Lest you worry about the weakest link in the chain of most
climbs, keep in mind that manufacturers inspect each carabiner
from several to dozens of times before Easier rope clipping makes bent gate ‘biners a must for easy and fast clips on the lead. Keep in mind that easier clipping comes at a slight cost. They also open more easily and very rarely may become unclipped unintentionally. Proper clipping in the right direction will take care of the concern in almost every case. Bent gate carabiners are the universal choice for the ‘biner that a lead rope is clipped into for sport climbers. Wire Gate Carabiner If you’re new to climbing, a wire gate carabiner may look scary. Everything is fine, they are as strong as solid gate carabiners and actually have a safety advantage in some circumstances. A phenomenon called ‘gate lash,’ which can only be seen with high speed video, may sometimes occur during lead falls. Gate lash is a momentary opening of the gate due to vibration during the fall. The opening causes the carabiner to drop to a fraction of it’s closed gate strength. Carabiner failure is rare, but possible in this scenario. Wire gate carabiners do not experience gate lash. The other plus to wire gates is their wider gate opening, making them easier to work with and wire gates handle more gear at anchor points as well. On average, wire gate carabiners weigh 5 to 8 grams less than their solid gate counterparts. Locking Gate Carabiners Besides being the carabiner of choice for rappelling and belaying, locking carabiners are the gear of choice for most anchor and top rope set-ups. For chronic conversationalists, ADD / ADHD suffers and the garden variety absent minded professor, auto-locking carabiners are the way to go. Carabiner Shapes “D” Shape High strength and ease of clipping make the “D” shape the most popular. Oval Oval carabiners, either locking or non locking, don’t shift position under load as much as “D” shapes. At anchor set ups, when leaning back on the gear, the distressing phenomenon of having sudden shifts and jerks occur in the set up is alleviated to a large degree with ovals. Pear / Asymmetrical For rappelling and belaying, many climbers prefer a pear / asymmetrically shaped locking carabiner. This shape keeps the narrow bottom of the carabiner where you want it and the rope glides through the large top end with ease and accommodates a Munter Hitch perfectly for those who are inclined to belay with one. Care and feeding of carabiners Believe it or not, you can wash your carabiners if they get clogged with mud, sand, etc. Make sure that they dry thoroughly and apply a dry graphite lubricant or WD-40 at the moving hinge. If you suspect that a carabiner’s structural integrity has been compromised or if it has fallen a significant distance onto a hard surface, like talus at the base of a crag, retire it. If sharp edged nicks occur and they cannot be sanded off easily with a very fine grit sand paper, retirement will prevent rope sheaths and other non metal gear from being cut by the carabiner.
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