BD Magnetron Rocklock
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Picked one up over the weekend. |
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Yeah, we got one to fail about 15 minutes after getting them in the shop. |
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Can you say, "Most expensive carabiner ever?" I dig the tech, but there's no way I'm gonna drop $25+ for a single biner. |
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Tony T. wrote:Yeah, we got one to fail about 15 minutes after getting them in the shop. Basically, jam simulated rocks and dirt into the underside of the hinges and you'll find yourself unable to open them. We think a paper-clip should come standard with them to clean out the underside of the hinges. Not sure that's going to happen? Just don't use them ice climbing, mountaineering, or any sort of application where you'll be offwidth/chimney climbing. Otherwise, they're great for gym use!Hmmmm. Perhaps if someone were to "jam rocks and dirt" into a screwgate biner it might not work well either. |
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The issue for me, is that it relies on there being very minimal space between parts in order to lock using the magnet. A lot of soil contains mildly magnetic material, that is really easy to pick up and get stuck in there. |
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a regular rocklock which people have been using safely and just fine for a very long time costs anywhere from 8-10$ .... is this fancy tech worth a 150%+ markup? |
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There's something to be said for biners that will stay unlocked until you want it locked. |
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the revolver is a specialty piece ... even the non locking version is expensive ... i have 2 of em ... |
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Gym gear. Will look nice next to the shiny new gri gri 2 and those new petzl draws with the single wire gate. |
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Colin is right about the small bits of magnetic dirt getting sucked in. |
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Well, I screwed mine up. I dropped it in the basket of iron filings I keep next to my climbing gear. Crap! |
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Cocoapuffs 1000 wrote:Well, I screwed mine up. I dropped it in the basket of iron filings I keep next to my climbing gear. Crap!Up here in Tahoe there are tiny bits of magnetic rock everywhere!!! My water bladder has a magnet that holds the tube to your backpack to keep it out of the way but it is always rendered useless by these tiny bits of earth. It's kind of like keeping iron fillings next to my gear... :) |
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bearbreeder - you're giving BD a break - its 250% more! |
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Matt N wrote:bearbreeder - you're giving BD a break - its 250% more!No. It is 250% of the price, or 150% more. |
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To be fair, this should be compared in price to the Rocklock twistlock and not the screwgate. The magnetron is $25 and the twistlock is $18. That's a less egregious comparison (~$7) than the mangetron to screwgate comparison (~$15). |
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I work at Mountain Gear, and a BD rep came in to do a clinic, he talked about the new magnatrons, and claimed that in there testing at BD, they found it easier to lock up a twist gate than there new magnets, take it with a grain of salt from he BD rep, but that's what he said... I've used them, and like them, but would only own one if it was given to me, the value just is not there for me / I'm poor |
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Steve86 wrote:To be fair, this should be compared in price to the Rocklock twistlock and not the screwgate. The magnetron is $25 and the twistlock is $18. That's a less egregious comparison (~$7) than the mangetron to screwgate comparison (~$15).Here is fair: this (and basically any other autolocker) is an expensive, clunky, and fidgety solution to a minor problem. It is more annoying to use, negligibly safer, and more expense than standard screwgates. In the rare situation in which I would prefer and autolocker (specifically situation in which things are likely to have materials rubbing against the gate and be out of reach/sight), I would prefer a standard autolocker, which is basically never anyway. They serve two purposes: keeping BD in business and helping to mark people who I don't want to climb with/around. If Petzl ever discontinues or makes substantial changes to the attache, I swear I will drown a baby. The attache 3d, like the new star wars films, doesn't exist and don't tell me otherwise. |
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hailed as a revolution to carabiner design by BD...I think it is a big floppy old gimmick. I'll take my twist-lock rocklock anyday over this. |
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shoo wrote: Here is fair: this (and basically any other autolocker) is an expensive, clunky, and fidgety solution to a minor problem. It is more annoying to use, negligibly safer, and more expense than standard screwgates. In the rare situation in which I would prefer and autolocker (specifically situation in which things are likely to have materials rubbing against the gate and be out of reach/sight), I would prefer a standard autolocker, which is basically never anyway. They serve two purposes: keeping BD in business and helping to mark people who I don't want to climb with/around. If Petzl ever discontinues or makes substantial changes to the attache, I swear I will drown a baby. The attache 3d, like the new star wars films, doesn't exist and don't tell me otherwise.I'm not speaking to the merits of autolockers vs screwgates. I personally don't own a single autolocker. I'm just saying that a more useful price comparison is new autolocking technology (magnetron) vs old autolocking technology (twistlock). Personally I would rather buy two screwgates than a single autolocking biner, twist or otherwise. |
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I'm with Colin on this one in that I would worry about the magnets attracting dirt. I own an Osprey hydration pack for mountain biking that has a magnet to hold the mouthpiece on the chest strap when not in use. It seemed like an awesome idea when I bought it, but after a bit of riding an a couple falls into the dirt, it ended up having a thin layer of sand attached to it that prevented the magnet from making a good 'connection' and staying in place in the future. I'm not saying that a screw-gate would work any better if sand got in it, but it's not like my screw-gates have magnets that attract the dirt. |