Grigri v. Revo on a job site with drop tests. Make all ladder climbing 100 percent safe.

This video pits Wild County's Revo v. Pretzel's Grigri 2 in a bunch of Drop Tests off ladders. It also illustrates how to make all ladders 100 percent safe--using a very simple system.

Is any of these safety precautions necessary? No, 99.99% of the time, but there is always the guaranteed once in an hundred year accident that is easy to avoid on a house with exposed wood trim. We do not tether to wood siding, unless a stud can be hit with screw, behind the siding. Trim is hard wood and siding is always soft, and not worthy of any anchor.

The test of the Grigri v. Revo were experimental, and done by a person who has only 2 days learning about the devices and their schemes--in other words, the ideal person to conduct these experiments.

Conclusions :

*As a novice, I threaded the Grigri incorrectly twice, which would happen for employees, for sure. I surprised myself as I knew better, marked the up rope on the device (not clearly marked by Petzel). This mistake seems to still allow minor slowing, but could be fatal. Revo can be threaded either way, and is the winner in idiot proof.

*The Grigri lockup was non existent or sketchy without weight on the downward rope, especially when the suspension point was not directly above, while the Revo was reliable without the weight. Both require the slack to be taken out to the suspension, which I possibly was a bit lax on in the beginning. The Grigri did seem reliable if the suspension point was immediately above, even without weight on the down rope--not sure I would stake my life on it. All in all, the Revo seemed more reliable to lockup. The revo wins the lockup reliability category.

*The grigri locked up in the first 1.5 feet of the fall, while the Revo took a meter, or 3 feet. Add to this the 6 feet stretch of this nylon rope, and we have little benefit on a ladder less than 9 feet. This might be mitigated by using polyester. The nylon stretch is good for tall ladders as it would cushion the fall and be easier on the suspension point. The shorter lockup is better too for the suspension point stress. ( A triple suspension point scheme is something I would rather trust.). The Gri wins in the lockup distance.

*Neither unit allows you to descend a ladder with the weight on the down rope. This weight made both devices more reliable. It is a Huge safety Hazzard to take your hand off the ladder to raise the down rope, as one hand needs to be grabbing the ladder at all times and there is always a tool or bucket in the other hand. We are trying to make the job safer and not less safe.. One solution, probably the best, would me to send back the Grigri as it does not fit my needs. The other solution would be to hang a weight on the down, only after getting on the plank and taking it off, on the way down. But this solution still make the grigri useless for ladder work, unless the suspension is directly overhead. No, a better solution would be to think of a better solution. For ease of use and set and forget, the Wildcountry Revo is the clear winner--another idiot proof aspect.

*As far as Rappelling down goes, the grigri looks like it is more easily controlled. The Revo seemed all or nothing. Because of the single attachment point and the rope stretch, I was not going to test it with a jump or rappel. The Grigri probably wins for more control when Rappelling. I am confident that the over all real world harness setups would slow down a fall, but I am 60/40 that it would fully eliminate any injury.

GRIGRI wins in price. You can buy 3 for the price of 2 Revis. The frustrating thing is that I know that I could invent or modify around this stupid minor descent limitation, if I think about it. Perhaps, put the weight on something high.

*I also found other limitations on these units' use, like the interface with the ladder tie off ropes. I guess someone could complain of
A tripping Hazard, which I can't really see unless someone was inept, working below (a huge no-no-never-do, or the Rappelling rope was really short. On the roof, it could be a tripping hazard, however, all job areas need a worker to be aware of the essential cords, buckets, hoses, drops, plants, uneven ground, vacuums, lights, ladders, power tools, tools, pumps, etc. : to do any site work, the worker needs to be like a ballerina, plus be always aware of what is going on at the foot level, mapping out the terrain in their brain, as they work on the structure.

*Since the real world user would usually forget to eliminate slack between the harness and suspension point--as they have a lot of other things to do--the Revo wins as it best self adjusts the rope in and out. Both units catch best without slack- the Grigri was really iffy w/ slack + suspension not directly above.

.... The danger in these tests was the risk of knocking out a window. Further drop tests from the side without weight on the rope are needed to gather greater confidence or lack thereof.