HOW TO belay with NEOX® ft Michaela Kiersch & Alexander Megos 

Nice Petzl! Passive aggressive educational video for Adam Ondra to HOLD THE DAMN BREAK LINE!!! 🙏😄

They had too much fun making this video, and I love it. 😄

Anyone who tries to defend not holding the break side in any kind of circumstance while someone is on the wall you shouldn’t be allowed to rock climb. Ever. Don’t be lazy, protect your friends life.

Heavy "please watch this video before takeoff" vibes. I like it.

I’ve seen so many belayers nit holding the rope. I’m glad you put so much emphasis on it in this video. Still, looking at all these belayers not holding brake end of the rope it looks like that is not enough when it comes to grigri manual/packaging.

I think this is a brilliant innovation. The grigri often requires the cam to be blocked in order to feed slack quickly. This is what started the bad habit of not holding onto the brake in the first place as many people found it easier to have one hand on the cam and the other on the climber's side. The fact people don't seem to get this is a bit concerning to me, as if they aren't aware that blocking the braking feature to feed slack is a potential failure mode. Good job petzl on fixing the inherent flaw with (most) assisted braking devices

I absolutely love the video. Keep up the great work Petzl!

Oof, lot of negativity on here. Great job Petzl with video-had myself some good chuckles. Solid acting by Mikaela and Alex as well. Great job also with the device! I haven’t touched it yet, but it seems to solve my main gripe with the gri gri: locking up too often during regular slack payouts. I find myself pressing down on the cam of the gri gri far more than makes me comfortable; hopefully this device fixes that.

I love the shame for hands free belayers 😂 Saw a guy digging through his pack while belaying in Spain once 😅

Cool addition but as one can feed slack already as quick as needed with a grigri (presuming one knows how to do this properly) I will prefer the probably more reliable blocking mechanism of the grigri.

When the lab guy says "the Neox has no brain", perfect thing to add would be Vsauce music and "Or does it?"

I would like petzl to come out and say what the whole assisted braking device category’s intended purpose actually is. My understanding is that it is an attempt to solve for the inherent (albeit small ) risk of tube belay devices that require a specific rope angle to feed slack. When the rope is at that angle the tube cannot brake. If a sudden fall occurs while the belayer is feeding slack there are several conditions where the belayer could loose control of the brake strand and cause an uncontrolled descent. The concept of an assisted braking device is, as I understand it, to eliminate that small risk in the short period of time while the belayer is paying out rope. The fact that a grigri (and probably the Neox, since it’s just a grigri with rotating cam) will usually catch a fall when a belayer releases the brake strand is nothing more than a happy accident, even a tube will do this sometimes under the right circumstances.

I just bought a grigri+ for smoother lead belaying and now you launch this, you're torturing me petzl

What force is the belayer required to apply to the brake-side rope when using a Neox? I understand this force to be around 200 N with a Grigri.

I love and use petzl for pretty much all my gear, but I have to admit that I prefer the wild country revo to all Petzl belay devices for single pitches

There will be accidents, so many people have already acquired bad braking habits with the Grigri. If they then switch to the Neox, it could be a problem. For the more serious belayer a nice device, though i personally do not like the weight of grigri and comparable devices. There are other devices, doing a similar job while being much lighter.

Why did they say its for lead belaying? What about toprope, belaying in a multipitch or from an anchor and can you also rappel with it?

Neox, despite rotating wheel, also locks from time to time during giving a quick slack on the rope. So it still requires skill of squeezing the cam, like a grigri. IMO, main advantage of the Neox is saving your elbows, especially if climbing is your profession

So, now the mixtake of not holding with the right hand ended 100% in fatal error. Amazing, such a big advance.

@PetzlSportVideos Interesting device. I assume you need less force applied to the break rope with the Neox than with a Reverso? And it does provide some dynamic catchin as opposed to the Gri-Gri?

