of the leaflet that came with it shows the device can be reversed for less friction if needed, which gave a much better descent with lighter climbers.

I have been climbing for many years and I have tons of ropes and belay equipment. I bought the Edelrid Perfect 10mm rope and this belay device for indoor use. It seems to have little to no grip, even when the lock arm is fully down the mechanism still wants to releasel!! The gap for the rope appears very wide, even with 10mm rope! I have now purchased the Petzl Reverso 4 after trying it in store and there is 1000% more resistance and spot on when you want to give more rope! Would hate to give this belay device to a beginner!!

jams up on all but brand new rope when in guide (autolocking) mode, swapped it for a friends black diamond atc guide when it jammed on a multipitch and that worked perfectly. buy that instead

light, strong, tough.
used mainly for top roping so far and has worked flawlessly