Top-Managed Belay Methods

[clif]

i guess i'm confused about your question, the 'belaying from above' qualifier seemed to indicate some logistical consideration, but the survey just list 'tools'.

maybe this is more a marketing question?

[krampus]

I use what i have with me

[kdelap]

I think tools is the key word here. No one would ask what do you like better; hammer, wrench, or sqrewdriver? We use belay tools differently for different situations. Sure some tools can do more than on think and we tend to carry these more, but in general "it always depends"!

[heath]

Hip belay.

[captain static]

Russian belay.

[WDW4]

Thanks for all the input. I usually just build a solid three point anchor off my nose, nipple, and earlobe - a variant of this:

Actually, I prefer the munter hitch.

[TradMike]

Doesn't the Munter Hitch twist the heck out of your rope?

[kdelap]

If you manage the munter properly you can minimize if not totally eliminate twists.

[WDW4]

I have heard of a way to eliminate twisting of the rope with the munter - the "monster" or "double" munter. It incorporates another turn, resulting in more friction and supposedly eliminating rope twist. I haven't tried it yet so I can't say, but I can say that after using the munter many times, I haven't noticed noticed twisting. I'm sure it does twist some, but it hasn't made it hard to manage the system. That is with my rope, on my climbs -you may have a different experience and you won't know until you try.

[kdelap]

You can't use the super munter to belay because there is to much friction and it doesn't flip. You are correct that because of the extra turn it eliminates twists. The super munter is mainly use for lowering heavy loads.