Picking up the Petzl Grigri + and holding it in our hands, we were immediately reminded of first being introduced to the Grigri 2 from the original Grigri. Resistance to the new device was high across the the climbing community and even now, you will find a few die hards holding on to their big bulky original Grigri.
The changes made between the first and second model were not drastic, but the device felt different enough than the previous model; it was too smaller; it didn’t offer much more control, and initially, people simply didn’t like it. Over time, our feelings for the new device changed as we grew accustom to its new characteristics, deeming them substantially better than the original model. Looking back now, we could not imagine belaying on a regular basis with the original Grigri.
The parallels between the intruduction of the Grigri 2 and the Grigri + are much the same. Over our eight week testing period of the Grigri +, we went from not liking the new device, to tolerating its subtleties and then finally, strongly preferring it over the previous model.
We will be the first to tell you that the device has it’s flaws. However, the changes in rope control alone make the Grigri + worth a try!
