For those times when you need a little extra friction while descending, the FREINO is the way to go.
-Provides increased friction for single ropes when rappelling or lowering, without extra gear or the need to open the carabiner
-Easy to use: rope can be quickly redirected over the friction spur and removed with one hand
-Auto-locking
-Keylock system
-For use on single ropes with the STOP, GRIGRI, HUIT, HUIT ANTIBRULURE and SIMPLE
When you click a link below and then checkout online, no matter what you buy (climbing gear or not), we get a small commission that helps us keep this site up-to-date. Thanks!
Weight (g) |
85 g |
| Shape |
D / Offset D |
| Locking |
Auto - 3 action |
| Straight or Bent |
Straight |
| Full Size |
Yes |
| Keylock |
Yes |
| Solid or Wire |
Solid |
| Gate Opening |
15 mm |
| Number of Colors |
1 |
| Lock Indicator |
No |
| Strengths (kN) |  25 kN  9 kN  10 kN |
The Petzl Frieno is a very unique belay locker that includes a friction spur that enables one to loop the brake end of the rope over it for increased braking control. It must be used with a gri-gri on a single rope to be effective, and costs a lot of money for a single locking carabiner. For these reasons, it is not our preferred, or recommended, choice for a belay-specific locker.
OK, alpha-gear-geeks, your carabiner has arrived. Designed to be used with the Petzl Grigri (but just as effective with any belay device), the Freino belay carabiner is a 3 ounce autolocking unit that has a secondary gate and basket - yes, you may call it a spur to establish techno-superiority - that provides additional braking.
TWO GATES for the price of one! Finally, I don’t feel ripped off ... nor do I feel insecure lowering a climber much heavier than I am, or myself on a single line. The Petzl Freino, a three-ounce auto-locking belay biner that really works best with a Grigri, is outfitted with an “integral braking spur” on its spine. Belay as usual with a Grigri clipped to the main biner. When it’s time to lower, clip the brake side of the rope through the wire gate. This redirects the brake end of the rope, adding friction that gives you greater control over lowering speed. This feature comes in handy with thin or new ropes that are slick on the feed. Other non-Grigri devices such as the ATC also benefit from the additional friction.
Warning: This video is dubbed in English. If you're getting antsy, skip to section 7:40-8:15 for one of the most interesting parts, where they show a hardware specific camera inspection.
The UIAA equipment standard provides a baseline for equipment performance in a test lab under controlled conditions on new equipment. Although these test conditions are relevant to the conditions encountered climbing, conditions encountered at the crags and the condition of the equipment are equally important. This recommendation from the UIAA member federation The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) provides vital equipment information that is NOT explicitly addressed in the standard, particularly failure modes of the equipment and recommendations for the use, inspection, maintenance, and retirement of equipment.
Describes with words and helpful photos, how to protect your Petzl carabiners.
A checklist helping you monitor your carabiners health, helping to know when to retire your personal protection equipment.
A pictoral representation of UIAA-121 and EN-12275 standards for connectors (the UIAA's fancy word for carabiners).
Instruction for how to use Freino, Precautions with instructional pictures.
