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Lotse |
The Edelrid Gigajul has moving parts and so it violates my conditions for calling it a Belay Tube. I placed it with the Miscellaneous Belay Devices.
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Technical DetailsI acquired my Edelrid Jul new from Mountain Gear in 2010.
The Edelrid Jul has a forged stainless steel wear insert encased in a plastic shell that also forms a plastic keeper. The keeper has a stainless steel core. My Jul is 70 mm. tall, 55 mm. wide, 29 mm. thick, and weighs 62 g. There is a single slot that is 33 mm. long and 15 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 8 mm. below the top of the slot.
The Jul has an Edelrid "e" logo on the front. Molded into the plastic in the rear are "JUL" in large letters, "UIAA, a book-with-an-"i" icon, and "prEN 15151-2."
The Jul is a pretty device, and functions well for single-line belays, although I prefer the versatility of a double-rope belayer. The bottom of the Jul is offset so that the carabiner pulls to the side, increasing the holding force in a fall.
My Jul was sold as an "Edelrid Oasis." Jul is correct, "Oasis" is Edelrid’s term for the yellow-green color.
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I acquired my Edelrid Jul2 from Backcountry Gear in 2016. The Edelrid Jul2 is 91 mm. tall, 23 mm. wide, 75 mm. thick, and weighs 101 g.
The Edelrid Jul2 is a notched belay tube. It is forged from stainless steel. Mine is 91 mm. long, 23 mm. wide, 75 mm. high, and weighs 101 g. The slots are 32 mm. long and 15 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 9 mm. below the ends of the slots. The plastic covered cable keeper is quite stiff, almost rigid.
The top of the Jul2 and the back of the arch have a channel to guide the rope to the braking hand.
A plastic label has a climber icon, "EDELRID," and "JUL2." One side has a forged hand icon holding a line, and the other side is printed with "26/15" and forged with "Ø8.9-11.0mm," a book-with-an-"i" icon, and "EN 15151-2." The underside has a plastic sticker with a hand icon holding another line.
The Megajul is made from thin stainless steel, so it tends to get hot quickly. Although the carabiner sits deeply in the bottom, the off-center notch acts to increase friction to an acceptable level.
The Jul2 is very heavy for a belay tube, weighing in at twice the average. It also has only one slot. For field use, I would choose a lighter, two-slot device such as the Lotse or similar Trango Jaws equivalent.
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I acquired my Edelrid Kilojul from Amazon.com in 2011.
The Edelrid Kilojul is a belay tube. It is forged from aluminum alloy and then soft anodized. Mine is 90 mm. long, 47 mm. wide, 85 mm. high, and weighs 77 g. The slots are 34 mm. long and 15 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 27 mm. below the ends of the slots. The plastic covered cable keeper is quite stiff, almost rigid. There is a subtrapezoidal carabiner eye at one end, and a small accessory hole at the other.
One side is printed with two rigging icons, "EDELRID," a book-with-an-"i" icon, "prEN 15151-2," and "1/11." The other side is printed with "KILOJUL"
The height of the Kilojul provides a lot of surface area for radiating heat. The shallow U-grooves do not effectively increase the braking force, and so I do not consider this to be a true notched belay tube. The grooves do not have the narrow angle found in the V-notches on the Lotse and other Trango Jaws equivalents, and they do not create the same wedging action.
The main disadvantage of the Kilojul, in my mind, is that it is too pretty to use. As for the name, if you don't see the humor, your geekiness is too low.
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I acquired my Edelrid Megajul from Caran Hite in 2013.
The Edelrid Megajul is an oddly shaped plain belay tube. Mine is 96 mm. long, 39 mm. wide, 92 mm. high, and weighs 65 g. My Megajul is investment cast from stainless steel with two tapered slots and a top eye. The slots are 34 mm. long and 13 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 2 mm. above the ends of the slots. The Megajul has plastic-covered cable keeper with an elevated plastic cable arch.
My Megajul has "EDELRID" cast into one side and "02/13" etched into the other. A sticker on the first side has a rigging diagram, "Ø7.8-10.5," a book-with-an-"i" icon, and "EN15151-2." A sticker on the other side has a rigging diagram and "MEGAJUL."
The Megajul is made from thin stainless steel, so it tends to get hot quickly. Although the carabiner sits deeply in the bottom, the off-center notch acts to increase friction to an acceptable level.
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I acquired this Edelrid Megajul II from CanyonZone.com - Gertjan van Pelt in 2024.
The Edelrid Megajul is an oddly shaped plain belay tube. Mine is 105 mm. long, 28 mm. wide, 99 mm. high, and weighs 75 g. My Megajul is investment cast from stainless steel with two tapered slots and a top eye. The slots are 35 mm. long and 14 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 2 mm. above the ends of the slots. The Megajul has plastic-covered cable keeper with an elevated plastic cable arch.
My Megajul has "EDELRID" cast into one side and a solid factory icon and "20240301" etched into the other. A sticker on the first side has a rigging diagram and "MEGAJUL II." A sticker on the other side has another rigging diagram.
The Megajul II has a slightly different basal notch than the original Megajul. The inside shape of the slots is also different, primarily the end near the arch. There are cosmetic openings at the sides of the release hole, and other minor shape differences as well. These changes do not result in much of a performance difference that I can tell.
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I acquired my Edelrid Megajul Sport from Backcountry Gear in 2017.
