The Basic Beans About Carabiners

Shelli Mitchell Gerlach August 4, 2008

Last week, I mentioned to a close friend of mine that I needed to look into carabiners for an upcoming trip. “Cara Who-a?” she furrowed her brow in confusion. I laughed at her curious response (she has an IQ of 138); instead of gently mocking her high intelligence as I sometimes do (she is a good sport), I decided to show mercy on her and launched into a short explanation of the following basic function and uses for carabiners.

Car-a-bi-ner (n.) – An oblong metal ring with a spring-hinged or locking screw gate fastening, used in rock and mountain climbing as a connector holding a freely running rope to a piton or similar device. Also: an absolutely handy accessory to have for multiple uses.

Compact, lightweight and strong, carabiners are essential pieces of equipment for repelling, rock climbing, mountaineering, sailing, and many more recreational endeavors. Made from aluminum or steel, these devices come in several shapes designed to maximize their load bearing capabilities:

· Oval carabiners are the original shape created to hold a lot of your gear. The symmetry of their curves help to reduce shifting when climbing.

· “D” shaped carabiners offer a high strength-to-weight ratio which places the majority of your load onto the strongest part of the carabiner, the spine.

· Asymmetrical “D” carabiners are smaller at one end and generally have larger gate openings which makes them easier to clip.

· Bent gate carabiners have a concave gate making them the easiest carabiners to clip.

· Pear shaped/HMS carabiners are larger versions of the asymmetrical “D” style that allow more to be hooked into it.

· Locking carabiners provide an added feature, either a screw gate closure (a threaded collar) or a spring mechanism auto-lock.

“Oh, so is this a carabiner?” Smiling, my good friend produced a fashionable-looking carabiner from her handbag, bright green and bearing the name of a previous employer stamped on the spine.

“Well, yes,” I grinned, pleased with my quick study. “What did you think it was?”

“A keychain.”

(sigh). I guess I know beans about keychains.

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