Mountain Project Logo

What's everyone fav wire gate 'biners?

A. Everhart · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 0

I should have said for the bolt end of quickdraws. I don't like their shape. That is the one thing I really like about BD's hoopty wires is that you can rack w/them and use them with older wider webbing.

Mike · · Phoenix · Joined May 2006 · Points: 2,615

Heliums by a good margin. Second-tier (IMHO) are DMM Alphas & Shields, followed by BD Hoodwire & new Oz.

Peter Hurtgen · · Dallas, TX · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 110

I like the bd oval wire! At least for extended draws

Peter Franzen · · Phoenix, AZ · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 3,730

I'm a big fan of the BD Hoodwires. I have a full set of 'draws out of them now and they're really slick.

James Xu · · Moab · Joined Jan 2012 · Points: 283

Omega Pacific JCs! They've been discontinued a few years back but are my go-to clipping biners.

Sean Brady · · Boulder, Colorado · Joined Aug 2012 · Points: 125

+1 for heliums. Pricey but smooth and relatively light. I do not like my Trango superflys, the nose hook catches on everything. Perfect size in my opinion, easy to hold and clip. Some prefer smaller biners - I am not one of those folks - so try holding and clipping your candidate biner and see how it feels to you.

DuncanKL · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 0

Heliums, if you want to spend the money. I prefer the tradeoff of the BD Oz.

Bunkin · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2013 · Points: 0

Neutrinos for racking, and camp photons for alpine draws. Light weight and super easy to clip. Plus they are on clearence at rei.
rei.com/product/810825/camp…

Jon Zucco · · Denver, CO · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 245

+1 for Neutrinos.

Alex McIntyre · · Tucson, AZ · Joined Jan 2011 · Points: 546

For sport quickdraws, BD Livewires are just about the best biner you can buy. They might be a little heavy and bulky for a trad rack though.

J. Thompson · · denver, co · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,425
Bunkin wrote: camp photons Light weight and super easy to clip.
Yep.

josh
Robert Cort · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 800
Christopher Barlow · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2006 · Points: 540

Trango's Superfly has been a favorite of mine, but they just released the Phase, which seems pretty worthy. They're light, compact, but have a nice wide gate opening so they don't catch my fat fingers. They also come in straight and bent gates. Definitely a strong contender to me.

ColinM McKim · · Frederick, CO · Joined Feb 2012 · Points: 50

CAMP Photon wires are nice and light. The spring is stiff. I recently picked up some OP Five-O's and like the gate better but they are a lot heavier. BD Ovalwire is nice if you want an oval.

DannyUncanny · · Vancouver · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 100

My vote is for the large Ange. They are on the pricey end though. I could see myself using the Edelrid 19g for racking random bits of gear, or connecting webbing to webbing, but I don't think I would want to run the rope through it.

Ball · · Oakridge, OR · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 70

I have all these biners and I still like hotwires. They have a big gate for clove hitches, they're easy to clip, and I haven't had a sticky gate in all these years. They're heavier; OH WAA!

Heliums are light but the gates have a tendency to stick for whatever reason. Those OP ovals, too. The Heliums also have a bulbous nose which sucks for bolts and pitons. I also have some Xenons and have experienced the same gate issue. I also have some DMM snagless biners, but the gate action is very strong and unwelcome when tired. Really nice huge gate, though. Fixe makes one which seems to be the best of all worlds.

Nanos, Neutrinos, picos whatever: too small. The gate is tiny and you can't easily hitch them unless you're climbing with floss (OK you CAN hitch them but it takes longer and I want to move anchors quickly). I use them on occasion but try to keep them off the rope-end of stuff. Good for racking radios and nut tools I guess.

The Petzl Ange is horrible to clip and gets the flaming turd award. I refuse to climb with them. With the one 'wire' (more like a nail), the thumb slips off easily. The only advantage is they are expensive so if you're a yupster douchebag you can feel better about your rack and how much better you're going to climb because you weigh less (mostly due to being fleeced of money)

Rob Selter · · running springs Ca · Joined Feb 2012 · Points: 125

+ 1 for the camp photons, I prefer them over the BD neutrinos.

Sdm1568 · · Ca · Joined Aug 2012 · Points: 80

Whichever ones are on sale at Oriental Trading - 500 units for about 30 green backs! They are only rated to about 15lbs so I would be careful and either double them up or just buy all locking carabiners those are sure to at least double the weight rating. : )

+2 for BD Hotwires

Matt Berrett · · utah · Joined May 2010 · Points: 10

+1 for WC Nitros, I love em!!

Scot Hastings · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 35

Oz/Nuetrino for racking cams, Nitro for rope-side of slings/QDs, Nano for random stuff (belay gloves, approach shoes, etc.)

For the cam biners, you have to balance a lot of things. You're carrying a lot of them, so size and weight matter. Some of the time you'll clip the rope directly, other times you'll extend with a sling or alpine draw. Color-coding helps you grab the right piece of gear. For me, I think the Oz are worth the premium due to the lighter weight, smaller thickness (helps them pack onto gear loops), and the no-hook nose which makes it easier for my second to clean an extended placement.

Unlike the cam biners, the rope-side biners will only be used to clip the rope and you'll use most of them on every pitch. Focus on ease of clipping. I personally like the Nitros.

Random biners should be as small and light as possible. I like the Nanos, but they are way too small to consider using for time-critical purposes.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Climbing Gear Discussion
Post a Reply to "What's everyone fav wire gate 'biners?"

Log In to Reply

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started.