Petzl Spirit Quickdraws

By David Larsen

Ephraim, UT

Imagine your self hanging from three fingers off of a quarter inch edge two hundred feet above the ground, and it's time to clip your next bolt. Whats on your rack? When purchasing a quickdraw, I am looking for something that is comfortable, fast, smooth, easy to clip, and light.

The Petzle Spirit Express Quickdraw is by far the most comfortable quickdraw I have ever handled. It fits in my hand as if it were ergonomically designed to. In the time it spends in my hand between my harness and the rock, it is a solid grip. I have never felt like I might slip and drop it.

As it is so comfortable, it makes it that much faster. Not only do I have a solid grip on it while moving it from my harness to the wall, I never have to fiddle with or hold it for longer than is necessary. This draw is very fast.

Like butter, these gates open and close as smooth and gracefully as an Olympic figure skater. The straight gate on top is textured so your finger never slips when need to open it. After a year of abuse and no lube, they still open and close without sticking, making you confident at every bolt that the draw will stay there till someone takes it off.

This Draw is definitely on the heavy side weighing in at 104g compared to the MadRock Ultralight at 35g or the Camp Nano 23 Express at 53g. The comfort and efficiency of this draw makes up for the weight for me.

I don't typically spend more than $15 for a draw, but sometimes you have to splurge. The Spirit Express is expensive at $20-$25, but the bottom line is that this is an excellent draw and wwell worth the money.

Pros
Comfortable, smooth, fast.

Cons
Heavy, expensive.