Best carabiner outdoor gear lab 5 pounds) – or less. Value This biner is a solid value. Our team spent hundreds of hours napping, lounging, and sl Jun 7, 2010 · Best application. May 21, 2024 · Of all the devices we tested, the BD Index and Edelrid Hand Cruiser performed the best, smoothly ascending with only a lightweight locking carabiner at the end of the rope. Mar 1, 2010 · Now the Trango SuperFly has more competition from the Black Diamond Oz Carabiner, CAMP Photon Wire Straight Gate and many others. It pinches easily, but doesn't feel too soft or squishy, and it's easy to tie Aug 20, 2020 · It also has unique features like a burly double-layer zipper that secures the wide D-shaped opening, and metal carabiner-style strap attachments that enable easy adjustments. Sharing your experience will support the outdoor community and help others find the best gear. All around really good carabiner that excels at sport climbing. This carabiner currently comes in only two colors, silver for the straight gate and red for the bent. Value This is a good value. The Giga Jul works much like the other tube-style auto-block devices, and while it is very effective at locking off the seconders rope, there is a fair amount of friction when pulling slack through the Apr 4, 2025 · The Petzl Aquila features some of the best gear loops on the market, with two huge gear loops on each side and one extra-large loop that spans the back of the harness. It is the highest scoring biner of its size and functionality for the price. We've also put best men's climbing harnesses and women's climbing harnesses to the test, as well as the top-rated men's climbing shoes and women's climbing shoes, to discover the best products on the market. The more mass in the gate, the more vibration, and the gate itself can flutter open and closed. There are also a few full-sized options that are heavier, so the weight isn't out of line with normal. CAMP likens using lightweight gear The Mad Rock Ultra Light Wire is best used for traditional and multi-pitch climbing. Apr 4, 2025 · The Black Diamond Camalot Ultralights are everything we love about the original Camalot C4s with a weight reduction of 25%. We tested these carabiners on single and multi-pitch traditional routes in Red Rock Canyon, NV, and they came on a road trip Independence Pass, Colorado. Steel carabiners are very durable, and are becoming ubiquitous as the 'biners on the end of fixed draws at sport cliffs or in gyms, or the lower off 'biners left at the top of climbs at popular areas. The Pure Screw is a well-made locker that works well at certain tasks, and performs less effectively at others. Value. All the carabiners in our test will theoretically work in most scenarios. The oval design is tried and true and it's just kinda cool to have a few of these old school carabiners lying around. The SuperFly still stands out as one of my favorites, but it is no longer the runaway winner. We liked it particularly as a belay locker that worked well both on the up and the down, and as a carabiner to use at multi pitch anchors since it has such a wide and capable basket. The Dyon is both lightweight and offers fantastic ease of clipping for those high-stress clips when fiddling around could land you in a world of pain. For that reason, we look at our selection and update the review about once a year. May 17, 2010 · This is the classic carabiner design and Black Diamond has been making them for as long as anyone. The Black Diamond Oz weighs 28 grams, and is much more functional. Because it is so small, we struggled to make it work well as a belay carabiner with a traditional tube style device, a use that is better suited to an HMS/pear shaped locker like the Mad Rock Ultra-Tech HMS. May 19, 2010 · You can use them for a carabiner break rappel. If you are trying to have the lightest rack possible, then an extra dollar per carabiner is probably worth it. Best Applications Apr 12, 2010 · This carabiner stands out for how long it has been around. Due to the fact that the Belay Master 2 is specifically designed for use with belay devices, we assessed it primarily for this function only. The tension on the wiregate is also a little on the stiff side, particularly when compared to something that is a little softer like the Camp Photon Wire . Nov 10, 2020 · The Sm'D is a full-sized yet compact offset-D shaped locker that we tested with a twist-locking gate. We've tested 45 unique hammocks since 2013, and our current lineup features 20 of this season's best options. The pack is not very