Perfect for all occasions and situations (Petzl Reverso)

Member Name: dosftw

Product:	Petzl Reverso
Date:	30/07/09 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It is incredibly versatile and has many many uses

Disadvantages: Reversino needed for smaller rope diameters

Petzl REVERSO

Simple all rounder!

The Petzl REVERSO is definitely my favourite 'plate' style belay device because it doubles as a rappel device too. It is extremely simple to rig up onto the rope. For belaying purposes it is set up just like all plated devices. Simply push the looped rope through the rope slot and then pass both loop of rope and the metal ring like shape on the underside of the device through into your karabiner then shut your gate and screw it up. Your live end of the rope should be closest to you and your 'dead' end of the rope should be at the front of your device.

The versatility of this device is simply amazing. It has everything that you could ever want out of a device. You can use it to belay, as an abseiling device and emergency ascender in those tricky situations and also as an auto-locking belay plate. The best thing about all of this, is that it doesn't cost the world either, you would expect something this versatile to really set you back a bit, but it doesn't at all, you can get them for as little as about £15. As appose to the GriGri which will set you back about £50. Also the REVERSO can be used to belay when there are two seconds climbing at once, whereas the GriGri can only be used for one climber at a time. (a second is a climber that is climbing up to you rather than climbing up and away from you)

Because of the amount of metal surface compared to most belay plates, this means that there is far more surface area for heat to dissipate away from the device.

There are not really any problems with this all round device as you would expect considering they have to meet rigorous safety standards, however It has been noted, in quite some detail on the Petzl website about safety concerns about the auto-locking feature when using thin ropes. It is to be noted though that the device has been tested and found to perform in a perfectly safe manner with ropes as thin as 8mm. But this is personal preference and I am not expert on this as I have only ever used single ropes that are 10mm and above. So please seek the advice of a professional before using thin ropes with this device, it is your life or your climbing partners life on the line.

The device will accept Single ropes with diameters between 8mm and 11mm and Double dynamic ropes of the same diameter.

Summary: An incredible piece of kit or an incredible price