Things that are supposed to be connected remain connected
June 27, 2024 11:38 AM Subscribe
I have chosen to shape this personal collection with a few criteria given the availability of various carabiner models. My primary interest and expertise is in tree climbing, which uses locking carabiners almost exclusively. As such, I primarily focus on the acquisition of locking carabiners, but non-lockers have been produced in far greater numbers, for much longer. Non-lockers tend to highlight changes or dead-ends of carabiner design and seem to keep showing up in my collection... plus I'm not one to toss aside a carabiner even if it's a little boring.
Terminology Guide
Categories: Triple-Action Twist Lock; Twist Lock; Slide Lock; Screw Lock; Other Locking; Multi-Gate; Non-Locking; Gated-Hook; Accessory; All Carabiners
Virtual Exhibits
Other Thoughts
Terminology Guide
Categories: Triple-Action Twist Lock; Twist Lock; Slide Lock; Screw Lock; Other Locking; Multi-Gate; Non-Locking; Gated-Hook; Accessory; All Carabiners
Virtual Exhibits
Other Thoughts
More fun than a barrel of carabiners. Which, to be fair, is not a high bar.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:09 PM on June 27 [3 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:09 PM on June 27 [3 favorites]
When I first started climbing as a college student in Boulder Colorado, there was almost no one other than me and my partners on the routes — and the carabiners were all solid steel.
They were heavier than sin, none of them locked, and it felt like we had to clean rust off every week before that weekend's climbs.
Plus, Perlon rope had just been introduced, and we spent the first season using braided nylon rope that looked like it belonged on the deck of a small boat and was called 'Goldline'.
posted by jamjam at 12:09 PM on June 27 [3 favorites]
They were heavier than sin, none of them locked, and it felt like we had to clean rust off every week before that weekend's climbs.
Plus, Perlon rope had just been introduced, and we spent the first season using braided nylon rope that looked like it belonged on the deck of a small boat and was called 'Goldline'.
posted by jamjam at 12:09 PM on June 27 [3 favorites]
Some of these are designed to fail, I believe. If you're up a dodgy die-back ash tree reducing the top-hamper prior to falling what's left of the trunk, you'll belay yourself to a higher branch. You'll do this from two independent attachment points. IF (which heaven forfend) the branch above to which your safety harness is attached should break THEN you don't want to a) follow it down or b) be cut in half by the belay as the branch passes you on its way to earth. Your best carabiner will support, say, 2x your weight but not, say, 5x.
And if we're up trees, Prusik is your pal.
posted by BobTheScientist at 12:12 PM on June 27 [8 favorites]
And if we're up trees, Prusik is your pal.
posted by BobTheScientist at 12:12 PM on June 27 [8 favorites]
use the non-locking in pairs with an 'opposing gates' configuration. stronger and more reliable than locking.
goldline sucked.
posted by j_curiouser at 1:56 PM on June 27 [1 favorite]
goldline sucked.
posted by j_curiouser at 1:56 PM on June 27 [1 favorite]
Things not connected to the carabiner should remain unconnected.
posted by HearHere at 1:57 PM on June 27 [1 favorite]
posted by HearHere at 1:57 PM on June 27 [1 favorite]
Which, to be fair, is not a high bar
Oh c'mon. Beeners are cool. Not a climber, but I'm a sucker for the ubiquitous ones. I think my favourite brand is "NOT FOR CLIMBING". Funny name for a company...
posted by Artful Codger at 2:07 PM on June 27 [5 favorites]
Oh c'mon. Beeners are cool. Not a climber, but I'm a sucker for the ubiquitous ones. I think my favourite brand is "NOT FOR CLIMBING". Funny name for a company...
posted by Artful Codger at 2:07 PM on June 27 [5 favorites]
When I was doing some tree work we used the DMM ultra O. Nearly impossible to unlock them by accident and the profile was slender enough to fit on the saddle bridge pulley we used. They're great and I highly recommend them if you are doing anything where your physical safety is on the line.
posted by Ferreous at 3:44 PM on June 27 [1 favorite]
posted by Ferreous at 3:44 PM on June 27 [1 favorite]
Hell yeah. I miss the time when the web had more sites like this - someone's nerdy-niche-interest subject matter, like the website version of a kid showing you his rock collection.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:37 PM on June 27 [3 favorites]
posted by rmd1023 at 6:37 PM on June 27 [3 favorites]
rmd1023 ++. This is my nostalgia.
As a carabiner n00b and non-climber, I think the terminology page could benefit from having some more basic terms. Although from context I did get nose/opening/basket vs hinge/runner as identifying the ends, I'd still like to know why 'runner' & 'basket', and to have descriptions of the different locking styles. I also had to look up Munter hitch/HMS.
Oh and search/division by profile because I found myself wondering whether any hourglass carabiners have the waist above the opening. Which is something I didn't expect ever to wonder. It does sort of draw you in.
Maybe one day carabiner collecting will be as big as glass insulator collecting (a search shows I probably first heard about that site here, too).
posted by BCMagee at 12:12 AM on June 28 [1 favorite]
As a carabiner n00b and non-climber, I think the terminology page could benefit from having some more basic terms. Although from context I did get nose/opening/basket vs hinge/runner as identifying the ends, I'd still like to know why 'runner' & 'basket', and to have descriptions of the different locking styles. I also had to look up Munter hitch/HMS.
Oh and search/division by profile because I found myself wondering whether any hourglass carabiners have the waist above the opening. Which is something I didn't expect ever to wonder. It does sort of draw you in.
Maybe one day carabiner collecting will be as big as glass insulator collecting (a search shows I probably first heard about that site here, too).
posted by BCMagee at 12:12 AM on June 28 [1 favorite]
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posted by box at 11:45 AM on June 27 [4 favorites]