Marking Carabiners

If everything I'm told is true I'm about to be flamed. This thread does seem to happen at least once per year. I had a few specific questions because I'm stuck in analysis paralysis.

I'd like to mark my biners to assist in sorting out gear.

Options

1. Tape - sticky and falls off making litter
2. Nail polish - most report it is ok. Varies in price and how long it will last.
3. The Mark - I believe this product has been retired, but supposedly it worked well
4. Tough Tags - over $20 and still sticky like tape, hopefully lasts longer
5. Paint - seems like the best option to me because it is cheap and won't make litter
6. Engraving - I don't own an engraving pen. Petzl says use depth of less than 0.1 mm. generaltools.com/cordless-p… I don't own this but it is about $13. It says "3/32-inch engraving diamond tip bit". I copy pasted "3/32-inch to mm" into google. The way it interpreted this is wrong hence this edit. It was seeing the - as subtraction. 3/32 of an inch is 2.38125mm which is over what petzl recommends. Does anyone have an engraving pen they can recommend. 

If I use paint does it matter what kind of paint pen I buy? For example sharpie makes an oil-based paint pen. sharpie.com/markers/chalk-p…

I don't get paid by sharpie it was simply what was available at a local store. Is there a paint out there that could actually harm steel (old heavy biners useful for all day top rope) or aluminum (most of the biners I own)? Soft goods I don't mark at all because they're less expensive and more prone to chemical damage. Am I overthinking marking metal?

Gumby Scum wrote:

Am I overthinking marking metal?

yes

I use these.

Works well.

https://trango.com/products/rack-tags

Thanks for the inclusive list. It will be helpful to someone, I'm sure. (No snark intended--it's actually a good list/summary.) Maybe others will add to it. When I got back into climbing some 9 years ago or so, I marked all my stuff with tape, just like I did (and everyone else) BITD. The litter issue didn't occur to me at the time but seems so obvious now. Nail polish is the easy answer--re-mark as required. Wide color selection available, from the passionate to the bizarre to the mundane.

Create a new thread, "all about nail polish"

- the best type for hardness and longevity

- best marking locations

- best unique color choice

It'll be a riot.  Request pictures in addition to experience, advice, cynics, and general bumps of unhelpful wiseassery.  

Stiles, you may be on to something. I'd love to see pics of some creative designs like my wife gets on her fingernails--little flowers or cool patterns. Such effort, though, on a full rack, might imply some sort of unhealthy co-dependent relationship with one's climbing gear. Only their therapist would know for sure...

creativity is the solution!

Gumby Scum wrote:

If everything I'm told is true I'm about to be flamed.

1. Engraving - I don't own an engraving pen. Petzl says use depth of less than 0.1 mm. generaltools.com/cordless-p… I don't own this but it is about $13. It says "3/32-inch engraving diamond tip bit". This is 0.05437992125mm according to google which is well below the .1mm petzl recommended. 

I worry about your lack of knowledge.

Hey, Jim, I'd be interested in more info. I'm guessing you may have done some testing? I know folks who did this (engraved) on the gate of their carabiners, and others who used a light metal punch (lettered) to stamp their initials in the gates. Bad ideas, I presume? Maybe there are places where it might be OK to do this on your gear and other places where it is absolutely not? I'm evolving from tape to nail polish, so I don't really care, but there could be others who are doing this and could use more insightful info. (Full shameful disclosure: I am guilty of punching my initials in the gates of a few Eiger Ovals and on my hexes back in the 70s.)

Daniel Joder wrote:

Hey, Jim, I'd be interested in more info. I'm guessing you may have done some testing? I know folks who did this (engraved) on the gate of their carabiners, and others who used a light metal punch (lettered) to stamp their initials in the gates. Bad ideas, I presume? Maybe there are places where it might be OK to do this on your gear and other places where it is absolutely not? I'm evolving from tape to nail polish, so I don't really care, but there could be others who are doing this and could use more insightful info. (Full shameful disclosure: I am guilty of punching my initials in the gates of a few Eiger Ovals and on my hexes back in the 70s.)

for reference, MANY professional rescue organizations engrave their gear, including carabiners...

https://smcgear.com/downloadable/download/sample/sample_id/44/

I was worried how anyone can get from 3/32" to 0.05mm, that's a thin human hair.

And no idea, I don't mark my gear. It's so old and shabby (bit like me really) nobody would want it, 30 year old biners are the newer ones.

Touch up paint pen from the auto parts store is another option. Less work than nail polish if you’re marking a bunch of gear.

I tried special label tape, but it started to make micro trash so I removed all of it and switched to rack tags which are now making micro trash... So now I pull any that look loose or peeling and replace but thinking nail polish is in my future. 

7) Pee on them. Let your dog sort out the gear.

I used to mark my gear but then stopped. It just seemed to make me more likely to lose my non-marked gear.

On the off chance somebody uses the same racking biner as you, same model/generation gear, the gear is in about the same shape, and they don't mark their gear, who really cares what you end up with.

Gumby Scum wrote:

1. Engraving - I don't own an engraving pen. Petzl says use depth of less than 0.1 mm. generaltools.com/cordless-p… I don't own this but it is about $13. It says "3/32-inch engraving diamond tip bit". This is 0.05437992125mm according to google which is well below the .1mm petzl recommended. This should work just fine, right? Does anyone have an engraving pen they can recommend or any reason to not use this one? The only reason for linking to this specific pen is because it is locally available.

I use a dremel tool with one of them ball heads.  Just slightly deeper than the anodize.  Easy and fast.  No tape or tape residue and doesn't come off.

Shrink tube from the electronics supply store is great.  Can't fall off like tape.  Requires a heat gun to shrink it.  Hair drier not hot enough.

Auto body touch up paint as mentioned above.

I've been using the same bottle of nail polish for 4 years, bought it from the dollar store. I've probably marked ~200 items with it. 

Find a concave spot on your gear and the nail polish won't come off. Don't mark cams too close to the slings. If/when someone buys them they can scrub or use nail polish remover without having to go near the slings. 

I stamped my carabiners with stamp punches 20+ yrs ago and they’re still well-marked. After punching, I shot them with spray paint, which stays nicely visible inside the lettering. My cams and nuts I marked with a shot of spray paint in the back side of the cam lobes or on the top (cable hole) side of the stoppers, which isn’t prone to wearing off. Has worked nicely for many many years. I really can’t imagine that the stamping would weaken a carabiner much more than normal knocks and wear…

Photos are examples of pieces with around 20 years of use after marking. Not bad!

I'm a convert to acrylic paint pens. Less fuss & muss than paint/nail polish. And they make it so easy to convert your climbing buddy's unmarked gear into your gear; just bring a pen along in your pocket on the climb...

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=acrylic+pens&crid=VMNU3YWOKW8&sprefix=acrylic+pens%2Caps%2C179&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Jim Titt wrote:

I was worried how anyone can get from 3/32" to 0.05mm, that's a thin human hair.

And no idea, I don't mark my gear. It's so old and shabby (bit like me really) nobody would want it, 30 year old biners are the newer ones.

This was a google mistake, I googled "3/32-inch to mm". I edited the original post.

I agree old gear separates itself. When you have a group of newbies all buying stuff things look roughly the same.