The bad rap comes from the fact that people who do not know what they are doing are given a self locking device by someone who could not be bothered to teach the belayer what to do correctly...

I have seen this in gyms literally hundreds of times...a girl who has never belayed before is clipped to the self locking device by her boyfriend (this is an example & not a gender attack or an attack on gyms) & told to just pull the rope through, then as previously mentioned when he gets to the top he tells her to just pull the handle.... & down he falls.

The point is that with an ATC this guy knows from the word go that he is not safe if she has not been taught to belay...he may be that dense that he hopes she will figure it out...but really he knows the whole time that she is clueless...most likely also the belayer won't let them leave the ground.

In the case of a self locking device however they may think its perfectly ok to not know what they are doing...

To me this is why a beginner should never be handed a self locking device & as Nic has kindly spelt out - once they have mastered normal belay they can go on to a self locking device. Don't kid yourself though...people can screw up using a self locker even if they do know how to use an ATC...this happens more than most people are willing to admit..hence the need for care

It almost always boils down to your training & care of use...many accidents in the climbing world are linked directly to carelessness and a care less attitude

Sorry about the essay but Nic's right, these devices need to be used with care & an ATC is a lot simpler to start with - it either works or it doesn't

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Really, its not that bad...I think it's my shoes...

The Eddy is made by a company called Anthron, but Anthron call the device the "Lori". We sell about twice as many of them as any other belay device as the Lori is the only device certified for industrial applications due to the Goldilocks design mentioned above: locks when pulled to hard, or not hard enough.

I must be honest in saying I haven't seen to many Eddy's around in the last couple years, and my suspicion is this is because of the price of the unit: we don't even try sell it to the retail market, as it would go for about R1249.

Probably the biggest safety negative with the Eddy is that it is threaded opposite to the Grigri. This means that if you are accustomed to a Grigri you are more likely to thread it incorrectly. Plus, the climbers round you will look at it and think that the grigri method is correct, and that you have it wrong.

Justin, sorry if the above does seem like a product punt, but it is rather intended as an education. If you disagree you are welcome to remove this post, however if you do delete it I would like to remind you that we do in fact advertise on this site.

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Sandbagging is a dirty game

isn't Eddy from Iron Maiden.

@ Marshall1

I own botha Gri Gri and a Cinch.

Both are good devices.
Both are safe if used correctly.
Both are dangerous if used incorectly.

I have almost been dropped by a gri gri (due to incorect use)
I have almost dropped someone else using a cinch (due to incorect use)
I have also almost been dropped by an ATC (due to incorect use)

Moral of the story: buy either device, just use it correctly.

Nicely put David...you seem so rational

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Really, its not that bad...I think it's my shoes...