Giga Jul

Two months in, traded away a Grigri for lead belaying with it; lowering takes practice and rappelling gives more friction than an ATC.

“Lowering a climber requires a learning period to become smooth, and rappelling with it definitely produces more friction than my old atc. I feel comfortable with it in both situations now, after a relatively short period of use.”

Absolutely loves their Giga Jul for lead, though gym ropes don't feed as smoothly in ATC mode.

Their Giga Jul doesn't feed as smoothly as their old Alpine Smart, especially with thicker ropes.

Loves the Giga Jul for its incredible versatility and will buy it again.

The Giga Jul solves the Mega Jul's guide-mode problem: truly a wonderful device.

Has a GriGri, Pinch and Giga Jul and mostly uses the Giga Jul.

The Giga Jul is awful with thick gym ropes, but they use it for everything else.

Has a Giga Jul and loves it, with both assisted-braking and regular tube modes.

Has the Giga Jul and finds the mode switch kind of annoying; would go for the Mega Jul or ATC-Pilot instead.

Found that in guide mode with assisted braking set, the Giga Jul won't feed rope at all and locks both ways, an easy mistake to make.

Belays with the Giga Jul in assisted mode and feels comfortable; slightly bigger learning curve than an ATC or GRIGRI but easy with practice.

They and their partner got a Giga Jul but went back to the GRIGRI because it was harder to feed slack, even on a standard 9.8 mm rope.

Likes the Giga Jul: lead, top-rope and guide belaying, rappelling and two ropes, it does everything and auto-locks nicely.

Doesn't like the Giga Jul: still too much friction in guide mode, and much bigger and clunkier than the Mega Jul, which they do like.

A love-hate relationship with their Giga Jul: assisted braking plus full ATC function is great, but it doesn't work well with thick top-ropes, where taking in slack gets hard.

Uses a Giga Jul and finds it awesome, saving them from carrying a GRIGRI and an ATC, though wishes it were lighter.

Owns a Mammut Smart and a Giga Jul and likes both; the Giga Jul stays in the multi-pitch bag in place of an ATC-Guide.

Finds the Giga Jul better than other grabby devices but very fussy about the carabiner, and theirs slips a little even with the standard one.

Likes the Giga Jul, though one setting on it is less intuitive.

Returned their Giga Jul because it would not fully lock off in assisted mode on 9.2, 9.8 or 8.3 mm ropes.

Very disappointed with the Giga Jul: it doesn't lock with some carabiners or new ropes, only with older ropes and specific carabiners.

Switched from an ATC to the Giga Jul smoothly and intuitively; very versatile (ATC mode, anchor belay, auto-braking rappels, double ropes), only a bit more slippery than cam devices.

A big Edelrid fan who finds the Giga Jul awesome and easy to use, though slightly prefers the ATC-Pilot's lowering in the gym.

Tried the Giga Jul and found it had too much resistance when giving or taking slack.

Loves their Giga Jul for belaying a party of three on 9.1 mm half ropes.

Belays two followers on half ropes from a Giga Jul in guide mode and it has worked well.

Calls the Giga Jul the best all-rounder; rappelling works well with a biner in the release hole, though one hand on the brake strands feels awkward.

The Giga Jul comes close to their ideal device, though rappelling in assisted-braking mode could be smoother; doubles as an ice-climbing brake assist.

Their Giga Jul twists the ropes a lot when lowering, and they rarely use its unassisted slider except on long abseils.

Used the Giga Jul for a while but found it a little rough with thicker ropes.

Uses the Giga Jul personally: not the best at anything, but it can do everything.

Loves their Giga Jul and sees no reason to use anything else; the one device to rule them all.

Not a huge fan of the Giga Jul: it has a learning curve and guide mode has more friction than an ATC; usually brings a GRIGRI on single-rope routes.

Bought a Giga Jul hoping for easier top belaying than their Mega Jul, but it was still really hard to pull rope through, and rappels were jerky or needed a third hand.

Likes their Giga Jul as a good rappel device and as an assisted-locking backup to belay and belay from above if they drop their GRIGRI.

Uses 8 mm half ropes with their Giga Jul with no issues.

Loves the Giga Jul: not the best at everything but does almost everything, from gym and sport to ice and alpine; always comes back to it after using most devices.

Finds the Giga Jul in autoblock poor for lead belaying, but awesome for rappelling, belaying from the top and tube-belaying a leader.

Uses the Giga Jul with a partner of different weight; it's fine, but guide mode is a pain to release for a mid-pitch lower.

Vouches for the Giga Jul as a great, very versatile device, while noting it's assisted rather than auto braking.

Absolutely adores their Giga Jul and carries it on every pitch; a little sticky paying out slack at first but you get used to it right away.

Uses the Giga Jul as their primary device but warns it doesn't lock up very hard with some rope and carabiner combinations, so not for inexperienced belayers.

Enjoys the Giga Jul for sport climbing but not for multipitch; a standard tube rappels smoother with less tangling.

No longer carries an ATC and uses a Giga Jul plus GRIGRI; the Jul rappels nicer in manual mode, but checking its mode sliders in the dark is a faff.

In their experience the Giga Jul is more sensitive to rope diameter and carabiner choice, so pulling rope through can take more effort.

Raps in assist mode on 8.5 mm dry ropes and doesn't find two-strand rappels jerky. On a single line it locks fine on an old 9.8 mm, okay on 8.5 mm with enough rope weight and not at all on 8.1 mm, so they test before relying on it.

“On my old fuzzy 9.8 mm it locks fine on a single line, locks okay on my 8.5 mm with enough rope weight, and absolutely does not lock on my 8.1 mm.”

Now belays with a Jul² for lead and a Giga Jul for top rope; has also led on the Giga Jul but thinks it may be one of the worst devices for that.

A guide-mode tube device is their preferred rig, and the Giga Jul covers assisted braking, guide mode and two-strand rappels in one; lowering from a top belay is harder than with a GRIGRI.

Always carries their own tube device and prefers the Giga Jul because one device covers assisted-braking lead belays, guide-mode belays from above and double-strand rappels; rigging a GRIGRI for single-strand rappels is a deal breaker for them.

“For me the Edelrid GigaJul is preferable because it does assisted breaking lead belay, guide mode top rope and double strand rappel all in one device.”