The Matik is better than the Grigri up to 9.6 mm

The Grigri has been the leading belay device for over 20 years and 8a.nu was one of the reasons why Petzl changed their manual some ten years ago as there were many accidents. Luckily, these have more or less stopped but still very few belayers are actually following the new Grigri manual. Now, Camp has introduced Matik on the market. This device seems to have solved some of the weak points of the Grigri and, all in all, 8a thinks the Matik is better than the Grigri with ropes up to 9.6 mm and up to 10.2 mm, they are equally good. Here's why: 1. The cam does not lock immediately. Instead, Matik makes the rope slide up for some 10 cm, meaning the hardest falls will be more dynamic. 2. An anti-panic system blocks the rope if the cam is open too widely, meaning less incidents for beginners. 3. It is just one big hole for the screw carabiner, meaning fewer safety issues compared to the Grigri. 4. It does not get nearly as hot as the Grigri 2 once you climb many routes in a row in a gym, which actually can leave marks on the rope. 5. Much more intuitive to hold the rope in the hand once you feed out. 6. From a minimalistic point of view, it takes less effort to take in slack and to feed out rope, once doing it properly. Here is more info and here an instructive video. Using 10 mm gym ropes, it did not work as good as using thinner ropes outside. It seems the Anti-Panic system releases quite easily with thicker ropes and lighter climbers. Once your partner stands on the ground it takes some time until you learn how to easily feed out that extra slack. Overall, the Matik feels better than a Grigri on ropes up to 9.6 mm and it is strange why Camp did not choose for best practice in between 9 to 10 mm? It is too early to say if the Matik is so much better to justify investing in a new device costing 90 €. On the other hand, if safety is #1 priority, Matik you should try it out. It should be underlined that some of the problems with the Grigri took several years to be found and there might be some safety issues also with the Matik. Two tiny flaws that you have to learn to overcome is that a thicker index finger can come in contact with the rope once feeding out, leaving a mark of friction. Further more, the gap where the rope gets in and out is very narrow meaning that they can get in contact. We will continue our testing and come back with a more detailed report.