The Edelrid Megajul Sport is an oddly shaped plain belay tube. Mine is 100 mm. long, 42 mm. wide, 81 mm. high, and weighs 88 g. My Megajul Sport is investment cast from stainless steel. The slots are 31 mm. long and 16 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits even with the ends of the slots.
A sticker on the first side has a rigging diagram and "EDELRID." A sticker on the other side has "MEGAJUL SPORT," a "1" inside a circle followed by "Ø8.9-11.0," "½Ø≥8.5," a book-with-an-"i" icon, and "∞Ø≥7.9."
Like the MegaJul, the Megajul Sport is made from thin stainless steel, so it tends to get hot quickly. Although the carabiner sits deeply in the bottom, the off-center notch acts to increase friction to an acceptable level. Eliminating the eye found on the MegaJul didn't save any weight - my MegaJul Spot is actually 23 g. heavier than my MegaJul.
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I acquired my Edelrid Microjul from Expé-Spelemat in 2013.
The Edelrid Microjul is an oddly shaped plain belay tube. Mine is 109 mm. long, 90 mm. wide, 30 mm. high, and weighs 61 g. My Microjul is investment cast from stainless steel with two tapered slots and a top eye. The slots are 32 mm. long and 11 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 3 mm. above the ends of the slots. The Microjul has plastic-covered cable keeper with an elevated plastic cable arch.
My Microjul has "EDELRID" cast into one side and "01/13" etched into the other. A sticker on the first side has a rigging diagram, "Ø6.9-8.9," a book-with-an-"i" icon, and "EN15151-2." A sticker on the other side has a rigging diagram and "MICROJUL."
The Microjul is made for thinner ropes than the Megajul; otherwise, they are similar in design and performance.
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I acquired this Edelrid Nanojul from Karst Sports / Amazon.com in 2024.
My Nanojul is is 78 mm. long, 32 mm. wide, 84 mm. high, and weighs 78 g. It is investment cast from stainless steel with two slots and a carabiner eye. The slots are 34 mm. long and 12 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 24 mm. below the ends of the slots. The Nanojul has plastic-covered cable keeper.
My Nanojul has a climber icon and a hand icon showing rigging, a book-with-an-"i" icon, "Ø 7,1-8,9," and EN 15151-2 cast into one side. The same side is etched with a factory icon and "20230601."The other side has "nano," "JUL," and EDELRID" cast into it.
The Nanojul is a more traditional belay tube than the others in the Jul series. It is made for thin ropes.
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Lotse|
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I acquired my Edelrid Lotse [not Lhotse] from Walkhigh Mountaineering in 2007.
The Lotse is a notched belay tube. It is forged from aluminum alloy and then hard anodized. Mine is 60 mm. long, 48 mm. wide, 112 mm. high, and weighs 77 g. The slots are 33 mm. long and 15 mm. wide. The top of the Omega oval carabiner that I use for comparing belay tubes sits 9 mm. below the ends of the slots. The keeper is a stiff plastic-covered cable.
One side of the Lotse is etched with an illustration showing how to rig the device, "EDELRID," "0104" (presumably the date of manufacture), and "30-0066."
I like this design enough to give it three stars:
The following notched belay tubes, including the Edelrid Lotse, are essentially the same device:
Each of these is 60±1 mm. long and 48±1 mm. wide, and has a weight in the 76±3 g. range. Their slots are all 33 mm. long and 15 mm. wide.
These are just like many other devices except for one little difference,
but that difference makes any of these a much better device than those others. The special feature is the teeth. First of all, if
you don't need them, turn the device 180 degrees and they are
out of the way. On the other hand, if you want more friction,
then these teeth canprovide it. This is the only device design of this size and
weight that I feel comfortable rappelling my 9 mm. haul line
on. With any others, I never really felt completely in control
(to be fair, I haven't tried this on the the Omega
Pacific SBG or the Simond Cubik).
The extra control is well worth carrying the extra 15 or 20 grams. One
caution: like all belay tubes and tubers, these can get very hot on rappels.
I borrowed the following paragraphs from Trango's web site, although they should apply to any of the devices in the table:
Jaws stops better than most belay/rappel devices. The addition of the V notches really grabs the rope, assisting in slowing down the fall. In lab tests using a UIAA drop tower, an 11 mm. rope, an 80-kg weight with a fall factor of 1.2, and a clutch holding the rope with a 50-lbf slip threshold, we found the following results:
Pyramid/ATC/Tuber style devices 16" - 20" slip, no rope damage GriGri 1" - 3" slip, no rope damage Jaws 6" - 8" slip, no rope damage Jaws allows you to adjust the rope friction during a rappel. By flipping the rope out of the notches and over the side plates at the start of a long rappel, you can reduce the friction the device gives you at the start. When the rappel begins to speed up as you get closer to the ground, flip the ropes back into the notches to slow it down.
You must rig Jaws correctly. It's not symmetrical so you need to be sure the notches are on the brake hand side of the rope, not on the side which goes to the leader. Also, because of the additional friction provided by the device you'll find that the beginnings of long rappels can be a bit jerky. The solution is to allow rope to slide through by varying the angle of your brake hand rather than just letting rope slip through. On low angle slab rappels, turn Jaws around so the notches are on the anchor side and your brake hand is on the smooth side.
The printed instructions that I received with my Lotse and Zero-G G-Wedge are identical; both refer to the device as a "Multigrip."
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