Belay Device Types Explained

Sadly, there is no one belay device that is perfect for every situation. The type of climbing, the rope type and thickness, the location of the climb as well as level of expertise of the belayer are all factors that can greatly influence the recommendation of one device over another. Before choosing a belay device it is helpful to understand the handful of types that are out there and to know a bit about what they are designed to do. Often it can be just as important to find out what a particular device is not designed to do. This post aims to cover the main types and make some loose guidelines on how they are used by climbers today.

But first, a little history.

What is Belaying and Some Belay Device History

The concept of belaying is fairly simple: a climber ties a rope to themselves as protection from falling and a person on the opposite side of the line, the belayer, gives and takes out slack as they move up and down through a climb. In the far-flung history of technical climbing this belayer would wrap the excess rope around themselves using the friction against their body to control rope feed– this is known as a hip or body belay. For many decades this is the method that climbers would use to protect one another from falling while ascending mountains.

One problem using body parts in a belay is that it can involve a fair amount of danger to the belayer including but not limited to massive rope burns and holes in clothing if the climber fell; one of the reasons for the old mantra, “The leader must not fall.” As climbing got more technical and difficulty grades pushed harder, climbers needed a better means for safely arresting a fall. Along with the advent of the modern harness and the kernmantle rope, the belay device was born.

The earliest manufactured belay devices were simple metal plates with slots or holes in them, made to feed a bight of rope clipped to a carabiner which used friction to slow the feed rate of the rope and allowed for more control over the movement of the rope under weight.

The basic designs and ideas have not changed much since the original Sticht plate of the 1960’s (see image), though some alterations in shape as well as attachment points for hanging from a harness are common.

Belay plates are mostly best utilized in Search And Rescue (SAR) situations as well as in the hands of trained mountain guides, as they require a bit of knowledge to make use of every feature they are capable of.

On the other side of the plate world is the Figure 8, which is mostly used by canyoneers, military, and rappelling enthusiasts, and not many rock climbers.

Although the vast majority of climbers shun these older styles of belay devices there are a few folks who swear by them like pro climber Steph Davis. Steph wrote a love letter to her Kong GiGi and summarized the benefits as, “There are no moving parts, nothing to maintain, nothing to break, no mysteries going on. It’s simple, cheap, light, minimalistic and perfect at what it does.” That said, it’s a “perfect” option partly because she’s already accustomed to its nuances and quirks and has decades of belaying experience.

Without a fair amount of experience, belay plates and 8’s can be finicky and prone to twisting, bunching and jamming the rope while feeding, especially on heavy weighted rappels so they are not recommended for beginners.

Warning: Many modern gyms don’t allow plates to be used for belaying since they do not have any built-in back-up help for the belayer in case of emergency or misuse; we’ll cover this more in a bit.

Tubers are based on the idea of the belay plate but with a deeper ‘tube’ made of thinner material for the rope to pass through. Tube devices allow for more control of the rope (vs a plate/figure 8) in almost all feeding situations because their shape creates more points of friction for the rope to contact as it feeds through them.

Later tube model designs have also included v-shaped grooves and various asymmetrical shapes at the rope radius area to give even more options for adding friction by changing how you load the rope into the device.

Much like plates, most tube devices often have 2 slots allowing them to be used to belay with twin and half ropes as well as for rappelling/abseiling two lines. A lessening number of manufacturers offer single-slot tubes designed specifically for belaying single pitch routes.

Here’s an example of *almost* the same device, the difference being the amount of rope slots:

Warning: Many modern gyms no longer allow these tube devices to be used for belaying since they do not have any built-in back-up help for the belayer in case of emergency or misuse.

Another key feature to Guide Mode is that it allows one leader to belay two followers at once. Also, like a standard tube, the two slots allow for rappelling the route.

Similar to a belay plate, guide style belay devices like the Petzl Reverso (seen above) are designed for belaying directly from the anchor while belaying from above, guiding, or multi-pitch climbing.

Because of the way the rope feeds through the device when belaying from the anchor, a guide mode device can be used as an auto-block. When used correctly, if the climber fell, the rope would automatically catch the falling climber.

Passive Brake Assist – Tube Style

A good bridge into assisted braking for those most familiar with tube or plate style belay devices, passively assisted braking devices tend to be small, simple and lightweight. The operation while belaying will look and feel mostly like that of a tubular belay, with a small twist. When the climber falls or the belayer suddenly brakes and removes slack from the system, the shape of the device takes over and the entire device changes its orientation on the rope, forcing tension against the carabiner and effectively blocking the rope from moving; all without any additional moving parts.

The downside is that most of these passive assist brake devices only work with one strand of rope and don’t function well for rappelling. While lead belaying, the assisted braking function can also happen at unexpected times until you are used to a particular device, so we recommend spending a good amount of time on the ground working on feeding before you head to the gym or the crag with them.

Mechanical Brake Assist – Moving Parts

Mechanically assisted devices rely on moving parts to change the orientation and friction that the belay device is applying to the rope during braking. Similar to the GriGri, devices like the Trango Vergo and the Madrock Lifeguard employ a moving piece of metal that ‘cams’ upward, pinching the rope whenever it is pulled through the device too quickly, such as when your climber falls.

These devices are often useful in a broader range of situations including lowering and hauling as their moving parts and handles allow for a much smoother nuanced control of the rope when it is under weight.

The added control from this mechanical ‘pinching’ of the rope makes these devices the de facto modern standard when it comes to single pitch cragging and projecting routes, where hanging and jugging on rope happens just as often as giving and taking slack. Their combination of braking, handling and rope control also make mechanical devices ideal for toproping. Many devices in this category can also be used to belay a single climber from above and the mechanical backup makes them a dream when lowering yourself or a heavy load.

Because of the moving parts and added complexity, mechanically assisted devices tend to be heavier and more pricey than their simple tube counterparts. They also require a bit more diligence and practice in understanding their proper care and use for lead climbing, where the belayer is required to both feed out and take up slack smoothly at a moment’s notice. Similar to the assisted tube, a “normal” belay method may actually trigger the cam and cause the device to lock up at inconvenient times. Of course lots of ground practice and proper instruction is always recommended for any device, and working with this added mechanism can be easily learned with practice.

Which Belay Device Should I Buy?

If you are in the market for a new belay device, we have shown that there are plenty of devices and features out there to choose from. Narrowing them down to what will work best for you involves thinking critically about which features you need and use now, and then adding in a few that will expand the types of climbing you want to do in the future.

Adding a simplified plate to your ice climbing rig might be handy, or maybe you’d like to try aid climbing and need something more multifunctional to haul with. Remember that many climbers find they actually require multiple devices as they increase the types of climbing they do. For example: one for the gym and one for outdoors. Or maybe you prefer a lightweight style for multi-pitch climbing but love mechanical brake-assist when climbing single pitch or when your partner is projecting a climb.

Make a list of the top 3 things you want and need from your belay device, consult the content above, and head over to our belay device page to start using our filters to narrow down every belay device from every manufacturer out there. You can compare them side by side using our Compare button and really narrow down exactly what you’re looking for. We’re confident that armed with the above knowledge and a little clicking, you will be able to find the right device (or two) to take your climbing to the next level.