Weighing only 45 grams, the Black Diamond HotWire Carabiner is one of the lightest carabiners available, a feature that is well-appreciated among climbers who often carry a good amount of climbing tools and devices. This weight is possible due to the combination of the simplified wire gate design and the aluminum alloy out of which the carabiner frame is constructed.
The wire gate is made of stainless steel. In addition to its function as the gate, it also its own spring that automatically closes itself. The spring action is strong and is unlikely to accidentally open even in a hard fall. Because the wire gate is slender, there is more space left for your fingers to work as well as for the ropes. Clipping is easy because of its design and its wide gate open clearance of 25 mm. Also, unlike solid gates, this Black Diamond wire gate does not freeze.
The aluminum alloy of the frame is cold-forged which results to a remarkable strength-to-weight ratio. Thus, in spite of weighing only 45 grams, the HotWire Carabiner delivers a closed major axis strength of 25 kilonewtons. When open, this is reduced to 9. The minor axis, on the other hand, has a strength of 7 kilonewtons.
Designed as an offset-D, the internal basket of the frame is deep. It is intended to orient loads along the major axis. The hooded nose, for its part, minimizes the possibility of snagging ropes, cordage, or webbing.
Owing to all these features, the Black Diamond HotWire Carabiner is considered to be a very versatile ‘biner used not only for tree climbs but also for trad, sport, and even ice climbs.