The Click-Up is a locking-assist belay device. Is it any good, and is it the right belay device for you? Read on to find out.
The Device
The Click-Up is a locking assist belay device. The Click-Up is simpler than most of these devices, as it lacks major moving parts. It is designed for use with ropes between 9.0 and 10.5 mm in diameter. The Click-Up weighs 5 grams and retails for $50 to $60.
My Experience
I have used the Click-Up, both for my personal climbing and for guiding, and I love it. It pays slack as easily as an ATC or Grigri, but unlike the ATC it locks, and unlike the Grigri there is no cam that can be accidentally be squeezed open. Lowering is smooth, and it would actually be difficult to lower a climber too quickly.
I am a climbing guide, and sometimes my job entails lead climbing with a client belaying me. While I am a good instructor, it’s impossible to teach someone to be a truly competent belayer in a few minutes before I climb up. While I’ve never accidentally fallen on a client belaying me, rock can break and weird things can happen, so increasing the chances that the client would actually catch me is a positive. The Click-Up increases the chance the client would catch me, and it’s simple design and belay technique makes it much less likely that the client will either short-rope me or accidentally hold the device open than if a Grigri or Cinch were being used. While it is generally a good idea to avoid being belayed by an inexperienced belayer, the Click-Up is the best belay device for an inexperienced belayer to use.
The Click-Up is also a fantastic device for an experienced belayer to use. I like both the Petzl Grigri and the Trango Cinch, but there have been numerous accidents where experienced belayers held either device open until their climbers hit the ground. The simplicity of the Click-Up makes this scenario less likely, because there is no cam or pivot point that can be panic squeezed to prevent the device form working. Another positive about the Click-Up is that it is symmetrical. Either hand can be the brake hand, so a left-handed belayer who learned with an ATC would not have to undergo an awkward transition. Any belayer, in fact, would not have to learn a new technique when transitioning form an ATC, unlike with the Grigri or the Cinch.
The Click-Up does have a few negatives. One of these is that it is a pain to use with thick ropes. Playing out slack with a thick rope through this device actually fatigues my shoulder, and it can be hard to avoid accidentally engaging the locking capacity. While the Click-Up is rated for ropes up to 10.5 mm, I wouldn’t recommend using it with anything above 10 mm. Other downsides to the device are that you can’t do double rope rappels or belay directly off of the anchor, but a newer version called the Alpine-Up is scheduled to be available in the spring of 2012, and it will have these capabilities. Finally, top-rope belaying can be annoying. If you are keeping the rope tight the device will lock up, essentially becoming a ratchet, and the increased friction makes taking in slack more difficult. Still, the positives of the Click-Up far outweigh its negatives.
Belaying / Note of Caution
Belaying, whether with the Click-Up or any other device, is an important skill that must be carefully developed. Good belaying involves many factors, such as being vigilant, choosing a good stance, developing good habits, understanding fall dynamics, giving the proper amount of slack, making a catch appropriately dynamic, and having situational awareness so that you respond correctly when your climber falls. Belaying is beyond the scope of this article, and you should seek qualified instruction before holding someone’s life in your hands. You should never think that belaying with an auto-locking or locking-assist belay device makes it okay for you to be less attentive to your climber.
Bottom Line
The Click-Up is an excellent belay device for single pitch cragging. It is currently my favorite device for lead belaying, and I highly recommend it.
More Climbing Gear
For reviews of other locking-assist belay devices, check out the Trango Cinch here and the Petzl Grigri here. For many more reviews of climbing gear and other fun articles, please go here and scroll through my content. Be safe, and have fun climbing!