abrasion-resistant, and it is almost free of external attachments. Oct 26, 2020 · Note that, while we like it for a racking carabiner, it works best with cams that have a skinnier sling (10-14mm) vs. The sheath feels smooth and easy to grab while clipping carabiners, and it doesn't get any more abrasive over time as the sheath begins to fuzz. Nov 16, 2016 · Best Applications. The S version of this carabiner is slightly lighter (28 grams), but also smaller. Let our team of climbing experts help you find the best climbing shoes, top climbing harnesses, and climbing ropes for your needs and budget. Unclipping. Nov 1, 2024 · Climbing quickdraws are pieces of gear that serve to attach the climbing rope (and the climber tied into that rope) to the wall. That being said, this forced us to keep our gear pile small. This year we opted to purchase and test four new lockers for comparison with the 14 models we've reviewed previously. Editor's Note: We updated this review on August 20, 2024, to update photos and testing perspectives for Apr 10, 2010 · Best Application. If you are buying this for a quickdraw, get the Petzl Spirit Express which comes with one straight gate Spirit, one bent gate Spirit, and a wide sling to join the two biners. It comes in both straight and bent gate versions. It's also one of the bigger biners that we tested, and in particular our testers with larger hands found it very easy to clip. Only the Mad Rock and Metolius Element are less expensive for a similar carabiner. Oct 26, 2020 · The Camp Dyon is an excellent and versatile wire gate carabiner offering a balance between ultralight tiny biners and the jumbo trad dad biners from the 90s. It's a little lighter than some full-size carabiners but also a little harder to handle. Related: Best Climbing Gear Oct 29, 2018 · The DMM Alpha Light is a compact wiregate carabiner. Nov 16, 2016 · Function. This is a good belay carabiner for anywhere: gym, multi-pitch, sport climbing. The strength of a carabiner with an open gate is roughly 2/3 of its closed gated strength, anywhere from 7 kN to 10 kN. If you plan on climbing a lot of steep gear routes, you can always rack these on a sling to clip into your gear, or go with the Wild Country Helium Carabiner which has keylock functionality and is also lightweight. Oct 26, 2020 · If you were to rack all of your cams and slings with these carabiners, that would be about 40 carabiners in total, which could net you a weight savings of almost 10 ounces compared to the second heaviest carabiners, or a far more significant 24 ounces compared to a standard carabiner like the Black Diamond Hotwire. Many devices are also designed to be clipped directly to the anchor when belaying a following climber from above. Oct 26, 2020 · One of the best attributes about these carabiners is their relatively low cost, which is an effect of having a notched nose rather than a recessed one, like most models that are more expensive do. Aug 15, 2019 · With its super secure triple-action auto-locking gate, stainless steel insert covering the most wear-prone areas of the basket, and an easy to manipulate internal spring bar that prevents the locker from rotating out of ideal position, the Edelrid HMS Bulletproof Triple FG is our Top Pick for Durability. Sep 1, 2023 · For other climbing gear recommendations, check out our reviews of locking carabiners, our favorite climbing cams, ropes, and belay devices. If you've used a locking carabiner that you think should be listed here, please share your experience. The bent gate version is pretty easy to clip. Compared to many items we test and review on OutdoorGearLab, locking carabiners see relatively few updates on an annual basis. Jun 14, 2014 · One of the lightest keylock carabiners on the market is the 38 gram Mad Rock Super Tech Keylock (not reviewed here) and DMM makes a 45 gram Alpha Clip and a 43 gram Shadow carabiner (neither reviewed here. It is one of the most popular carabiners because of its price and durability. Oct 26, 2020 · The DMM Revolver is a specialty carabiner that has a small pulley wheel built into the basket. Jun 14, 2014 · This concern crosses over to traditional climbing as well, as no one likes having their carabiners snag on their nuts or slings. Trailspace reviewers are outdoor enthusiasts like you: hikers, climbers, paddlers, backcountry skiers, and trail runners who share our experiences with the gear and clothing we rely on to get outside. Apr 24, 2025 · Since 2013, we've tested over 130 water bottles, evaluating them daily with various drinks (water, electrolyte mixes, tea, coffee) and conducting lab-style tests for insulation and leakage. There are benefits to both. Best Applications May 23, 2010 · Best Application. May 6, 2025 · The lightest carabiners tend to be the smallest ones, and these are best reserved for use while alpine climbing or on long multi-pitch routes, or when you need to carry your gear a long distance. Oct 29, 2018 · There's no question that this carabiner is light (25 grams per), however you sacrifice a lot of usability for the weight savings. If you are Dec 5, 2024 · This style of locking carabiner reduces the friction between the rope and the carabiner when pulling slack through while belaying the leader. It is a do-everything kind of carabiner that handles well, provides peace of mind due to excellent gate security, and even has a small hole, seen next to the gate spring, for attaching a keeper loop when pairing with other devices. It now features a bend near the bottom Aug 20, 2024 · It only makes sense that we'd have in-depth reviews for the best climbing gear on the market. the wider 18 mm one found on the Black Diamond Camalots. The I-beam means that the stock is not totally round, and instead places more aluminum material on the inside of the carabiner for a wider and more rounded interface with the rope, while cutting out the superfluous material on the exterior edges. Best Application. It happens to be the skinniest single rope as well. Fast forward a decade and there are a lot of competitors to the Livewire but it is still on of the best carabiners clipping the rope to while sport climbing. Part of the reason these are so light is they are smaller than typical ovals. Value This is one of the cheaper carabiners and only 50 cents more expensive than a standard oval. But they are mainly better as decoration. Disclosure: Trailspace never accepts payment for gear reviews, product placement, or editorial coverage. This design helps reduce rope drag significantly and aids this unique 'biner with accomplishing many purposes, such as reducing rope drag on wandering pitches, reducing friction and wear in top rope anchors, and for rigging hauling and rescue systems, both on rock and on glaciers. This is not the locking carabiner to be taken in the pack on a long overnight climbing trip into the mountains, on ski mountaineering trips or on most multi-pitch climbs. GearLab provides the world's best reviews of outdoors gear based on in-depth side-by-side comparison and written by outdoor professionals. — Yosemite Valley and the High Sierra has long been the home of OutdoorGearLab, where we began testing slings and other climbing gear almost a decade ago. May 7, 2025 · The best and most versatile locker at a reasonable price: A favorite due to its versatile shape and very easy to open twist-locking gate design: This lightweight offset-D is not only a perfect choice for the budget conscious, but for anyone who wants top performance: A fantastic and secure carabiner choice for belaying, rappelling, or for The reviews posted here reflect the real-world experiences of outdoor enthusiasts just like you. May 23, 2024 · Built-in stuff sack and carabiners: Built-in stuff sack, continuous loops, ridgeline: Stuff sack, aluminum wiregate carabiners: Built-in stuff sack, suspension straps, storage sack, 2 carabiners: Accessories (Compatible, Not Included) Rainflies, bug net, carabiners, fish hooks, under quilts, top quilts, suspension systems Jan 8, 2019 · The Attache is a mid-ranged locking carabiner in our review. From big wall gear like ascenders and haul bags to everyday necessities like rock climbing ropes and top-rated carabiners, we have you covered. They rarely perform better than a more modern design. It has a noticeably bent spine that serves to not only improve the ergonomics for how well it fits in your hand, but also increases the amount of gate clearance while keeping the width of the carabiner compact. Jun 14, 2014 · Ease of Clipping. The shape of the basket on this carabiner is fairly flat so that it isn't too hard to slide the rope from the lowest point out and over the nose once your other fingers have opened the gate. All of the devices in our review were able to easily slide with three big lockers – a total weight of 246 grams (approximately 0. ) Looks like a 45 gram keylock model is not only not the lightest, but also nothing to shout about. The Black Diamond Oval Wire is great when you really need a smooth rope pull, like when top roping. May 5, 2025 · Whether you're seeking a fresh pair of climbing