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Shiny new kit from DMM

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 Tom F Harding 13 Jul 2014
For all you gear junkies out there, we can now get our next hit. DMM have just released details of a whole range of new kit. Lots of interesting stuff in the belay device range.

http://dmmclimbing.com/documents/buyers-guide-2014-2015.pdf

Page 26 and 27 will be of particular interest with 3 new belay devices. The Grip looks particularly interesting and will be good to have a play with when it gets released. Apparently 7 years in development which is a long time!

There is also a new range of sport climbing harnesses, some rope access stuff and a new caribiner.

Add this to the new soft good like the bag range just released its great to see DMM still doing really well and coming out with some great looking gear.
 andrewmc 13 Jul 2014
In reply to Tom F Harding:
I am quitely hopeful about the Pivot; will be interesting to see a) how well the unlocking works (because my Reverso is not good) and how well it works with fat singles in guide mode (again, Reverso not good)...

I'm not sure if the Grip is supposed to be an semi-automatic belay device like a grigri or just a manual belay device with 'extra' braking?

PS I say semi-automatic because as everyone knows the grigri is not an automatic belay device, despite watching a pair of climbers at Cheddar yesterday making little/no effort to hold onto the brake rope (I suspect this is widespread)...
Post edited at 19:46
OP Tom F Harding 13 Jul 2014
In reply to andrewmcleod:

The pivot looks pretty good as i suppose it reduces the leverage you have to apply when lowering using the device in guide mode. My ATC Guide is such a pain to lower with, you get pumped trying to leaver the damn thing.

Not sure about the Grip either, pretty different from anything on the market.Will be interesting to see how it works. Looks as though it pinches the rope when 'open' but not when closed. I could see the rope ending up running through the 'gap' though and stopping it closing again.

> I say semi-automatic because as everyone knows the grigri is not an automatic belay device

unless you are using it to work your project on top rope, or self belay on a big wall or....
 StuLade 13 Jul 2014
In reply to Tom F Harding:

Vid of the grip here;

http://vk.com/video100627_169056870?hd=-1&t=7s
 IainWhitehouse 13 Jul 2014
In reply to andrewmcleod:

Having just played with these the last few days:

The pivot is tres cool. For those that like a guide plate I thin k this is going to become the gold standard. I have as reverso 3 and if I was sad enought to waste money on a new plate when mine is still okay this is what I'd buy.

The Grip(?) is possibly the cleverest belay device I've seen. It is an assisted locking device but very crude tests at a show suggest one little finger can comfortably hold body weight so it assists quite a bit. |What is great for me is that it works just like a conventional device so there is no new technique to learn (or teach) which makes it just dandy for those who are uncomfortable teaching beginnersw with a GriGri. It probably won't replace GriGris for serious soport climbers but if it doesn't replace them for beginner belayer use in many walls the instructors/TAs are nuts.

Since I've ben shot down for this before I'll state for the record that I have no connnection with DMM beyond the fact that I do generally like their gear.

 beardy mike 14 Jul 2014
In reply to Tom F Harding:

Had a go with both at friedrichafen and obviously this is just a play on a stand, not a real go. The new standard tubers seem great. The pivot, I'm not sure. I seems to work pretty well, but I can't help but feel it misses the point - its not an "autolocker" (I know they're not autolockers but you know what I mean, so its really just assisted braking, so its not going to appeal to sports climbers on the basis of the nonlocking thing, and it won't appead to tradders as its for single ropes with no prospect of a double one, so I'm not sure really... the pivot is an absolute winner as far as I can work out though. Camp also had a really nice grigri alternative - well worth checking out!
 lithos 14 Jul 2014
In reply to mike kann:

wan to edit that post ? 3rd sentance should read 'the grip im not sure'
 Bwox 14 Jul 2014
In reply to Tom F Harding:

> its great to see DMM still doing really well and coming out with some great looking gear.

Absolutely. But, based on previous DMM releases, can we expect any of this before the HS2 lines get completed?
OP Tom F Harding 14 Jul 2014
In reply to Bwox:

Can't image we will see the grip for a while - if its taken 7 years to develop whats a few more years difference going to make....

In some ways isn't that a good thing though as hopefully it wont just get recalled a few months later when a user finds a problem with it?
 mattrm 14 Jul 2014
In reply to mike kann:

> The pivot, I'm not sure. I seems to work pretty well, but I can't help but feel it misses the point - its not an "autolocker" (I know they're not autolockers but you know what I mean, so its really just assisted braking, so its not going to appeal to sports climbers on the basis of the nonlocking thing,

The Gri-Gri isn't an auto-locker either. It's assisted braking as well, look on the website. I suspect the the DMM Grip, which is what I assume you're talking about, will work in the same way as the Gri-Gri does, i.e. effectively lock the rope off. But they can't say that as it's not accurate. There's probably standards governing how you term these things, I'd imagine.
 Firestarter 14 Jul 2014
In reply to StuLade:

Cheers for that - spent ages trying to work out what/how! Looking forward to some reviews after it's been used awhile. I love DMM gear but have to say I'm feeling a bit cynical about the grip at the moment. I hope that can be dispelled.
 beardy mike 14 Jul 2014
In reply to lithos:

Bah - damn fingers typing the wrong thing!
 beardy mike 14 Jul 2014
In reply to mattrm:

The grigri is an autolocker in as much as it locks with little to no effort and stays locked. THAT is the difference, you absolutely have to keep a hand on the rope with the grip, i.e. it is an assited brake in the true sense, it helps you brake, but it does not lock.
 origamib 14 Jul 2014
In reply to mike kann:

If that's how you're using a gri-gri..... you're doing it wrong.

