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KrisBrauer

Reviews

Nano 22

CAMP
CAMP Nano 22 Carabiner
5.04

Great Small Carabiner

Pros
Super light
Clips pretty well
Cons
Pretty small
Familiarity
I’ve used it a few of times

These carabiners are great for racking pro, or if you've got dextrous fingers for the upper bit of an alpine draw. They feel to small to be of use, but they are way easier to use than their size would suggest. Also they come in every concievable color which is great.

ATC

Black Diamond
Black Diamond ATC
3

Fine for starters

Pros
Easy to use
Cons
No V-grove for friction
Limited to larger ropes
Familiarity
I’ve used it a bunch

Like a lot of people, this was my first belay device. It works fine for larger ropes but past that it's pretty limiting and for not much more money you could get something like the ATC-XP which is a bit more versatile.

OvalWire

Black Diamond
Black Diamond OvalWire
5.04

Great Way to Carry Your Nuts

Pros
Light
Cons
Nose snags when taking nuts off
Familiarity
I’ve used it a few of times

I use these to carry my nuts. They work great for that, though the thin profile makes these carabiners not great for rope work. I've never had nuts pop off while bounce testing but I guess it could happen. A big downside is that sometimes the wire on the nuts snag on the nose as I'm taking it off.

Half Dome 2018

Black Diamond
Black Diamond Half Dome
4.02

Bomber Pro for your Noggin

Pros
Durable
Cons
Heavy
Familiarity
I’ve used it a bunch

This is a great beginner helmet. It's held up to all the dragging, dropping and scraping I've dished out. The rear adjustment wheel works great with with gloves.

On the downside its pretty hot and after a long day it gets pretty uncomfortable.

Neutrino 2017

Black Diamond
Black Diamond Neutrino Carabiner
4.02

Bomber Standard Carabiner

Pros
Easy handling
Cons
Nose can snag
Familiarity
I’ve used it a bunch

These are great all purpous carabiners. They aren't the lightest, biggest or smallest but they clip well, are super durable and reletively cheap. On the down side, the nose does snag some times and they are pretty heavy for their size.

5.04

Great Ice Screw Holster

Pros
Easy to use one handed
Top "shelf" works great...
Cons
Needs a bit of modification to work perfectly
Familiarity
I’ve used it a bunch

This screw carrier is really good for use on a harness or on a backpack. The wide base and substantial clip makes it easy to clip onto any 1" webbing strap on a backpack, but it also works very well on most harnesses. For racking ice screws its great, I've been able to remove and rack ice screws blind and the top shelf holds screws out of the way. The only downside is that it's really hard to remove from harnesses. To make it a bit easier, file the rib below the clip down a bit so that that it doesn't catch when removing the carrier.

Summit®

Petzl
Petzl Summit® Ice Axe
6

One Axe To Rule Them All

Pros
Light
Great traction in all snow conditions
Cons
Pinky rest comes separate
Familiarity
I’ve used it a bunch

If you can only own one ice axe this might be the one. Plunging, piolet canne, high dagger, easy ice, this axe does it all no matter the snow. The weight is balanced across the axe and pretty lightweight for how well it swings. With the pinky rest this ice will climb easy ice with supprising ease.

4.02

Stupid light, pretty good

Pros
Super light
Pick is exceptionally sharp
Cons
Hard to use on hard snow/ice
Familiarity
I’ve used it a bunch

For easy glacier travel and scrambling this ice ax is ideal. Despite it's light weight it can get a pretty good bite on most snow (super late season glaciers and ice are still a problem). The head is flat aluminum, but piolet canne is decently comfortable and gloves make it alot better. The grip tape on the base of the shaft to assist with piolet ancre is super aggressive (possibly overly so) but doesn't interfere with plunging.

This ax does start to show its limitations with super hard snow and ice. The lack of weight in the head makes it hard to get good sticks while swinging. For a short patch of steep snow/ice you can scratch some pick placements but if your route takes you through harder terrain maybe leave this guy at home.

Oz

Black Diamond
Black Diamond Oz Carabiner
5.04

Black Diamond's best carabiner

Pros
Great clip-ability
Easy to use
Cons
Big nose doesn't always fit through things...
Familiarity
I’ve used it a bunch

One of the best all around carabiners, great as racking or for building alpine draws. I'm not sure how much the non-snag nose helps but it seems like it does. The only down side is that the size of the nose doesn't always allow it to fit through the eyes of pitons or small bolt hangers.

5.04

Great, but slightly un-nerving locker

Pros
Fastest locker in the west
Familiarity
I’ve used it a bunch

While I don't trust this style of locking krab as much as others, I love this for my personal anchor or any other krab thats under mostly constant load. I haven't noticed any durability problems after about two years of use and the speed of deployment is great after hard fought top outs.