shoes, a top-rated climbing harness, or an extra set of climbing cams, our team of seasoned climbers can help you find the right gear. To put it in perspective, if you had 18 Oz carabiners they'd weigh about the same as 20 Minis, so the difference is negligible. We were initially skeptical that these lightweight climbing cams wouldn't hold up as well as their predecessors, but after a couple of years of use at this point, they've held many falls, been up quite a few large walls, and are in just as good a shape as when we bought them. A great workhorse type carabiner for everything a locker is needed. Dislikes Oct 26, 2020 · This carabiner weighs in at 34g per L size, which is slightly heavier than most of the full-sized carabiners we've tested, but not egregiously so. Editor's Note: Our belay device review was updated on May 5, 2025, to share some tester experiences using these devices. Oct 29, 2018 · When a carabiner catches a fall, the forces generated cause the gate to vibrate. If you want the absolute lightest weight biner, go with CAMP Nano 22 Carabiner or absolute smallest biner the Metolius FS Oct 26, 2020 · The Wild Country Astro is an extremely popular carabiner with the weight shaving alpine crowd, and we can see why. However, it didn't score near the top of our overall ratings, and other, full-sized carabiners that scored much higher overall have a very similar price. But picking the right carabiner makes a surprisingly large difference in the quality of your climbing life. However, as the best overall locker, we feel this presents great value, and we highly recommend having a few of these on your rack. That's not a bad thing, though, if you're looking for an inexpensive draw that's best suited for traditional rock climbing. The Mad Rock Ultra Tech HMS stands up as a multiuse locking carabiner in a range of applications. Oct 29, 2018 · The Neutrino is slightly smaller than a “full-sized” carabiner, and unless you've used this size carabiner a lot, it takes a little getting used to when clipping. A lot of wire gate carabiners don’t offer much in the way of weight savings but the Crag weighs just 43 grams making it one of Oct 23, 2021 · Carabiners tend to be fairly cheap (although when you’re buying a full rack, they add up), and most carabiners share the same basic functionality as a connector. Oct 26, 2020 · The Alpha Trad is DMM's top of the line full-sized carabiner designed for all-around use; that is, for any climbing purpose at all. Dislikes. Jan 8, 2019 · Overall Utility. Jan 8, 2019 · The longtime standard as the best locker for all purposes: A lightweight, simple, twist-locking offset-D that performs better than the rest: Our Best Bang for the Buck winner due to its great price, but also its impressively lightweight: The lightest and easiest to use small locker: Rating Categories: Petzl Freino: Petzl Attache: Petzl Sm'D Oct 26, 2020 · The Wild Country Helium 3 is an updated version of a long-popular design and features hot-forged I-beam construction. But the difference was small so you may not notice it. Learn more about Trailspace Sep 29, 2021 · Mammut’s Crag Wire Gate carabiner is both affordable and durable. The Petzl Spirit Straight Gate and Petzl Djinn Straight Gate are its main competitors, as both have a similar solid gate keylock design Oct 29, 2018 · However, both of those carabiners are slightly heavier than this one. It excels at belaying and rappeling, especially for multi-pitch climbs, because it is light. Apr 11, 2010 · At first glance, the wiregate looks weak and fragile but after reading the specs and seeing them in action, it is no surprise that wiregates have become the default carabiner design. It is one of the more expensive carabiners that use traditional screwgate closures and do not have any specialty belay function. In our tests it scored well for how smoothly the climbing rope slides through it which means less rope drag when sport climbing. Its aesthetics are simple and unobtrusive, and the inside material is light-colored for easier gear organization. Apr 15, 2025 · Hammocks are great for relaxing, but if you plan to sleep in your hammock, you're going to want to find the comfiest one possible. The notch is buried in the nose of the carabiner, which helps prevent snags, but the smaller gate opening and carabiner geometry still make it a little more challenging to unclip than the Black Diamond Oz Aug 15, 2019 · Since it is shaped exactly like an HMS carabiner, and doesn't have wonky features such as dual gates, or gates with strange blocking