Rock and Ice

The Bravo Wire-Gate Quickdraw is featherlight, one of the very lightest for its size—the biners are not what I’d call full-sized, but neither are they those micro jobs that are limited in utility to clipping bolt hangers. The Bravo with a 5-inch sling weighs, 2.4 ounces.
I did have one qualm with the 7-inch Bravo. The top loop on this size sling has a loose, open cut. When hung on a bolt, the sling can twist and make a difficult clip well … more difficult. I’d opt instead for the..." go to full review

Finally, a quickdraw built for actual, real-world sport climbing! The Black Diamond LiveWire is a snazzy green quickdraw that has quickly become my favorite way to connect rope to rock.
The LiveWire is equipped with a beefy, wide nylon dogbone (sling) that fits right into my hand, and is easy to grab. This was my favorite feature, as it made my favorite part of sport climbing, grabbing draws, easier.go to full review

The Helium Clean Wire is the first carabiner to use the I-beam construction that makes steel girders strong yet light. This application gives the Helium the best strength-to-weight ratio of any carabiner. At a scant 1.2 ounces, it's the lightest full-size biner ever made. With strengths of 24 kN major axis, 9 kN minor axis and 10 kN with its gate open, it is one of the strongest biners on the market...." go to full review

I like that piece of mind. I also like the Pirate’s hefty size. It’s a full 4.25 inches long and the gate swings open with nearly two inches of clearance. If you like a full-bodied locker, one that can accommodate a lot of rope, let a Muenter Hitch pivot freely or just be easy to operate with your big fat fingers, this is your biner. Another nice touch: The carabiner’s nose sports a notchless, keylock design with a sweet taper that snakes easily through tight slings and cluster frigs.go to full review

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,..." go to full review

This affordable, hardened steel carabiner was made for use in gyms, where repeated lowering and toproping quickly wear grooves in standard aluminum biners, but the Gym Pro is equally applicable for outdoor use on anchors in high-traffic areas and on popular routes. The easy-to-clip wire gate makes it a classy choice for the business end of fixed quickdraws. With a major-axis strength of 8,992 pounds and a gate-open strength of 3,597 pounds, these suckers are practically bombproof.go to full review

I gave the Metolius Gatekeeper four stars, because in its class, this belay specific biner has little competition. At 70 grams, it weighs less than most, including the popular Black Diamond Gridlock Screwgate. At $17.95, the Gatekeeper is priced below most belay biners.go to full review

In hand, it is like a smaller version of one of my favorite designs, the Wild Country Helium, except it costs about half as much. Can’t argue with that. The wire gate clips well and has just enough clearance not to trap a finger. The CE-certified Ultra Light is also available in a five-inch Spectra draw set-up for $11.95. Each carabiner is pull tested to 40 percent of its rated strength in major axis.go to full review

The amount of friction-reducing benefit you see on lead varies according to how much or little the rope twists and turns, and whether the rope tracks completely or only partly across the pulley. In ideal conditions, the Revolution reduces rope drag as much as a single over-the-shoulder runner with biners. At $03 a pop, you'd go broke rigging every draw and sling with a Revolver, but it's great to have a few on hand for those pesky off-to-the-side pieces, or for using as impromptu..." go to full review

I've always been a twistlock fan, but am often frustrated by the multiple awkward gyrations some require to twist, push and pull them open. The Orbit's opening mechanism, rotate the collar and pull the gate back, is simple and I could even easily do it in gloves. However, the Orbit, like every twistlock carabiner I've used, can freeze up, becoming inoperable in icy conditions. New for 2010, the Orbit Twist Lock sports a keylock nose, a nifty bit of sleekness that prevents..." go to full review