Rob Busack's video: MegaJul belaying off the anchor with a skinny single rope

This video focuses on a single aspect of the MegaJul's setup. It is not a complete tutorial. If you're looking for an overview on all the MegaJul's functionality, watch Edelrid's video here: http://www.edelrid.de/en/mega-jul/ For the complete guide to the MegaJul, RTFM: http://www.edelrid.de/out/documents/downloads/GAL_MicroMega_Jul.pdf ----- I made this video back when Edelrid introduced this in their user manual, and I wanted to explain more clearly what Edelrid was trying to say there. However, after a summer of climbing, personally I've reverted to the traditional mode of clipping the brake carabiner (behind, rather than around, the belay device,) mostly because my single ropes aren't that skinny, and I like the ability to "ratchet" the brake carabiner if the follower needs some slack. It would be ideal if we knew when you really *needed* to clip this new special way, vs when you did not. The big outstanding question is: what rope diameters does this really affect? I'm afraid I have no idea. Pull-tests and/or drop-tests with a bunch of different ropes would be necessary to answer that question, and I don't have that kind of equipment. Even if someone did (like Edelrid themselves) it would be hard to say conclusively what diameter rope needs the brake-carabiner clipped in a way that would prevent it from flipping, since two ropes of similar diameters but different brands may be firmer or softer, changing their ability to squeeze past the other strand. I'm sure fat 10.2mm ropes are safe, with no risk of failing to auto-block. I'm not sure about, say, the 8.5mm Beal Opera, or the 9.2mm Petzl Volta. Who knows? Would a 9.2mm Mammut Revelation behave exactly the same as a Petzl Volta? Again, no one knows. So I'm afraid I don't have a concrete recommendation, other than: if you're using a "skinny" rope (and there's no data on how skinny is skinny enough to matter) you should either clip the new way shown in this video, or you should not assume your guide-mode device is truly auto-blocking. (i.e. never take your hands off the brake strand, even though it's in "guide mode.") If your rope is not "skinny" then don't worry about it, go ahead and clip the way you always have been.