Top rope belaying in Climbing

Reviewer Thorough, safety-first, and doesn't cut corners -- exactly what a first belay lesson should be.

Moderator The complete skill, front to back: harnessing up, tying in, buddy check, the take-in motion, belay commands, and lowering. Everything a first-time belayer needs is here.

Reviewer Reference-quality -- covers everything a new belayer needs.

Moderator Comprehensive top-rope belay tutorial -- PBUS, safety checks, commands, catching falls, lowering. About as on-target as it gets.

Reviewer Textbook — covers every safety check a new belayer needs, in the right order.

Moderator Complete belaying fundamentals from tie-in to lowering — knot in the rope end, loading the device, the partner check, belay commands, taking in slack, the catch, and the lower. This is the belay skill, full stop.

Reviewer Accurate, practical GRIGRI technique — the feed-slack and lowering tips are the standout.

Moderator This is exactly the skill — loading a GRIGRI, the PBUS technique, feeding slack on request, and lowering. Every part of this video is belay technique.

Reviewer This is the belaying nuance most gym-taught belayers never get told.

Moderator Episode 10 of a dedicated belaying master-class series, and this whole episode is top-rope belaying specifically: anchor evaluation, which strand to climb on, belayer positioning relative to the anchor. Nothing else competes for screen time. Textbook +2.

Reviewer Textbook first belay lesson - safe habits taught the right way from the start.

Moderator Device setup, climber side vs brake side, brake hand discipline, lowering - this is a complete top-rope belay walkthrough for someone doing it for the first time.

Reviewer Well made and genuinely useful - a strong add to any belay curriculum.

Moderator This is THE belaying video in this batch - seven common belay errors (hands above the device, distraction, holding both strands with one hand, GriGri hand position, letting go when the rope's taut, not holding the brake strand while lowering, no stopper knot), each with the correct technique stated plainly. Exactly on topic.

Reviewer Clear, correct, and it hammers the one rule that actually matters: brake hand never comes off the rope.

Moderator The entire video is the PBUS technique, lock-off, and lowering. Nothing else in frame. As squarely on-topic as it gets.

Reviewer Solid enough to actually teach someone from zero - that's rare.

Moderator This is the belay video, start to finish - device loading, PBUS, the actual call-and-response (climb on, take, lower me, off belay), and catching a fall. Nothing here is a detour into gear or knots beyond what's needed to tie in. Every minute earns its place under top rope belaying.

Reviewer Sharp, experience-backed tips that fix a mistake most new belayers make.

Moderator Preventing short-roping, staying close on the first clips, walking in to feed slack, proper belay stance - this is refinement-level belay skill squarely on topic.

Reviewer Thorough, specific, and backed by real accident examples -- genuinely valuable safety teaching.

Moderator This covers the full safety picture for top-rope climbing -- harness fit, tying in, belayer responsibilities, and lowering -- squarely on topic.

Reviewer Accurate, complete on the safety checkpoints -- the partner check gets the emphasis it deserves.

Moderator Covers exactly the sub-skill end to end: harness fit check, tying in with a figure-eight through both tie-in loops, loading the belay device and locking the carabiner onto the belay loop, the partner check, hand-over-hand and shuffle belay technique with the always-hold-the-brake-rope rule, and the take/lower sequence. This is a top-rope-belaying primer, full stop.

Reviewer Clear, correct, and exactly what a first-timer needs.

Moderator Direct, textbook top-rope belay setup -- figure 8, threading the device, PBUS pull.

Reviewer Teaches the habit of checking the diagrams, which is exactly what keeps people safe.

Moderator Setup is the first half of belaying and this is entirely setup - loading the Grigri correctly, orienting it on the harness, checking the climber's knot before anyone leaves the ground.

Reviewer Watch this before you lower anyone on a Grigri for the first time.

Moderator Lowering is a core piece of belaying, not a side topic, and this covers it completely for a Grigri - the twist over the bevel, opening the lever, hand control of speed, watching the climber down.

Reviewer Best plain-English breakdown of PBUS in this batch.

Moderator Single-mindedly about PBUS hand mechanics - nothing else. Doesn't wander into gear, knots, or commands. Exactly the technique this tag is asking about.

Reviewer Good real-world tips once you've got the basics down — the directional and jumar tricks are worth knowing.

Moderator Squarely belay technique: positioning off to the side, using a directional, slack management, the catch, the lower, even a jumar trick for tight spots. All of it is belaying.

Reviewer Teaches the stuff that actually separates a safe belayer from a nervous one.

Moderator Covers the whole job - rope orientation into the device, ATC groove alignment, avoiding twist, bracing stance, lowering technique. It's belaying top to bottom, no tangents.

Reviewer Short, clear, and correct -- exactly what a new climber needs to know before tying in.

Moderator This is exactly the standard call-and-response commands used before top-rope climbing -- squarely on topic.

Reviewer Detailed, correct, and covers tricks (the boost, the redirect) most tutorials skip.

