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I have just spent a lot of time on the forums at rockclimbing.com and I have read about many horror stories there.

I didn't think that many climbers used a Stop.

The Anthron Double Stop Descender looks pretty sweet as well. I was talking with an employee of a local climbing store and he said there are some plastic pieces on the Anthron that tends to wear out quickly and is not replaceable like the bobbins on the Petzl Stop and the Kong Indy. I'm not sure if there is any truth to this, as he kept on trying to sell me the Petzl Stop.

Sounds like B.S. to me. The Anthron is a robust descender and has no parts I'm aware of that are unusually susceptible to wear.

The Petzl Stop seems great, but when you taking someone along who like you said does not have a lot of confidence rappelling, but still has some experience rappelling it just seems like a very good idea to have a double braking descender just in case they do go a hold of the descender in a panic.

Beginners should be handled with care and lavished with safety systems, not complicated gear. Gear will not save a beginner (or anyone else) from screwing up. Don't be lazy - use a top belay w/beginners, get some friends to go along and help.

Friction knots such as the Prussic has always worked well, but sometimes they can be hard to unload once they have been set.

Prusik Prusik Prusik... :)

hank_moon wrote:

The Anthron is a robust descender and has no parts I'm aware of that are unusually susceptible to wear.

Sounds like the Anthron is the way to go for a double braking descender.

Beginners should be handled with care and lavished with safety systems, not complicated gear. Gear will not save a beginner from screwing up. Don't be lazy - use a top belay w/beginners, get some friends to go along and help.

Agreed.