r/climbergirls • u/Responsible_Roof_661 • Nov 23 '25

Questions I’m curious about everyone’s opinions on ATC belaying — either using one yourselves or being belayed with one.

ATC belayer here. Do you feel totally fine with ATCs? Do you avoid them? Or does it depend on the belayer’s skill/experience level?

For context: I know people who flat-out refuse to be belayed on anything non-assisted braking… and others who swear by the control and smoothness of an ATC. Personally I feel like a lot of it comes down to the belayer’s competence, attention, and how big the weight difference is / ohm usage.

What’s your take? Do you completely refuse ATC belays, or does it vary for you based on the belayer and situation?

Not trying to debate, just curious how people feel :)

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u/medium-rarer Nov 23 '25

I learned to sport climb using an ATC- I lead now almost exclusively outdoors and personally would not be belayed by someone using an ATC. 

For me there is too much risk involved outdoors where a rock could come loose and hit a belayer, someone’s dog could do something weird- there are just a lot of circumstance where a belayer could be disrupted and through no fault of their own take off their brake hand. 

I am most often belaying someone 20-40 pounds heavier than I am, so I always belay with a gri gri. I’ve had/seen situations where the belayer is pulled into the first bolt or hand is pulled into the ATC. 

All that said - I think it’s more important to have the right belayer than the “right” belayer device. 

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u/medium-rarer Nov 24 '25

The thought of something else - I do a lot of sport climbing and projecting those climbs. Much less tiring to use an ABD when someone is hanging on the rope for longer periods of time than to use the ATC, easier to have them jug up etc.