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Which Climbing Carabiner Strength Is Right For You?

Which Climbing Carabiner Strength Is Right For You?

August 30, 2020 by donald.tran287 Leave a Comment

Which climbing carabiner strength do you need? Climbers often face the dilemma of choosing the right climbing gear so they can have safe climbing experience.

Carabiners differ in shape, gate type, size, weight, and strength.

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Contents

  • 1 Carabiner Shapes
    • 1.1 D-Shape (Equal-D)
    • 1.2 Modified D-Shape (Asymmetric)
    • 1.3 Pear-Shape
    • 1.4 Oval-Shape
  • 2 Carabiner Gate Classification
    • 2.1 Locking Gates
    • 2.2 Non-Locking (Snap) Gates
  • 3 Size and Weight
    • 3.1 Size
    • 3.2 Weight
  • 4 Carabiner Strength
    • 4.1 Major Axis Strength
    • 4.2 Gate-Open Strength
    • 4.3 Minor Axis Strength
  • 5 Carabiner Strength (kN) Ratings
  • 6 What Causes Carabiners to Break
  • 7 Conclusion

Carabiner Shapes

How about we start with the fundamental carabiner shapes before we dig into their strength ratings? Carabiner shape has an effect on major axis strength and other strength positions, weight distribution, open-gate size, and ease of handling.

D-Shape (Equal-D)

climbing carabiner strength

Numerous climbers want to utilize D-shape carabiners for its capacity to carry the weight of its load away from its gate. This limits the pressure in the middle and distributes the weight more evenly.

Pros:

  • Sturdiest carabiner
  • Lightweight and robust
  • Can be similar in strength to an oval’s
  • Able to stabilize weight and maintain a steady load

Cons:

  • Smaller than an oval carabiner
  • Gate opening smaller than that of the modified D-shape

When To Use:

Works great for various kinds of climbing

Modified D-Shape (Asymmetric)

A modified-D carabiner, commonly known as “asymmetric carabiner,” generally functions as a regular D-shape except that it’s somewhat larger on one side and smaller on the other to reduce load capacity. Modified-D carabiners are likewise well known among the climbing network.

Pros:

  • Light and robust
  • Bigger gate opening permits simpler hooking
  • Available in numerous sorts - screw lock, auto-lock, straight or bent gate

Cons:

  • Weaker than a regular D-shape
  • Smaller as opposed to a regular D-shape and an oval shape
  • Might be very costly

When To Use:

Good for carabiner break rappeling and making Bachmann knots

Pear-Shape

climbing carabiner strength

Pear-shaped carabiners are desired for their large gate opening. This ensures that it’s easy for you to secure your climbing gear and rope.

These carabiners are sometimes called “HMS carabiners.”

Pros:

  • Big gate openings help you clip your ropes and climbing equipment easily
  • Some carabiners have more extensive tops for more stability

Cons:

  • Denser and more costly than the other types
  • Weaker than D-shapes (force is shifted from the spine to the gate because of its shape)

When To Use:

Primarily intended for belaying and rappelling

Also functions as anchor points for top-roping and multi-pitch climbing

Oval-Shape

Carabiners are originally molded like an oval. These oval-shaped carabiners are favored for their multifunctionality.

Pros:

  • The roughly even shape lessens load transfer
  • Allows steady climbing by leveling the weight at the base of the carabiner
  • Gives more space that accommodates more apparatus unlike D-shape carabiners

Cons:

  • Gate opening is moderately smaller and denser than the rest
  • Weaker than other carabiner shapes

When To Use:

You can perform rappelling in the absence of a belay device by learning the carabiner rappelling break method with the use of your oval-shaped carabiner. Any shape can be used for this method but the oval shape is best.

Watch how to set up and improvised rappel:

Carabiner Gate Classification

A carabiner can be classified according to its gate type. Gates are broadly categorized into locking gates and non-locking gates.

Let’s discuss the different types of carabiner gates. You ready?

Locking Gates

Screw Lock

Screw lock carabiners involve screws that are manually adjusted for opening or securing the gate. A short metal sleeve acts as the gate screw.

Screw lock carabiners are usually D-shaped.

Pros:

  • Tough
  • Can be used with only a single hand
  • Can fasten or loosen the screw according to your preference

Cons:

  • Screwing and unscrewing may take you a generous amount of time
  • The possibility of neglecting to lock the gate
  • The possibility of unscrewing the gate accidentally

Auto-Lock

Auto-lock carabiners are either double-action or triple-action.

You need two steps to unlock the gates of double-action carabiners, a.k.a. twist-lock. Unscrew the metal sleeve first then slide it away from the gate opening. The carabiner will naturally secure itself once the lock is released.

Pros:

  • Locks on its own

Cons:

  • Unscrewing the metal sleeve every time you open the carabiner
  • Less safe than triple-action auto-lock.
climbing carabiner strength

Meanwhile, there are three steps engaged with opening a triple-action gate carabiner.

First, you pull the metal sleeve towards you and away from the gate opening. Secondly, you twist it. And finally, you bend the gate inwards. The carabiner will also lock automatically on its own once released.

Pros:

  • High-security
  • Locks naturally

Cons:

  • Needs two hands
  • Spends more time to unlock
  • Altered conditions (temperature) can affect the automatic locking system

Non-Locking (Snap) Gates

Solid Gate

Solid gates have a bad reputation for their weight and their faulty design which is attributed to an issue called “gate flutter.”

