Carabiner

Posted in: Gear Type

Carabiner or karabiner is a metal ring with a spring-loaded or screwed gate that is used in climbing and mountaineering to attach to a rope, piton, or similar device.

There are several shapes of carabiners:

1. Oval - The least expensive of the carabiners, Oval carabiners share the load along the gate side equally with the spine side.
2. D - In the shape of a D, these carabiners move most of the load to the stronger spine side.
3. Offset-D - Similar to the D-shaped carabiner except these offer a larger gate opening than the hinge side.
4. HMS/Pear - A larger version of the Offset-D carabiner, a HMS carabiner is often used during a munter hitch belay.

Carabiners also come in both locking and non-locking versions. Non-locking carabiners have a spring-loaded gate that stays closed due to the spring’s pressure. Types of gates on non-locking carabiners include the straight gate, bent gate, and wire gate.  Locking carabiners are similar to non-locking ones except they include a sleeve that either slides or screws over the gate which locks it closed.  Types of locking gates include the auto-locking gate and the screw/twist lock gate.

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Related URLs

Wikipedia Carabiner Page

IndoorClimbing.com’s Carabiner Page

Related Products

Petzl Attache HMS Screwgate Locking Carabiner (REI.com)

Black Diamond Quicksilver2 Bent-Gate Carabiner (REI.com)