Petzl released the new GRIGRI Neox today, and it looks just like the dominant assisted-braking belay device so many climbers use and trust. However, information from the French brand reveals that although the familiar form and rope locking cam are intact, the Neox has significant differences from the GRIGRI line.
How a GRIGRI Works
![Official Petzl technique for paying out slack on a GRIGRI](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-03-at-11.03.21%E2%80%AFAM.jpg)
The current third-generation GRIGRI and GRIGRI + use a cam that engages due to increased rope friction placed on it by a falling or “taking” climber. The rope drags on the cam’s rounded lobe, which rotates it, and it pinches the rope to help arrest the fall. A spring keeps the cam from rotating when there is less friction in low rope load scenarios.
But when a climber is leading, quickly paying out slack for clipping protection is a priority. The greater friction of feeding rope quickly is enough to lock the cam on a GRIGRI. To overcome this, climbers learn a specific technique prescribed by Petzl. It’s complex but is a thoughtless second nature to me.
The GRIGRI rests on the brake hand index finger on a lip designed for that purpose, and the thumb holds the cam down. The brake strand of the rope still passes through the last three fingers of the brake hand. The non-brake hand can then pay out slack quickly as the thumb keeps the cam from pinching the rope.
Again, this does seem complicated, but neither my climbing partners nor I have had to think about it for decades. However, belayers can botch it during high-speed, high-stress situations. This can lead to short-roping the climber or potentially failing in fundamental belaying technique. None of these is ideal, and at worst, could be hazardous in the already riskier scenario of having slack out on lead.