Climbing & Caving Carabiners & Hardware

Climbing & Caving Carabiners & Hardware

Many people love participating in outdoor activities. One common outdoor activity is rock climbing; this sport requires the use of carabiners, along with other equipment like rope and hooks. It is important to know how this equipment works and the different types of equipment that are available before you purchase an item for climbing or caving purposes.

There are two main types of steel carabiners: snap gate style and screw gate style. Both types have several sub-categories within them. The two main types of snap styles are wire gate and solid gate, which can come in two types, straight and bent. The solid styles are heavier and are commonly being replaced by wire styles as technology further develops. Wire gate styles of devices do not contain any parts that can break or freeze. Solid gate styles have a spring inside them, which has the potential to cause an increased likelihood of failure. Straight gates are now becoming standard because they are not prone to the flaws of bent gates. The bent gate design allows you to clip in easier, however.Screw-style carabiners contain a sleeve that can stop an accidental opening of the contraption. They can be symmetrical or asymmetrical and manual or automatic. Symmetrical carabiners are shaped like the letter O while asymmetrical clips are in a D shape.

• Black Diamond
• DMM
• Fusion
• KONG
• OMEGA
• Petzl

All carabiners come with a kN or kiloNewton rating. The rated is typically engraved into the spine of the equipment. DO NOT use any carabiner without a kN rating for climbing or caving. A kiloNewton is equal to about 225 lbs force of gravity; this is not related to static mass or weight. All of the equipment that you use for climbing, (rope, webbing, anchors, etc.) is designed to absorb whatever force that is generated by a fall. All this equipment has a certain rating of force it can withstand; this is where the kN rating comes into play.

• Climbing shoes, gloves, and other apparel and accessories
• Carabiner clip
• Climbing cam
• Snap hook
• Grappling hook
• Ropes

• BlueWater Ropes
• Sterling
• Black Diamond
• Petzl
• Samson
• Beal
• Edelweiss
• SINGING ROCK