Finds the Birdie meaningfully inferior to a GriGri: worse ergonomics without the index-finger loop, less smooth feeding and a non-progressive lowering handle.
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belay device
- Category
- Belay device
- Type
- Assisted braking
- Key specs
- 8.5–10.5 mm single rope
- Material
- Aluminum, steel
- Weight
- 220 g
What climbers keep saying · from 2 reviews
Reviews
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Uses a Birdie outside all the time: slightly heavier than a GriGri but feeds more smoothly, more like an ATC, and has a metal handle.
Has used a friend's Birdie many times and doesn't love it: the flat handle is less ergonomic than a GriGri's, and it once jammed while lowering a climber.
Their Birdie works like a GriGri and is easy to understand, a bit smaller but heavier; paying out slack sometimes jams it for a second with thicker, stiffer ropes.
Likes their Birdie OK, especially the straight feed that reduces rope kinks, but defaults to the GriGri out of habit.