UKH

I want to try to take my daughter out climbing a lot more but due to her lack of experience I want her to use an auto locking belay so she doesn't drop my sorry carcass. Due to our weight difference, I will be setting up direct belays from gear fixed at the bottom of the crag. This limits route choices but there's enough we can do local.

It'll only be on single pitch routes which are pretty easy until she gets some experience and then we might move on to some multi pitch.

Could you recommend a suitable belay device? Any other advice would be appreciated as well.

If you don't mind going through ropes a bit quicker I'd use an Italian hitch for that, it's simplicity itself to operate.  If she can't understand "don't let go of the dead rope under any circumstances" she shouldn't be belaying you, and there's limited scope to fumble it unlike a regular device.

I wouldn't use a Gri-gri as there's too much scope to fumble the rather awkward lowering, and these devices are brake assist rather than auto locking anyway - there is no guarantee they will lock.

I'd strongly recommend buying an Edelrid Ohm as this is much more effective at negating weight differences between climbers than any belay device and should mean that you actually don't have to bother with the ground anchors. 

For example my girlfriend recently used this to climb quite happily with a 12 year old partner who weighed a full 25KG less than her and had absolutely no bother including taking longer lead falls. 

Here's a review from UKC's own Mr Greenwood: 

https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/climbing/belays/edelrid_ohm-9503 

This combined with a simple semi-auto device such as an Edelrid Jul 2 or a Grigri should be ideal. You could also consider the Revo if you want something that handles like an ATC but has a backup in place. 

The Ohm really is a game changer for climbing with much lighter partners. As long as she knows how to handle a rope you'll be fine. 

are you being lowered or topping out (and walking or belaying at top, reccomended !)

if topping out then gri gri i think as most reliable.

lowering would bother me with a gri gri style.  

Italian hitch is a fair suggestion but can be awkward to arrange at the floor to get maximum friction (ropes parallel)

also get an OHM as suggested.

I would recommend a Click-Up combined with an Ohm.

By the way these devices are NOT Autolocking, they are assisted braking devices.

Al

Personally I like a Gri Gri, and if you are concerned about the lowering, just climb with your belay device on your harness and lower yourself down - you've got to thread the top so it's no extra effort to connect your belay while you're up there. 

How reliable is the ohm on less than bomber gear placements? Could this be an issue worth looking into if the OP is planning on trad climbing and not sport?

I'm a big fan of the Ohm. However it's strictly for bolted routes as it depends on resistance to an upward pull on the first bolt. Theoretically you could construct a trad first piece that is sufficiently multi-directional but I wouldn't want to try it myself.

Quite right I may have jumped to the wrong conclusion there.

Al

Thanks for all the suggestions. 

I was planning on climbing with my daughter at a local crag where I'll be belaying her from the tops of routes. There's a big, safe area at the top where we can sort out gear after a route and walk around to a good abseil point. To start with, I will be lowering her. 

A grigri or click up or various alternatives would be fine. However I suggest practicing the lowering thing until it is second nature. 

The reason is that the reason you are being belayed is only because you might fall. On an easy route this means maybe a 50 percent chance you will be injured. That's based on my own experience. Hence she needs to be able to lower with you screaming. 

My daughter once dropped me off the top of a wall with a grigri. I had taught her that if anything goes wrong, just let go. She did and I was saved.

GriGri+, WC Revo, or Camp’s Matik. In that order. End of. 

(But only if/when you do indeed have her ‘grounded’ as you say/if that’s what you did mean?) 

Usefull Note though, perhaps, depending where your priorities lie cost/benefit wise, and how good your GoogleFu & ‘Bay of e’ skills are!: My Matik was guiltily demoted to now being in [admittedly still a close] 3rd place (from 1st by a country mile!) within the ‘Single-Rope-Controller’ ABBDs section of my rope control devices collection, lol! And within genuinely less than probably 90 seconds(!) of me eventually getting my actual hands on first my WC Revo and then Petzl GriGri+ I’d like to add! 

Also, Edelrid Ohms are an admittedly if/and an inexplicably genius concept, with regards to the physics and engineering of why they do admittedly work quite impressively (I’m still convince some of it has to be witchcraft though lol) BUT... they do have some drawbacks (please don’t ask! - or I’ll be incapable of resisting answering - and I can promise you we’ll both only end up regretting that, lol!)

Oh, and if/when you do decide she’s ready to go multi-pitching, AND you discover your routes of choice make switching to DRT an imperative, your best or ‘least un-safe’ option by far will currently be a Climbing Technology Alpine Up. But by the time that situation arises you shouldn’t have to worry about the only outstanding concern is that there will be an unavoidable non-zero scenario where she could conceivably loose control whilst lowering you, or herself! [Sadly there is currently no device in existence (yet!), with a built in ‘anti-panic’ function, designed to work with double ropes technique (i.e. either a pair of twin, half, or triple rated ropes).

hopes that helps!!?

Regards, 

Jonny.  

p.s. good on you by the way (for the obvious: what age actually is she currently by the way, if you don’t mind me asking? you said “more”. She’s obviously keen? How longs that been for?) 

Bingo. On all three points/ideas. (Couldn’t have condensed that more concisely/clearly myself if I’d tried! - nice one mate, cheers)

The Grigri+has an anti-panic lever that would help reduce the risks.

I climb with my 13 yo using grigri plus. Works well and take falls safely. I got it to help my head more then her be laying ability. Giving out rope is abit slow till used to it. But yeah it has a failsafe mechanism.

If you live nearby you can have a go with it if want. All these things aren't cheap.

Oh.....I'm in Leeds. 

Is others have mentioned already. For leading or for top toping?

for leading Ohm and hms seem Most logical (albeit not What I’d do).

for toproping, I’d use a grigri. But as others have said, lowering can get iffy. 

Best option would be to belay with a grigri from the top and have a separate rope (tail) for rappelling down. For you, she could just make sure the belay rope is slack until you’re at the bottom. For her, you could also belay her whilst she rappels with the climbing rope. 

Oh, and no autolocking devices on the market for climbing. Only assisted breaking. 

Really hope they aren't assisted breaking.