Tree Gear Equipment

If you like to go climbing even in winter you may want to use wiregate carabiners rather than the solid gate types as the former are less prone to having their gates iced shut. A good choice would be the Omega Pacific Doval Wiregate Carabiner.

The Doval Wiregate is an extremely lightweight carabiner, weighing in at only 37 grams. This means that a climber can carry more of them before getting loaded down. A wide gate clearance, measured at 25 mm, makes clipping easy. It has a large rope-bearing surface without interior flat spots that could potentially harm your ropes.

The design of the carabiner is a cross between a D and an oval. This is why it is referred to as a “Doval”. This configuration allows the reversal of the gates after stacking them in the same way that regular ovals and Ds can be reversed.

The Omega Pacific Doval Wiregate Carabiner has a major axis strength of 25 kN with the gate closed, while this rating is reduced to 7kN if the gate is opened. The minor axis, on the other hand, has a strength of 7kN. It is 92.2 mm long, and 53.1 mm wide.

The screwgate locking mechanism of the Pacific Jake HMS guarantees against the accidental opening of the carabiner thus providing added security. The ‘biner’s shape has been designed in a way that loads are centered thus keeping the rope from getting pinched on the spine, and are kept away from the nose avoiding a potentially dangerous situation.

The Pacific Jake is constructed using Omega’s propriety ISO Cold Forge process which subjects the metal to compressive forces. This results in an extremely strong but lightweight carabiner. Indeed, it weighs only 105 g.

The nose of the Pacific Jake does not have a hook which could potentially snag ropes during insertion making loading smooth and easy. Its gate is an offset-type which increases clearance up to 28.5 mm, and which allows you to squeeze in and load whatever you want to.

The body of the carabiner has a coating that protects it from rust and corrosion. This coating is anodized which means that it will not flake off, but instead continue to provide protection.

The Pacific Jake is about 114 mm long and 80 mm wide at its widest point. Its strength with the major axis open is 8 kN, while when closed, this increases to 23 kN. The minor axis, on the other hand, has a strength of 10 kN.

The I-Beam Boa Locksafe is a large pear-shaped auto-locking carabiner. Perhaps its best feature is its combination of great strength, minimal weight, and large capacity.

Its hot-forged I-Beam construction guarantees both strength and light weight. Its pear shape allows it to accommodate a number of attachments including webbing, ropes, slings, and other climbing gear. It also facilitates single rope belaying using a Munter hitch.

Complementing the large capacity is the wide gate, a full 23 millimeters, through which bulky gear can easily pass through. This is an auto-locking gate that quickly snaps shut as soon as a rope or any other gear is safely hooked on the carabiner. You will never have to worry about forgetting to lock your ‘biner. Its key lock nose is guaranteed to be free from snags.

The DMM I-Beam Boa Locksafe has a rated strength of 10 kilonewtons with the major axis open. When closed, this rating is increased to 28 kilonewtons. Its minor axis, on the other hand, has a strength of 12 kilonewtons. It weighs 91 grams.

The Mammut Bionic HMS is a locking carabiner that uses beam technology, a hot forge method with excellent precision, which results to a lightweight yet strong carabiner with an excellent breaking load capacity.

Its large arc radius makes it look like a pear. This allows it to accommodate large ropes and other technical configurations. They are well suited for belay devices and Munter hitches for belaying.

The key lock assures easy placement or removal of belays or harnesses. It won’t snag on ropes or slings reducing the odds of accidental openings.

The Mammut Bionic HMS Screwgate Carabiner has a major axis strength of 22kN. Its minor axis, on the other hand, has a rating of 7kN. When the gate is opened, the carabiner has the same strength as the minor axis –7kN. Its gate open clearance is 23 millimeters, while its weight is 72 grams.

The 25-mm gate clearance of the Camp USA HMS Compact Screw Gate Carabiner makes the clipping of ropes, tools, or any other gear you might need on your climb easy. Its locking system helps avoid rope or ribbon entanglements when clipping or unclipping. And because it is a locking carabiner, you are assured that it will not accidentally open if it hits or gets snagged on a tree branch, or if caught in rope tangles.

The HMS Compact has a rounded offset-D shape which contributes to its wide gate clearance. It also helps in the proper positioning of ropes for rappelling, and other belay devices when climbing. The carabiner also helps belaying single ropes with an HMS, hence its name, or Munter hitch.

When clipping webbing, ropes, bolt hangers, anchors, belay devices, or any other gear, snagging can occur. This issue is addressed by HMS Compact through the improvement of the design and smoothening of the surface of its keylock nose.

The HMS Compact Screw Gate Carabiner has a major axis strength, at closed gate, of 24kN. With an open gate, the figure is 8kN. Minor axis, on the other hand, is 8 kN. It weighs approximately 78 grams.

The DMM Revolver is a non-locking carabiner that incorporates a new concept in addressing rope friction and drag. This comes in the form of a 5.5 mm radius roller incorporated at its basket end.