This usually happens during a big fall where the rope inflicts heavy weight on the carabiner while it passes through. Vibration in the carabiner causes its gate to open/close a bit as if it’s “fluttering.”

Solid gates contain an inner spring within, making them more susceptible to breakage. More people prefer wire gate carabiners because of these defects.

Straight Gate

Carabiners usually have straight gates. These gates are simple, yet functional. Straight gates are foolproof and resistant to the risks accustomed to bent gates.

Bent Gate

Bent gates are typically solid gates too. These gates are good for one thing: hassle-free hooking of your climbing gear. But the danger in using bent gates can outweigh its benefit.

Bent gates can easily be unclipped or unlocked by accident. They are prone to getting twisted, so be careful! Clip them well on the rope side.

Wire Gate

A wire gate is designed in such a way that it prevents gate fluttering especially when the carabiner is loaded to its maximum capacity.

The gate is built with less mass and thus less likely to vibrate. There are no loose parts that are susceptible to getting stuck, frozen, displaced, or even broken.

Most wire gates are also straight gates. They are not built with springs, but they are fashioned in a manner that ensures the springing of the gate.

Size and Weight

climbing carabiner strength

Size

Large carabiners are useful for belaying and rappeling where lots of ropes are needed. A large carabiner offers a lot of room to accommodate these ropes and other climbing gear.

Small carabiners can be handy but they’re more difficult to clip and they have less room for carrying things.

Investigate the gate open clearance of a carabiner when choosing which one to buy.

Gate open clearance is measured in millimeters. It’s how wide you can open the carabiner gate. Try out the carabiner to see if the clearance fits your hand.

Weight

Climbers would generally want to carry the least weight with them whenever they ascend. This means having to choose lightweight equipment, right?

BUT light carabiners are not always a good choice.

Lighter and smaller carabiners can be very inefficient and difficult to use for different purposes. These carabiners usually break easily. They are too narrow and often have weaker gate-open strength. Watch out for these narrow carabiners as they may cause your rope to wear too soon with frequent use.

Carabiner Strength

Check whether your newly bought carabiner is CE or UIAA certified to ensure its safety.

You can see these letters imprinted, engraved, or forged on the spines of trusted carabiners.

There are three positions in which carabiners are rated relative to strength.

Major Axis Strength

The major axis stretches from the top end of the carabiner to the bottom. This is the toughest positioning and the way carabiners are designed to be loaded.

Gate-Open Strength

Gate-open strength refers to the force that an open gate carabiner is capable of withstanding.

Carabiner gates have the tendency to open slightly during the climb or during unfortunate falls that cause “gate flutter.”  Defective springs can also leave your gates unlatched or loose.

Minor Axis Strength

climbing carabiner strength

The spine and the gate of carabiners run through its minor axis. Weight should not be carried in this position, although there are instances wherein the carabiners get twisted and out of place.

Cross loading occurs when the minor axis is loaded. It’s the most common culprit for carabiner-related accidents. Beware!

In this position, wire gates are basically stronger than solid ones. Wires are more pliable and able to absorb more force than the stiff solid gates.

Carabiner Strength (kN) Ratings

Carabiner strength is measured by kN which stands for kilonewton or a thousand Newtons. Newton is a measurement of force as we all remember from our physics class. And 1kN is roughly about 225 lbs. This helps us to gauge how much load a carabiner can take before it breaks apart.

That’s good all good to know. But here’s the truth. Strength rating comes last when choosing the right carabiner. It’s more important to pay attention to which carabiner shape, gate type, size, and weight is suitable for the type of climbing that you want to do.

Go for the carabiner that is stronger and well adapted to your type of climbing.

UIAA tests are performed to test the force capacity of each carabiner type. The minimum UIAA carabiner strengths are listed in the table below:

ORIENTATION

TYPE OF CARABINER

STRENGTH RATING (kN)

Open Gate

Oval Shape

5

Pear Shape

6

Regular & Modified-D-Shapes

7

Minor Axis

All Shapes

7

Major Axis

Oval Shape

18

All other shapes

20

What Causes Carabiners to Break

As much as possible, avoid situations that may result in having broken carabiners.

Your carabiner may break due to one of the following reasons:

The nose gets trapped in some gear and then loaded. Noses usually get hooked on bolt hangers. The nose is the weakest area of the carabiner but nose strength, unfortunately, has no rating. Do keep in mind to never load the carabiner in this position.

The carabiner spins out of position or orientation and becomes cross-loaded. This is very dangerous for climbers because the force is applied to the minor axis of the carabiner instead of the major axis.

Conclusion

To summarize, the factors that affect carabiner strength are the following: shape, gate type, size, and weight.

The strength rating is not that important when choosing the right carabiner. It’s more essential to select which carabiner shape, gate type, size, and weight is suitable for the type of climbing that you want to do.

The best carabiner for you is the one that’s well adapted to your type of climbing.

Carabiner strength does not make a substantial difference to your climb. Carabiners with higher ratings will be stronger, but the performance of your carabiner depends on proper selection, use, and care. The breaking point of your carabiner ultimately depends on how you use it.

What do you think? Did we help you decide which carabiner strength is right for you? We want to hear from you!

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