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Small carabiners on sport quick draws safe?
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I'm sure this is a newb question, but are small carabiners safe when used on quick draws or alpine draws for sport climbing? I accidentally ordered some DMM phantoms and it'd cost too much to send them back. I'm just looking for a possible use for them. Thank you! |
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@John Wilder I understand the strength ratings, I just wasn't sure if there is a serious cross load danger on a bolt for these biners since they are so small. |
Nickc Diaz wrote: http://dmmclimbing.com/products/phantom/ Unless I'm missing something about the type of phantom, it appears DMM think they work just fine as quick draws. |
Nickc Diaz wrote: No issues, totally safe. The one exception is that those sorts of ultralight biners are an inappropriate choice to leave on routes long term as fixed draws or project draws. They wear out on the rope bearing surface more wuivkly, and the I-beam construction on the biner creates a sharp edge as it wears. Still, perfectly safe to use as general purpose sport climbing draws. |
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Not sure about these specific ones, but some light carabiners are made of soft metal that easily develops burrs when pressed against a bolt. Those burrs can then damage slings / ropes. Not an issue if the bolt-end biner always stays a bolt-end biner, but if you hang / fall on them, run over the carabiners with your finger to check for anything sharp. If sharp burrs form, either file them off or avoid using those carabiners on the rope end. |
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If you ever climb in Australia be aware the small crabs can be an issue with slip on bolt plates. The carabiner is what stops the plate coming off of the bolt. Small carabiners can sometimes slide past the bolt allowing the plate to come off. Then ya might die. |
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The biggest issue, in my experience, with small biners is that they're a pain in the butt to clip when compared to their larger counterparts. |
