Petzl Reverso

The Petzl Reverso is the latest incarnation of Petzls most popular belay device ever. Petzl have managed to shave the weight down to an amazing 57g. Like all 'Guide' style belay devices it is very versatile and is perfect for long multipitch rock and winter routes but light enough that there's no good reason not to carry one.

First and foremost the Reverso works brilliantly as a standard belay and abseil plate, feeding smoothly a broad range of rope diameters. The toothed slot allows you to vary the friction on the rope to provide more or less dynamic belays - particularly useful if your partner weighs a bit more than you. On long abseils the greater surface area of the plate means it dissipates more heat than conventional designs. Added to this it doesn't twist or tangle the rope making multiple abseils a less stressful experience.

The Reverso comes into its own is on multipitch climbs where one climber is taking most of the leads. To bring up a second the leader can rig up an autolocking, direct belay that can be used one handed. For guides this also allows two seconds to be bought up at once in safety, saving time and letting you get more climbing in.

Petzl Reverso Features

• Ultra-light design
• Hot-forged aluminium
• V-shaped friction channels
• Asymmetrically grooved side walls:
• Effective braking on single ropes 8.5 to 10.5 mm
• Effective braking on half ropes 7.1 to 9.2 mm
• Effective braking on twin ropes 6.9 to 9.2 mm