Edelrid Mega Jul  (by Stefani Dawn, 2016; photo credit, 2016)

Rating
I'd buy it again!
(In fact I own two, one for the gym harness and one for the outdoors, and my husband owns one.)

The Why

The Edelrid Mega Jul is an amazing assisted-brake (loosely referred to as "auto-locking") ATC. It has become my number one go-to belay device. In fact, I now use it exclusively for both indoor and outdoor climbing. Here is why:

• The assisted-brake capability is a must have safety feature. Not only does it protect against shit-happens events like a rock knocking a belayer unconscious, but also from other grip-compromising scenarios like rope burn, getting knocked over by an out-of-control crag dog, dealing with rope twists, managing one or two ropes on a multi-pitch climb, or loosening your grip a tad to much and contending with a run-away rope (especially if the climber is significantly heavier than the belayer). After having used the Mega Jul for the past year, I recently re-tried a basic tube style belay device and it felt nothing short of dangerous. If you can have an assisted-braking ATC with no downsides, then why use anything else?
• The Mega Jul is light and tough. It is made of solid stainless steel, not aluminum. It is easy to load, like any other style of ATC.
• It can be used to rappel. The rappel can be set-up with or without the brake-assist feature. When in "assist" mode, a rappelling back-up knot is not needed.  The device is in brake assist mode when the yellow thumb lever is pointed away from the body (the same position as when you are belaying). For the assisted-brake rappel to work smoothly, place a small carabiner in the smallest hole closest to you (called the "autoblock release hole" -- see photo below). When the carabiner is pulled down it acts as a lever "unlocking" the device. When the carabiner is released, the device locks (Note: larger carabiners will NOT fit in this hole, test one first for fit). A brake-assisted rappel can also be released by using the thumb lever. However, in practice, this method is a pain. When weighted, it is difficult to get the auto-lock to release and requires quite a bit of strength to keep it open. I find rappelling using the thumb release to be a fight between holding the device open and its desire to lock-up, causing the decent to be jerky, jumpy, and requiring muscle (not fun after a long multi-pitch with multiple rappels)​

• When turned around 180 degrees (i.e. yellow thumb lever faces towards the body) the device can be used to rappel smoothly without the brake-assist  feature (just be sure to add the rappelling back-up knot to the system). The one disadvantage we encountered when rappelling in the non-autolocking position was the difficulty in moving the device up the rope. This is particularly important when setting up the rappel to remove weight from your personal anchor (both for testing the correct rappel set-up and to easily unclip the personal anchor carabiners from the anchor system.) To get around this annoyance, be sure to place the rope into the Mega Jul close enough to the anchors to unweight your PAS (i.e. placing your full weight on the Mega Jul/ATC).  
• The Mega Jul can be used to ascend the rope when in the rappelling brake-assist configuration (yellow thumb lever pointed away from the body). As noted in the bullet above, it is nearly impossible to move the Mega Jul up the rope in the reverse, non-brake-assist configuration.
• The Mega Jul can be used in the standard guide mode in multi-pitch climbs. As with most guide-mode devices, it is helpful to use a fat, rounded carabiner between the rope and the device to allow the rope to glide more smoothly, as well as locking more securely when it goes into "auto-lock" position.
• The Mega Jul works with a wide range of rope sizes. The manufacturer claims it works from 7.8-10.5 mm. We have successfully used it with 8.5mm doubles, 9.7 mm, as well as a newer, smooth 10mm rope with no problems.
• The Mega Jul is affordable, costing about $45.
• I used the Mega Jul in a climbing self-rescue course and it was excellent. Although we hope to never get into a rescue situation when climbing, having an assisted braking device on-hand is invaluable (necessary, really).  

 
Lastly, it does take practice to smoothly lead belay using a Mega Jul. I have found that holding the thumb release out with my right hand and pulling the lead-end of the rope through with my left hand easily delivers rope to the climber. However, if you don’t hold the thumb release up while feeding rope, the device will lock up when quickly trying to deliver rope.  Once you have mastered the rope delivery, it becomes second nature and works wonderfully.
 
NOTE ON PROBLEMS WITH THE EARLY VERSIONS: When Mega Jul first came out they had some production issues where the thumb loop would separate from the device on one end. Although not life-threatening or dangerous, it made it challenging to unlock the device and lower someone. My first Mega Jul broke in this way. I purchased a new one in early 2015. I have since had no problems (my husband and I each have our own, both regularly use them, he has had no problems either). An internet search shows that people have not reported problems with the device since 2014. So, it appears the problem has been fixed (and I have seen statements from the company to this effect as well). I would say buy and use with confidence!

A helpful video about how to use a Mega Jul is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEU_R2z4YhY