I wonder how likely it is that the rope will slip when the break side is not held. For instance, should the belayer become incapacitated for some reason (I know people tested this with the gri gri, and it would pretty reliably still block), which is unlikely, but can still happen.

bleibt es blockiert wenn man als belayer mit dem Gerät in die erste exe gezogen wird?

nice one petzl!

"When I climb with a belayer I don't know I always watch what they are doing. If they let go of the break side of the rope, I won't let them belay me again. Never... Ever." Is one of the most German things I've heard, but in the best way

So officially we can start counting time to inspection recall or not yet?

So the neox is more like the atc in the brake side ...if a rock hits you or a rattlesnake bites you and you let go of the brakeside the climber will fall to the ground if they fall at that moment...i like it but as a belayer id be much more comfortable with a grigri...just need to be better at giving slack

Nice acting! Funny video, and yeah, always hold your rope! :-) Nevertheless, I'm a little puzzled about the usefulness of this new device. For quick slack and easy handling, there are "bucket" devices (for example, the Petzl Reverso). I'm not seeing any added features of this device compared to the Reverso, except that it is more expensive and cool :-) Additionally, there are some other semi-automatic, safer devices around. I won't product place here, but some of them are great and quite cheap (around 30 bucks). Also, some of these devices offer both benefits - quick slack and more safety in case the belayer is an idiot, doesn't pay attention, or something happens to them so they can't belay properly. Sometimes, more complex-looking devices don't provide more complex features. Actually, and this is just my hypothesis, it is the complexity of the GriGri that causes some belayers to feel that the device will solve everything. I like the less complex semi-automatic alternatives also because even the less experienced belayer can often understand what needs to be done for the belay device to work properly, how exactly the semi-automatic feature works, and when it could fail. This UX thinking about the devices and solving the complexity of belay situations are, in my eyes, more important than just focusing on the perfection of one feature.

How is that any better than BD Pilot or the Mammut Smart?

the neox plus is good option with that wheel block for top rope

My question is how this compares to a Grigri+. I never had any real interest in the Greek plus until I was teaching my brother to lead belay the other day outside. He didnt realize how much more supple a lead rope is compared to an indoor toprope and I almost decked when he lowered me almost wide open. I had been thinking about switching to the plus, but now I also like the features this provides

Holy shit that is the best belayer in the world

it is not yet the definitive belay device. it's the cross between grirgri and revo but it doesn't solve the problems of both. for the grigri the problem is safety while for the revo it is the possibility of intentionally lock it. as you can see in the video, with the neox, if you don't hold the rope it doesn't lock while the revo always keeps the rope adherent to the pulley thanks to springs and guarantees locking. Despite this difference they are both CE EN 15151-1, for me comparable only if you hold the brake side of the rope... It is right to emphasize the fact of always holding the brake side of the rope but there are situations where the belayer can be compromised and not be able to do so, the outdoors always holds unexpected risks. for example a helmet can prevent you to get injured but it doesn't guarantee that you will be able to keep the belay under control. Whoever invents a revo with the possibility of controlling the locking action will have created the definitive belay device!!! Nerding apart i always love you petzl❤

GriGri is the best.

Looks nice! Any idea of how robust the neox wheel is towards dust? Specifically thinking of the ball bearings collecting dust while belaying outside.

Have you guys ever showed this video to Adam Ondra?

I'm amazed at the amount of people not understanding how this device works and calling it the same as an atc

Shouldve just put a large steel lip on the grigri2. I hate the grigri+ and i go through grigris in about 2 years from the rope cutting through the aluminum

Reject modernity, embrace tradition: shoulder belay

What's the crag they're at?

Only for experienced climbers. Grigri is more universal and foolproof.

Is there a anti panic lever like on the Grigri+?

This looks to have a big advantage over the grigri.

curious what other applications we will see this device performing in the wild. LRS systems?

First two people to ever wear a helmet in Margalef.

