Gear and Birthdays especially Grivel, by Stevie Haston.

I work for a company that has made gear for 200 years! Its called Grivel, and I have been working there for longer than I care to remember numerically, but in deep way it has led me to a better understanding of our huge sport. I won't make you eat too much bullshit, but some companies are from the mountains, or even if they are not their people have the mountains at heart.

 In some ways I am an employee. Welcome to the office! Grivel is 200 years old.

 One of the best bits of kit Grivel has ever made, the Plume screwgate, it is still ridiculously light(37grams), it is old style, not our innovatory Twin gate safety carabiner, so even the most hard to change person cannot object to its simplistic supremacy as a "great bit of kit". 

here is the Grivel Plume Screwgate with a larger more cumbersome  dinosaur.

I am fundamentally a climber, I don't think anybody can argue with this, but over the years many of my ideas, whims and fantasies have found a place in climbing. Light is Right is some thing I have all ways pushed and proded through in design, it's not always right, but many cases it is correct for climbing. Yesterday I was one of several teams enjoying climbing, and saw only one person with a Grivel Plume, me. It was clipped to the inside of my chalk bag next to my harness you couldn't see it, you couldn't feel it, but it was there, and with that little bit of kit you can do so much. Accidents, or lots of them don't need to happen, "buy one and stop one", thats an old joke about people like me, and refers to contraceptives! Have a happy and safe New Year.  Lets all survive to our next birthday.