Grigri is super simple?

So I was at REI today, and I asked the guy to open the locked cabinet and let me see the Grigri -- and it wasn't what I expected. No internal moving parts? The rope channel is just a channel and nothing more? The handle just gives you some leverage on the body? The rope just slides on through unless you pull on the tail at a proper angle? Strange...

So if a Grigri is just super simple on the inside then does anyone perhaps have a photo of the inside of an I'D?

Davej wrote:

So I was at REI today, and I asked the guy to open the locked cabinet and let me see the Grigri -- and it wasn't what I expected. No internal moving parts? The rope channel is just a channel and nothing more? The handle just gives you some leverage on the body? The rope just slides on through unless you pull on the tail at a proper angle? Strange...

So if a Grigri is just super simple on the inside then does anyone perhaps have a photo of the inside of an I'D?

Yep, the Grigri is nice and simple, good functionality in a relatively small package, that's why I like it.

Inside of the I'D is basically the same except it has the \"overpull\" shut off descent mechanism which adds more to it. Otherwise it is functionally the same as the Grigri. The I'D is a massive chunk compared to the Grigri. I have an I'D and it gets zero use, it's too bulky/heavy to carry into the woods (factored into total climb gear weight/size considerations).
-moss

Well, I don't know if what I saw yesterday is the same as what is shown Here.

In the text Storrick says; \"If the belayed climber falls, the cam rotates counter-clockwise, and the top surface of the cam squeezes the rope against the anvil.\"

I don't remember any cam or anvil. All I remember seeing was a \"D\" shaped channel for the rope.

Davej wrote:

Well, I don't know if what I saw yesterday is the same as what is shown Here.

In the text Storrick says; \"If the belayed climber falls, the cam rotates counter-clockwise, and the top surface of the cam squeezes the rope against the anvil.\"

I don't remember any cam or anvil. All I remember seeing was a \"D\" shaped channel for the rope.

What Storrick is calling a cam is cam functionality not what you normally think of as a cam. When the lever is pulled, the device \"rotates\", the position of the rope channel shifts and acts as a cam.
-moss

moss wrote:
What Storrick is calling a cam is cam functionality not what you normally think of as a cam. When the lever is pulled, the device \"rotates\", the position of the rope channel shifts and acts as a cam.

Well, I'm getting the impression that maybe the older Grigri's had a \"D\" shaped island inside that the rope went around, while the newer versions have a \"D\" shaped channel that the rope lies in. I don't know if the older version might have essentially squeezed the rope against the back plate?

Davej wrote:

Well, I'm getting the impression that maybe the older Grigri's had a \"D\" shaped island inside that the rope went around, while the newer versions have a \"D\" shaped channel that the rope lies in. I don't know if the older version might have essentially squeezed the rope against the back plate?

I think it's always been a channel, I don't think it would work very well without the channel. Anyway it's a channel now and works great. You could send email to Storrick to find out if the interior hardware has been redesigned but I think the answer will be no.

By the way you can always try the Grigri out in the store to examine the functionality for yourself. No one at my local REI objects to me putting a rope over a pipe to test stuff out. Just ask first of course.
-moss

Is this what you were looking at in REI?
http://www.treeclimbing.com/content/view/160/114/

Here is another link to a Grigri with photos of the inside
http://www.petzl.com/en/pro/self-braking-descenders/grigri

Yes, there is a Cam inside that squishes the line to make it stop when loaded correctly. If the rope is installed backwards the unit does not work as intended to hold the climber and actually drops the climber to the ground ( very important detail) !!
Pivoting cam makes it easier to take up the slack in the rope.

oldtimer wrote:
Here is another link to a Grigri with photos of the inside
http://www.petzl.com/en/pro/self-braking-descenders/grigri

Yes, there is a Cam inside that squishes the line to make it stop when loaded correctly. If the rope is installed backwards the unit does not work as intended...

I see three photos at that page but none showing the inside. Here is one...

This does not look like what I saw yesterday (unless my memory is failing).

Davej wrote:

This does not look like what I saw yesterday (unless my memory is failing).

Storrick often has early versions of various devices on his web site. What you saw at REI is the current version of the Grigri and is the design that has been around for years. I don't know all the history of Grigri design changes but the current version (what you saw at REI) is what many tree climbers are using for SRT descent. It is well tested and its functionality, behavior, characteristics and limitations are well known.
-moss

This page has good detail views of a Grigri from different angles, open, closed etc.
Grigri photos
-moss

moss wrote:
This page has good detail views of a Grigri from different angles, open, closed etc.
Grigri photos

Well now I'm going to have to go back to REI to see how I got this incorrect mental image of the innards. Admittedly I had an \"overly helpful\" associate \"helping me\" look at the unit.

Davej wrote:

Well now I'm going to have to go back to REI to see how I got this incorrect mental image of the innards. Admittedly I had an \"overly helpful\" associate \"helping me\" look at the unit.

Dave, I'm curious, now that you've seen all the detail photos, and held it in your hand, what is the question that you have about the device?
-moss

I think the link that dave posted for the Storrick site as not for a Grigri but for a different rapelling Belay device. If you click on it you see what I am talking about.

Here is the correct link to the Grigri page on Storrick
http://storrick.cnchost.com/VerticalDevicesPage/Belay/LeverBelayPages/LeverBoxBelay626.html

moss wrote:
...what is the question that you have about the device?

I'm just curious how I might have formed an incorrect mental image of the internal channel.