GiGi

This is one of my standard equipment pieces. I use it to:



- Belay second and third 'en fleche'. I climb with middle of a double rope, once at a belay point, I clip in the gigi and two persons can follow me simultaneously and independently.



If they have trouble getting over a crux, I can even move away from the belay point (holding my end of the rope going back through the gigi to the second) over an edge to give advice for a crux and still belay them securely.



Once second arrives, we just leave the Gigi as his tie-in point, I get his gigi and continue next leg of the climb - for fast switcing.



- Rapelling: I use the gigi as friction and a french prusik as stopper. This system allows me to hang with hands free to sort out rope, take photos or just enjoy the feel of hanging safely exposed. Considering how easy it is to rapell safely, I do not understand why people - in particular beginners rappes on a figure of eight or similar, where letting go of the rope means falling down.



- Self belaying:

With a top-rope in place, the gigi can act as an auto-locking self-belay device. (true, I have to pull the rope through myself, but that just simulates needing a hand free to place protection if I was lead climbing). Having failed the overhaning roof the 7th time, I just add my prusik, turn the gigi around and rapell down.



- Gerenal rope manouvering. The ability to switch from auto-locking to friction provider makes it usefull for all kinds of ropework. Some examples are shown at:

http://www.kong.it/doc412.htm



In summary, I am very happy with my gigis - they are simple, light weight and cheap.

I also use it for rappelling or when i use double or twin ropes, its an older piece but I wont miss it

It works great for belay one or two seconds up and for rapelling. But you still need an extra belay device to belay a leader. For this reason I prefer the use of for instance a Reverso.

at belaying seconds. Easy to use and very cheap

They are cheap and have so many different applications and set-ups. They just work.. but that's Kong for you!

This is an excellent product but is a very specialized piece of gear. If you're doing alot of leading and are always bringing up multiple partners simultaneously via guide-mode then this is for you. It will save your arms due to the ease of pulling.

Be careful to set it up carefully as a heavy partner and a thin rope can cause an inversion of the rope and a loss of locking ability (this is BAD!)