I imagine the DMM grip has great stopping powers as well, but for good reason these devices are not marketed as 'autolockers' any more.
 remus Global Crag Moderator 14 Jul 2014
In reply to origamib:

How are you meant to use a grigri then? hold the cam in so you can catch the fall manually?
 jimtitt 14 Jul 2014
In reply to mattrm:


> The Gri-Gri isn't an auto-locker either. It's assisted braking as well, look on the website. I suspect the the DMM Grip, which is what I assume you're talking about, will work in the same way as the Gri-Gri does, i.e. effectively lock the rope off. But they can't say that as it's not accurate. There's probably standards governing how you term these things, I'd imagine.

The two categories for the UIAA are manual and locking assisted, the Grigri and Edelrid Eddy are locking assisted and everything else manual. The test involves a hands-free drop test.
The Grip will not pass the test.
DiscoBoy 14 Jul 2014
In reply to Tom F Harding:

How much do we reckon the grip will cost?
In reply to Tom F Harding:

Not sure about the Pivot. I trust DMM's engineering but the thing I love about my ATC Guide is that it's one solid piece of metal. No moving parts, and highly functional. That being said, lowering your second is a jerky and uncomfortable experience.

The Grip looks... amazing. Might have to buy it for it's good looks alone. Again, my only concern is that moving parts mean more to go wrong.
 beardy mike 15 Jul 2014
In reply to origamib:

Oh ffs. You know exactly what I mean so stop being a pedant. You and I both know that 99% of the time these devices lock of their own accord and need no assistance. Theres an ocean of difference between that and belay plates classified as non locking. The grip is non locking, its an assited brake as in an augmented fricion brake as in a brake that does not lock but provides help to the belayer and assists them. Any other ways I can put it? And yes, I know what the instructions say.
 Mr Fuller 15 Jul 2014
In reply to DiscoBoy:

I was told approximately £45 for the Grip. It was amazing to use, really cool bit of kit and extremely intuitive - exactly like a normal belay device but far easier to hold big falls (I think they said 10 x more friction once the magnets separate than when they are together, giving it way more friction than most other conventional belay devices). Having said that, I won't buy one as I have no use for that sort of device. The Pivot, however, I will be buying to replace my Reverso 3 that is gradually getting sharper as it gets worn. The Pivot seemed to solve the minor gripes I had with the Reverso (sticky paying out slack in guide mode and possible chance of ropes getting stuck if one of two seconds falls off) and is UK-made, which is another plus over the Reverso. The DMM stand was good and had the stand-out bits of hardware at the show for me.
 FreshSlate 15 Jul 2014
In reply to Tom F Harding:

The Reverso is U.K made.
 Mr Fuller 15 Jul 2014
In reply to FreshSlate:

Good point, in fact DMM make it... forgot that. UK-company might be more what I mean.
 FreshSlate 15 Jul 2014
In reply to Mr Fuller:

> Good point, in fact DMM make it... forgot that. UK-company might be more what I mean.

Yup .
 muppetfilter 15 Jul 2014
In reply to FreshSlate:

Is everything DMM sell UK made ???
 Richard Wilson 15 Jul 2014
In reply to muppetfilter:

No, Some of the soft goods like chalk & rope bags are not made locally.
 FreshSlate 16 Jul 2014
In reply to muppetfilter:

Soft goods are not I think.
 andrewmc 16 Jul 2014
In reply to FreshSlate:
Except slings I think? (if you count those as 'soft goods' which isn't really what you meant I think)
Post edited at 12:56
 Ffion Blethyn 16 Jul 2014
In reply to muppetfilter:

I think I read somewhere that their harnesses are made in Czech.
 FreshSlate 16 Jul 2014
In reply to andrewmcleod:

Nah didn't think of slings. Thinking about their rucksack range, harnesses etc.
 andrewmc 16 Jul 2014
In reply to FreshSlate:
Also I think Ocún (which, since they are Czech, should be pronounced with the 'c' taking the sound of 'ts' in 'knots' and 'u' taking the sound in 'push', so more like 'Ots-sun') make their boulder pads? (but not sure about that).

PS an acute 'accent' sign on a vowel in Czech doesn't change its sound, just its length :P
Post edited at 17:45
 Richard Wilson 17 Jul 2014
In reply to andrewmcleod:

> Except slings I think? (if you count those as 'soft goods' which isn't really what you meant I think)


I was in a group yesterday that had a private tour of the factory. I asked about stuff made off site. The slings are made into slings onsite using UK sourced (and made) reels of sling material.

DMM now seem to be the only UK manufacturer of climbing hardware.
 sean1 17 Jul 2014
In reply to Richard Wilson:

I'm sure Wild Country have relocated their manufacturing back to the UK.
 Mr Fuller 17 Jul 2014
In reply to sean1:

Some of it, though a lot of it is made in Taiwan. Their new superlight nuts (really cool - imagine offsets at half the weight) are currently made in Sheffield I think but are to be made in Taiwan.
In reply to Tom F Harding:

Video of the grip at an outdoor show: http://vk.com/video5811176_169287200
DiscoBoy 18 Jul 2014
In reply to Mr Fuller:

Okay, thanks
 FreshSlate 18 Jul 2014
In reply to Tom F Harding:

I like the look of the chimera. Phantom but with a clean gate, 28grams.
 Oo 18 Jul 2014

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