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The DMM Mantis is one of many fairly standard tubular belay devices available on the market. It does its job well, at a good price.
The Bottom Line
(4 / 5)
The DMM Mantis is a very competent tubular belay device that lives permanently on my harness. That being said, that’s simply because it’s the device I own. In use, I find no difference between it, the Black Diamond ATC / Guide, or other devices I have tried. The Mantis, like all the other rated tubular belays you’ll find on the market, works well. If you’re looking for a new belay device, the DMM Mantis could be a good option – but in my experience it is on-par with those you’ll get from other manufacturers too.
Purchasing
The DMM Mantis is widely available from many climbing retailers. It’s usually available for around £20, direct from DMM, or my favourite UK retailers are Dick’s Climbing (currently £19.79) or Bananafingers (£19.36). Neither are affiliates or anything – they’re just retailers I like!
In Use
As with any other ‘tube’ (and most belays in general) the DMM Mantis needs a carabiner to go with it. I have the DMM Shadow HMS carabiner (£18), but you can use any – an HMS (pear-shape) carabiner is a good idea so that it doesn’t constrict the rope under the belay device.
Most of the construction of the Mantis is very similar to other devices. However, the teeth are arranged over a slight lip, which other similar devices don’t have. I find it is a great place to hold the device: when belaying on lead, I can use my thumb to support the front of the device, which helps make giving slack smoother.
Again similarly to many other tubular devices (the Edelrid Gigajul is supposedly an exception, but I’ve not used one), the DMM Mantis is made out of aluminium. This is great because it’s light and strong – but aluminium does tend to wear with continued abrasion, which is exactly what you get from a rope. I’ve had my device for two years, and the effect of this has been minimal – but if you do use it heavily for a long time, it will wear out – just like any other device.
Conclusions
In conclusion, the DMM Mantis is a great tubular belay device – because of its little lip under the braking teeth, I find it very marginally nicer to use than other devices – but this really is splitting hairs, and pretty well any certified tubular belay device will do you well. The Mantis is a great option.