hooks, or even internal spring bars — all designed to keep the locker oriented correctly — it is more versatile for multi-pitch anchors than other belay specific carabiners. This is one of the more expensive carabiners out there… but it last's forever. The Petzl Djinn straight gate carabiner has a similar clipping action to the Petzl Spirit Straight Gate; fast and snappy, though a little bit creakier. This makes them not as ideal at racking lots of pitons or other gear on. The stand out feature being its easy-to-unclip keylock design. The completely round stock, as compared to the I-beam stock prevalent in most lockers, allows the rope to slide smoothly with less friction, regardless of the Dec 5, 2024 · All of these are designed to be used clipped directly to the belay loop of a harness with a locking carabiner when belaying the lead climber, or when belaying a top-roping climber. They are comprised of two carabiners attached by a length of semi-rigid sewn webbing, referred to as a “dogbone. The Firefly II is lightweight and has snappy gate action, but the carabiners are on the small side and the narrow 10 mm sling makes this more suited to traditional routes rather than sport climbing. Apr 4, 2025 · The Beal Opera offers the best handling out of any rope on the market. Dec 5, 2016 · The Black Diamond Positron is a good medium-sized carabiner for sport, trad, or top rope routes. When it was first released in 2003, it was the lightest, strongest full-size carabiner on the market, and its “clean nose” design was a big step in carabiner innovation. The Phase is a great inexpensive racking carabiner. As one of the lightest biners in our review, it retains decent functionality, both clipping and unclipping, weighs in under an ounce, and despite its small size, still feels manageable in hand. Strapping gear to the outside securely means being crafty with slings and carabiners. To keep that bottom carabiner in one position, most slings have rubber keepers, either sewn into the sling or placed outside it. Looking for climbing gear? Whether your goal is the gym, the crag, the mountains, or a big wall, we've got your covered. This is not a huge plus, but important for die hard oval fans that want that function. Oct 26, 2020 · Many other great carabiners share this design, which should be included on all easy to clip carabiners. At a mere 23g, the BD MiniWire is far and away the lightest carabiner included in this review, and also the smallest. Apr 7, 2010 · It scored just slightly worse than other carabiners in its class. Today, it still stands out amongst the competition as a high performing and well-designed carabiner. Oct 29, 2018 · For the third time, this model has won our Editors' Choice award. When you buy through affiliate links on Aug 15, 2019 · Locking carabiners are made out of either steel or aluminum. We built on our knowledge of slings from a lifetime of climbing and extensive testing by taking them up a number of classic climbs in popular trad climbing destinations in the West such as Red Sep 8, 2023 · Our two complaints come from taking this alpine-focused design into the rock realm. Conclusion The CAMP Nano 22 is one of the lightest full-strength carabiners on the market and our Top Pick for Ultralight choice. Nov 1, 2024 · The bottom carabiner needs to remain in one orientation so that the rope loads on the bottom scoop and doesn't accidentally cross-load the biner across the spine or the gate. We received input from six different testers with over 100 years of climbing experience between them, male and female, large and small hands. . The Black Diamond Hotwire has been a longtime staple on many old-timers trad racks, and has seen an update for 2020. Of the 15 top water bottles included in our current lineup, the Hydro Flask water bottle is the best for most people due to its excellent closure, ergonomic Jan 8, 2019 · Its best use is as a compact belay locker while trad climbing, and we loved it for use with a Petzl Reverso, either while lead belaying or while belaying off the anchor in auto-lock mode. These biners also excel for racking pitons where the large opening allows for several pins to hang on a single biner. We especially like this harness for trad and multi-pitch climbing since we can fit a full double-rack with tons of cams, nuts, and slings on the front two gear loops. There's no reason why you can't rack your cams on them, but once you've switched to a cam/carabiner color-coded system, it is hard to go back. qvw ofat msnew kbx nlrl rwuyais kbhndns wmmf spunom gpqpx