Carabiners - Versatile, Functional, and Sometimes Fashionable

Shelli Mitchell Gerlach August 22, 2008

I admit - duct tape is one of my favorite all-purpose “fix it” tools; but the truth is that carabiners offer a great deal of compact functionality just when I need it. It’s not often that I carry a roll of the sticky grey stuff, but I can always count on having at least one carabiner with me at all times

For our adventurous readers and those in-the-know, carabiners are standard and important pieces of equipment for bouldering, mountaineering and a host of other recreational activities. Having the right carabiner for any of these sports is vastly important, however, the versatility of this handy little gadget in daily life is worth noting

I am curious as to how others use carabiners, so I am in the midst of conducting my own informal survey (and I do emphasize “informal”). There’s nothing scientific about my methodology at all; just simple probing. I have asked the adventurous and non-adventurous alike to share their carabiner experiences with me. To date, my unofficial survey has yielded a variety of responses ranging from the predictable, to the resourceful and creatively eclectic:

  • “Securing tents and fly tarps.”
  • “I hook it onto my fishing bait bucket while trolling the walleye hotspots”.
  • “A keychain - - did I mention that it’s green?”
  • “Keeping essentials together - packs, tools, gear, water bottles, made-for-carabiner sunscreen, and so on.”
  • “My kids enjoy clipping these with jump ropes to form a train-like tether between their wagons, scooters and trikes.”
  • “I never owned one, but a classmate jury rigged a sagging car fender using a couple of industrial grade carabiners that he had in the trunk.”
  • “We’ve used them to connect cardboard boxes to make a portable puppet theater.”
  • “My wife and I use it as a marital aid….”
  • “It’s my business card.”
  • “I wore one as an enlarged earring during my Goth-Emo-Punk phase.”

How about you? Share your favorite and unique uses of this invaluable little gadget by logging in CascadeGear.com!


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