My concern is that if the belayer would get hit by a rock fall and pass out, then the climber would hit the deck… the older grigri would still stop.

Hate de pouvoir le tester

The whole idea why i got the Grigri is, that even if my belayer got ko'ed by a falling rock, the Grigri would still catch my fall.

You should be able to move when belaying and use it to your advantage when it's available, but you should not rely on it. Not every belay will allow you to move freely

So, In other words, it is not an assisted fool proof device.

Si what is the difference between gri gri and need? 😄

Why is it called NEOX!!!?

You can easily pinch the cam of the grigri whilst simultaneously keeping your hand on the brake strand. Been doing it for 25 years. Very easy. You don't need $150 new device.

GriGri + for the win, and in the guide plate category the DMM Pivot is king.

I think we need some official shaming for all the people who beer can grip Grigris to pay out slack too.

To me this looks like belay tutorial video rather than belay device promotion. Why don't you tell us about the advantages of this new device? It has been fleetingly mentioned that Neox allows to feed the rope easier than Grigri, is that all?

So it looks like a grigri but works randomly?

It’s a good job they had a man there to do the climbing!

The acting is horrible, but the product looks premium. I place on getting a Neox.

I didn’t understand much the differences with the original grigri

Advantage over Gri Gri: it feeds slack more easily. Others? Disadvantage: seems that it's less reliable in engaging to catch falls. Advantage over ATC: ? Disadvantage: Heavier, more expensive, no two-rope rappel

😂

I don't see the point of assisted breaking device that doesn't catch the fall without holding the rope. The whole point of the assisted breaking devices is IMHO that there is high chance (not 100% though) of it catching a fall on its own. For example if a rock falls on the belayer or something like this. I guess the advantage of this is that it's easier to hold a climber while he's resting and makes giving the slack easier. But does not really improve on safety, compared to Reverso and similar devices.

Never, ever. Too funny.

Climbers really make the absolute worst actors its brilliant.

Wow. Good thing they are climbers. Acting is not their strong point.

so it doesn’t have noob-proof auto blocking mechanism. Why not just use an ATC then

I'm the first 😂

J'ai l'impression de réapprendre l'escalade ! il faut tenir la corde... j'ai appris avec un huit, puis des tas de truc , puis le Grigri et j'ai vu des tas de gens désapprendre la vigilance à tenir la corde car le grigri stoppe la chute : certains même n'ont qu'un grigri et n'ont aucun réflexe sur la main qui retient la corde (surtout en salle avec des débutants ) et maintenant vous inventez un truc qui a TOUT les désavantages des 2 outils. J'attends de voir l'accidentologie, mais décrit comme cela je ne vois aucun intérêt à l'outil. La fluidité à donner de la corde en tête ça s'apprend avec un. huit, un reverso et aussi avec un GRIGRI. Mais j'ai peut être raté un truc dans l'intérêt de l'outil.

This sounds like an ATC with extra steps

One step back.....

Petzl trying to remove a bad habit they introduced many years ago lol

Reminds me of some airline safety briefing. Kinda cringe humor. 🥴

so that's a gri gri.

What’s the point? Less functionality? I would love to see the truth video, over the corporate blah blah blah…. Why even make a “new version” if it’s the exact same? Plus a little wheel? Also, loved Alex and Mikayla in this promo. Silly goofs ❤😊

I will NOT buy that. Maybe in a few years if the lessons learned from others and the accidents statistics are good...

I still dont understand what the whole fuss about this device, it is just an upgraded ATC, or another shape of ATC, that has many parts, increasing the risk of smth malfunctioning

Worst device ever planed, what's the difference with a Reverso? I will stay with grigri

What's up with the gender roles here, Petzl? Why is it always Alex climbing and Michaela belaying?

I tak znajdzie się mistrzu piszący na smartfonie 😂

Looks like Petzl is trying to sell helmets more than the NEOX.