Moderator This is a real, complete top-rope-belay technique — just executed from an anchor at the top of the route instead of the ground, which is a legitimate and common setup (guiding, rope courses, trad top-roping). Covers device orientation, hand technique, lowering, tensioning — squarely belaying technique.

Reviewer Practical and safety-conscious -- tells you to test it small before trusting it.

Moderator Direct instruction on belaying top-rope with a Grigri -- loading the device, take-in motion, and lowering with the cam lever. Squarely the skill, just device-specific.

Reviewer Excellent technical content if you already know your anchor basics.

Moderator AMGA instructor demonstrating a top-managed belay site setup -- anchor building, master point, lowering and bringing a climber back up. A specialized but genuine top-rope belay skill.

Reviewer Short and complete — teaches the one rule that matters: wait for the response.

Moderator Entirely the belay command sequence, on belay/belay on through off belay. Commands are a core, non-optional part of belaying safely, so this is squarely on-topic even though it's one slice of the whole skill.

Reviewer The content is solid even if the delivery is goofy -- worth knowing this knot.

Moderator A core piece of top-rope belay safety -- the backup knot that stops the rope end from running through the device entirely. Narrower than the full skill (just the knot, not the whole belay sequence), but squarely inside it and the kind of thing that actually saves lives.

Reviewer Detailed, technically sound belay instruction with real reasoning behind each choice.

Moderator This is specifically belaying from a top anchor station - a real variant of top-rope belaying - covering the redirect setup, transitioning between lowering and belay/plaquette mode, and explicitly contrasting it with the standard ground-based 'slingshot' top-rope belay and its risks. The ice-climbing setting is specialized, but the belay mechanics taught are directly on-topic.

Reviewer Real coach reasoning, not just a checklist — this is what a genuine gym belay check looks like.

Moderator Framed entirely around verifying belay competency: harness fit, doubled-back buckles, knot choice, correct ATC threading, locking biner. That's a belay check, squarely inside this sub-skill, even though the clip cuts off just as it reaches live belay mechanics.

Moderator This explicitly covers the safety fundamentals for new climbers - tying the figure-eight knot, then the actual belay method: threading the ATC or GriGri, climber-side-up/brake-side-down, locking the carabiner. That's top-rope belaying taught directly.

Reviewer Clear, beginner-friendly walkthrough of threading and orienting your belay device correctly.

Reviewer Correct and clear, just narrow -- only the take-in motion, nothing else.

Moderator Straight PBUS breakdown for taking in rope on an ATC while top-roping -- pull, lock, under, slide. Core top-rope belay mechanics, no detour.

Reviewer Solid on the commands and the belayer's job, just sharing time with a lot of climber-side content.

Moderator Belay commands and the belayer's slack-management/lock-off duties run through the whole video, but a good chunk of runtime also goes to tying in, the safety check, and climbing-technique advice for the climber that isn't about belaying at all. Belaying is a major thread here, not the exclusive subject.

Moderator A structured intro course covering tying in with a figure-eight, safety checks with your partner, and proper top-rope belay technique. Exactly the skill this page is about.

Reviewer Covers the real foundations you need before you ever belay someone.

Reviewer Drives home the one rule that actually matters: never let go of the brake strand.

Moderator Squarely a belay-technique video - tying an Italian hitch off an anchor, taking in rope while never releasing the dead-rope hand, then transitioning the partner off belay safely. Core belaying content, just via a direct-belay method rather than a plate/tube device.

Reviewer Short, but it's the single most important belay rule there is.

Moderator About belay safety principles — specifically that the brake hand never leaves the rope, regardless of which device you're using. Core belaying content.

Reviewer Looks like a real belay class based on the description, though I can't verify the delivery.

Moderator Caption directly lists exactly the content we want - feeding rope, rope management, dynamic belay. Can't verify execution without watching, but this is squarely aimed at the named skill, more so than almost anything in this run.

Reviewer Correct but bare-bones — a cheat-sheet, not a lesson.

Moderator Only covers the four-step feeler-hand/brake-hand cycle, but that cycle IS the core belay motion, so it's still squarely on-topic even though the scope is narrow.

Reviewer Clear and explains the reasoning, not just the steps - good beginner teaching.

Moderator Directly about being positioned and secured at the top of a climb to belay - covers the clove-hitch tie-in and explicitly lays out the ABC (Anchor-Belayer-Climber) principle for belaying. Not the belay-device mechanics itself, but core setup knowledge for top-belaying.

Moderator This is belaying directly off an anchor with a guide plate -- a technique more associated with multi-pitch climbing, though it overlaps with belaying from the top of a route in some top-rope setups.

Reviewer Clear, precise explanation of how the device locks and releases -- solid technical teaching.

Reviewer Cool trick if you're already solid on belay basics, but even he says: don't copy this as standard practice.

Moderator Literally a top-rope belay technique variant a coach uses on hard routes -- squarely on the belaying topic even though it's a niche method.

Reviewer Solid knot-tying lesson, useful groundwork for anyone top-roping.

Moderator Tying in with a figure-8 follow-through is the climber's job, not the belayer's - it's part of the same top-rope safety system but it isn't belaying itself.