When comparing Camp Matik vs Mad Rock Lifeguard, the Slant community recommends Mad Rock Lifeguard for most people. In the question“What are the best belay devices for rock climbing?” Mad Rock Lifeguard is ranked 5th while Camp Matik is ranked 10th.
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 More compact than a Grigri2
Pro Feeds rope to leader without special technique
Feeds slack somewhat more easily than Grigri, if the brake strand is lifted up and fed into the device (like belaying with a tube device).
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 Lowering is more finicky than Grigri
Quickly transitions from "too slow" to "too fast".
Con No "lip" to grab while feeding slack quickly
While it typically feeds slack better than a Grigri, so the Grigri "fast feed" technique is not necessary, it can still sometimes get jammed. The "fast feed" Grigri technique of putting fingers under the metal lip and pressing down on the cam is not as easy to do on the Lifeguard as it is on Grigri.