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As someone whose regular climbing partner weighs 70 more pounds than me, I was no stranger to the Edelrid Ohm, a piece of gear that was necessary, but full of drawbacks. Until now, the Ohm represented the only real choice for a brake assistant on the market. Also called an assisted-braking resistor, a brake assistant is used in addition to a belay device. When a climber weighs significantly more than the belayer, a device like the Ohm adds friction. This essentially helps make the belayer “heavier,” reducing the size of whips and keeping the belayer on the ground during a fall.
Edelrid’s new brake assistant device, the Ohmega, performs leaps and bounds better than the Ohm, to the extent that any climbing duo with a weight difference should invest in one. The Ohmega will be released in August.
How the Edelrid Ohmega works
The Ohmega essentially acts as a camming device attached to a small sling made out of Dyneema. Users open the cam with a button, then place the rope inside the cam. Then you attach a quickdraw to the sling, and clip the quickdraw into the first bolt of a climb. Note that Edelrid only recommends using the device on sport routes, and isn’t designed for trad climbing. The sling offers three different levels of braking assistance, depending on the weight difference between climber and belayer. In the event of a fall, the cam breaks the fall. This ensures that the belayer won’t get sucked up into the wall, and that the climber enjoys a soft catch.
I tested the Ohmega with two climbing partners outside and in the gym. In Jackson Falls, my regular partner Morgan Miller took several whips off the first bolt and up to the third bolt. These falls ranged from around five-foot to 25-foot falls. Given our 70-pound weight difference, his whips often yank me up the wall, even with an Ohm.
With the Ohmega, I barely left the ground, and Miller commented on how soft the catch was. Even on falls at the first and second clips, Miller and I didn’t come close to touching each other—nor did he come close to touching the ground. The adjustable levels of braking also make a substantial difference. On one whip, we changed the setting from most assistance to least assistance, which resulted in Miller and I smashing into each other.
As far as durability goes, after using the Ohmega on 50 routes, I only noticed minor cosmetic scratches to the plastic coating on the outside of the device. Edelrid says the Dyneema sling element of the device will be replaceable, but details are not yet clear on how users can go about replacing their sling.
In the gym, I used the least level of assistance with Jonah Ramirez, since we only had a 30-pound weight differential. Both Ramirez and Miller commented on how smooth clipping was. The Ohm commonly ends up shortroping a climber. The rope easily gets stuck in the cam, requiring the climber to wiggle and pull hard on the rope to clip. This occurs even when there is plenty of slack in the system. This is particularly a problem on overhung routes. But with the Ohmega, the rope fed through the cam like butter, even on the most overhung routes at Climb Iowa in Des Moines. “Clipping with the Ohmega is a breeze. I never felt like I was fighting against the device to clip at any point,” Ramirez says.
Belaying with a standard Ohm on the wall takes a deft hand and an added layer of skill that the Ohmega does not require. Normally with an Ohm, I can avoid getting the rope caught in the cam while my climber clips by positioning myself closer to the wall, directly under the Ohm. If my climber has been hanging on the rope and wants to resume climbing, I usually need to jiggle the rope to release it from the cam so they can continue. Belaying with the Ohmega does not require these subtle techniques. Miller observed that the Ohm “lowers the belayer skill barrier, a big plus for climbers and belayers alike.”
Edelrid Ohm vs. Edelrid Ohmega
Last year, Edelrid released a revised version of the Ohm—but the Ohmega is better than even this new Ohm 2.0. The Ohmega and Ohm work in essentially the same way: In the event of a fall, the cam inside the device adds resistance and friction, reducing the size of the whip. The cam shape of the two devices, however, differs slightly; the Ohmega is rounder, making for a smoother belaying experience.
The Ohmega weighs just 6.7 ounces, in comparison to the Ohm’s 16 ounces. Of course, the Ohmega requires the use of a quickdraw, but even with this weight addition, it is still notably lighter. It also takes up much less space on a harness and in a gear bag. The Ohmega and Ohm vary slightly in the ropes with which they are compliant. Ropes with diameters of 8.6 to 10.5 mm can use the Ohmega, while ropes ranging from 8.9 to 11 mm are compatible with the Ohm.
Not only does the rope feed through the Ohmega more smoothly, but the device also made belaying a much more pleasant experience. With the Ohm, I still bore a lot of Miller’s weight and constantly fought getting pulled into the wall. When he was projecting or if I was lowering him as he cleaned a route, my back and arms would feel sore. The Ohmega, however, turned out to be a game-changer. I didn’t have to dig in my heels and lean back to keep Miller at his same position while resting on the rope. While lowering Ramirez in the gym, I didn’t need to death grip the rope to prevent it from getting sucked into the Grigri as he lowered. It was like I was belaying a child instead of a heavier-than-me adult.
Miller likens the differences between the two devices to the differences between an ATC and a Grigri. “The Ohm and Ohmega both do the job, but the latter represents significant advancement, which for most climbers improves safety and overall quality of experience,” he says.
Final conclusions
Climbers that should use an Ohm with me as their belayer often refuse because it can be clunky and shortrope them. But with the Ohmega, they won’t have that excuse, leading to a lower likelihood of collisions. This increases safety for all involved. With smooth rope handling, adjustable levels of assistance, and soft catches, the Ohmega is the best brake assistant device currently available.
Edelrid has not yet officially released a price for the Ohmega (launching in August) in the United States, but based on prices in other countries, the Ohmega will likely retail for around $150. For some, it might be hard to swallow paying that cost if they have already spent money on an Ohm. Ultimately, however, it is a safer and more effective tool that benefits both climber and belayer.
