When comparing Camp Matik vs Edelrid Mega Jul, the Slant community recommends Camp Matik for most people. In the question“What are the best belay devices for rock climbing?” Camp Matik is ranked 10th while Edelrid Mega Jul is ranked 12th. The most important reason people chose Camp Matik is:
Easier to pay out slack left-handed than a GriGri
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Ambidextrous
Easier to pay out slack left-handed than a GriGri
Pro Easy to pay out rope
The camming system of the Matik is designed to allow a small amount of rope to slip.
Pro Dynamic catching action
"unlike other mechanical assisted locking models, it boasts a gradual camming action that produces a dynamic catch and can reportedly reduce impact forces by as much as 40%." "This isn't particularly relevant if you are squared away with modern dynamic soft catch techniques as a lead belayer, but it is extremely relevant when you are belaying directly off an anchor. "
Pro Durable
The Matik's friction surfaces are all made of cast stainless steel.
Pro Guide mode / Belay off anchor
Pro Active assisted braking
Pro Anti-panic handle
The lowering mechanism includes an anti-panic system that automatically stops the rope if the belayer pulls the handle too hard or loses control.
Pro Auto-locks even if brake end of rope is not held
In case belayer is disabled, etc.
Pro Lightweight
Pro Passive assisted braking
Pro Three rappelling modes
Can be used in 2 orientations, for rappelling with or without brake assist, and can add a carabiner for lever action, making it similar to a GriGri.
Cons
Con More sensitive to rope type
"It doesn't like stiff ropes or fat ropes for this application, nor was it designed as such. I had the best luck with malleable Sterling ropes such as the Nano and Helix, and it also performed extremely well on the Mammut 8.7 and 9.2 ropes. Anything 9.8 and above, and performance starts to suffer significantly, as it's pretty hard to get rope to feed through the device smoothly."
Con Heavy
Con Not quite as smooth as a GriGri
Con No double rope rappel
Con Behavior is highly dependent on rope diameter and type
"stiff ropes feed very poorly. 9.7 and above ropes feed poorly for lead belay. Soft and supple skinny ropes don't lock as abruptly. Half ropes in the 8-8.5 range DO NOT LOCK FULLY with the proper edelrid strike biner" https://www.reddit.com/r/climbing/comments/6aoipn/nonjerky_method_for_rapping_with_mega_jul_in/dhh1vvx/
Con Guide mode with thin ropes can flip and disable auto-blocking
Video demonstration with stories of it happening in the comments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=385cP_FYNEs