Continue with onX Maps
Sign in with Facebook
Steel locking carabiners
|
I'm looking to get a few steel locking carabiners to use for top rope anchors. Looking on climbing gear websites, I'm having trouble seeing which, if any, carabiners are steel. Do black diamond, petzl, mammut, etc. make steel carabiners? Can anyone tell me which models are solid steel or reccomebd which ones are the best? |
|
You'll probably get a lot of flack for this post but you really don't need steel carabiners, aluminum will work for a decade if you treat them well. |
|
Steel will definitely stand up to the rigors of dirty ropes better. I switched to Metolius Steel Screw Locks after aluminum carabiners acquired ~5mm deep grooves after 2 seasons of serving top roping anchor duty |
Kris Fiore wrote: You'll probably get a lot of flack for this post but you really don't need steel carabiners, aluminum will work for a decade if you treat them well. Is that really true? I have an aluminum carabing I have been using to belay in the gym probably once a week for 5 years and it already is wearing noticeably from the rope. Is that a bad carabiner and not the norm? |
amarius wrote: Steel will definitely stand up to the rigors of dirty ropes better. I switched to Metolius Steel Screw Locks after aluminum carabiners acquired ~5mm deep grooves after 2 seasons of serving top roping anchor duty whoa. clean your ropes ever? |
|
After several years of using steel locking carabiners, I recently switched to these. Although they are pricey, they weigh substantially less than a full-steel carabiner: |
chris p wrote: aluminum will eventually wear out in a few years if you climb frequently enough and in sandy enough conditions. Look into the edelrid bulletproof carabiners, they are aluminum but with a steel insert on the rope bearing surfaces. |
Kris Fiore wrote: You'll probably get a lot of flack for this post but you really don't need steel carabiners, aluminum will work for a decade if you treat them well. yeah, aluminum will work for a decade if you only climb a few times a year. I've burned through aluminum anchor biners in less than a year and I don't even toprope much (and by burned through I mean rope grooves at least 1/4 of the way through the stock). |
|
Aluminum is shiny wood. |
|
If you go to the professional side of the Petzl website you'll find a lot of steel biner options. As others have said though, Aluminum is plenty strong/durable for most applications. |
Everett wrote: Aluminum is shiny wood.So you're saying there's hope for my new balsa wood lockers? They're the lightest on the market! |
Ken Noyce wrote: +1 |
Gavin Towey wrote: So you're saying there's hope for my new balsa wood lockers? They're the lightest on the market! I'd pay (imaginary) money to see someone hot forge balsa. |
|
Probably overkill, but I have two of these on my top-rope anchor Quad: |
Ken Noyce wrote: ...cmon. I might have been exaggerating a little bit but there is no way you burned through 25% of a binder in less than a year without guiding on them. I was making the assumption this guy wasn’t guiding or he would know where to find steel caribiners. |
Kris Fiore wrote: Yes way! That is perhaps even normal if you climb 2-3 days a week in sandy environments (like the desert SW) and consistently use the same biners to lower off of and TR on when you do TR. That is one reason the Edelrid Bullettproofs are so popular now. |
|
The rate of wear on aluminum biners depends greatly on factors like the general grittiness of the environment, so some of us whose home crags are not dry and sandy may be shocked to hear that others are wearing through biners that quickly, but it definitely happens, even through normal use. When I moved out West, I started burning through biners a lot faster. Another factor is the grade of the aluminum, and many companies are making super lightweight biners by using aluminum grades that, while still absolutely safe and well within UIAA standards and such, just wear down faster. That's one reason those Edelrid Bulletproof biners are such a neat idea-- combine the best of both worlds. |
|
Reasonable price for top roping carabiners and will last forever. Two of these, gates reversed and opposed make for a smooth TR masterpoint. |
dnoB ekiM wrote: Guess I'm lucky to climb where it's wet? haha. I'll defer to what you have experienced, just sounds crazy that someone could climb that much on the same biners in a year. |
John Vanek wrote: Reasonable price for top roping carabiners and will last forever. Two of these, gates reversed and opposed make for a smooth TR masterpoint. I have two of these for top roping and they are bomb proof. Heavy as hell but for top roping, they’re perfect. |
|
So many things in climbing boil down to strength to weight ratio that it seems cliche to say so,  ( ok, yes I wrote that for one specific person) Edit, good morning! (here anyway) That Guy SeB! excellent! smaller points of contact focusing the wear (the more durable treatments, grit holding? treatments on rope as well other contributing factors) combined with greater attention to safety specifics of modern climbers, Thank You |