The roller is made of 7075 aluminum alloy which guarantees its good fatigue strength. Inside it is a dry-tube Igus bearing which is supported by a high-tensile sleeve made of stainless steel. A spindle, also high-tensile and stainless, is underneath. This spindle is extremely strong and can take a force from 10 to 12 kN.

When a rope runs on a conventional carabiner bar, sliding friction is generated. With a DMM Revolver Carabiner, however, there is no sliding friction. Instead what it has is rolling friction as the rope passes over the roller. Because the roller rotates with the rope, less friction is generated.

The implications of this are enormous. It makes a climber’s upward progress easier and faster. Additionally, it also means less wear and tear on your climbing ropes thus prolonging their useful lives. With the reduced friction the impact of a fall is more evenly distributed across the system. This eases the load on the last protective gear.

In addition to this innovative roller design, the DMM Revolver Carabiner has been lightened. This is achieved by hot-forging the back and creating lightening panels on the I-beam. In the process, the carabiner also ended up looking stylish.

The strength rating of the DMM Revolver is 24 kN with gate closed, while it is 9 kN when open. Its minor axis can support 7 kN.

Mad Rock took over two years to design and finally produce the Ultra-Tech HMS Screwgate Locking Carabiner. The company’s goal was to build a lightweight and compact yet strong carabiner that would complement any belay device.

The Ultra-Tech’s cold forged I-beam construction made this possible. It is a low bulk biner that features a non-snagging Madlok gate. It has a smooth locking action that allows quick and secure fastening of the carabiner. The screwgate locking mechanism is manually operated eliminating any risk of worn out or broken springs often used for auto-locking biners.

The pear shape of the Ultra-Tech makes it a true HMS (Halbmastwurfsicherung) carabiner. Its oversized enclosure makes it possible to accommodate more attachments as well as Munter hitch belays.

The major axis can support a force of 25 kN, while the minor axis, 9 kN. With an open gate, the figure is also 9 kN. Dimensions of the Ultra-Tech HMS Screwgate are: height, 96 mm; width, 65 mm; and gate opening, 23 mm. Weight is at 67 g.

Weighing a little less than two ounces, the DMM Sentinel HMS Carabiner is considered one of the lightest mini HMS locking carabiners available in the market. In spite of its light weight, it is quite strong registering a strength at its major axis of 24 kN, minor axis 10 kN, and with an open gate at 8kN.

DMM credits the carabiner’s I-beam construction as the source of its strength, lightness, and function. By using a slightly offset design, heavy loads are directed to the spine. A top bar that is gently curved provides a generous rope radius. This allows single as well as double rope controllers to work well with the Sentinel.

This carabiner is ideal for belaying, rigging, and anchor building. It’s keylock nose prevents snagging of your cord or other gear keeping clipping and unclipping smooth. Its deep basket can easily accommodate Munter or clove hitches, while its bottom end fits harness loops to a tee. The ‘biner’s gate opening is wide enough to make slipping in ropes and loops simple and trouble-free.

The Sentinel HMS Carabiner is anodized to protect it from the elements.

The Quicksilver Screw Gate is a lightweight, literally. It weighs only two ounces. In fact, it is Black Diamond’s lightest locking carabiner. In spite of this, however, it has a closed strength of 25 kN. This makes this aluminum carabiner strong and durable. For these reasons the Quicksilver Screw Gate is often referred to as workhorse ‘biner. It is easy to carry yet it can support heavy loads. It is often used for rigging and added security.

The nose of the Quicksilver is angled because of its pear shape. This results to an increased open gate clearance making clipping easier. It is equipped with a solid locking gate and a screw gate sleeve which minimizes, or even eliminates, the possibility of an accidental opening of the gate.

The carabiner’s rope bearing width is at 9.5 mm, and its basket is deep enough to allow a good number of runners and slings to be piled into it.

Climbers, whether mountain or tree climbers, will often think that the words “HMS carabiner” and “compact” can not go together. With the ISC Mighty Mouse Carabiner, however, these two features are successfully combined. International Safety Components, Inc., the manufacturer, refers to the Mighty Mouse as a Mini-HMS.

In spite of its small and compact size, this carabiner has superior strength as it is made of forged 7075 aluminium alloy, that is, aluminium alloyed with zinc. This material is also called aerospace aluminium as it is often used for aircraft construction, particularly the wings and fuselage. It comes polished and anodized to make it more attractive and scratch-resistant.

Being an HMS, a Munter hitch can easily be tied even with a ½-inch line. A wide gate measuring 20 mm also helps this. The spine is thicker than the top and bottom portions. This helps keep a tight eye splice or a cinching knot in their proper place. As it is small, it is rather unobtrusive making it ideal for attaching ascending devices and rope grabs to your saddle attachment rings.

The Mighty Mouse is available in four different types of locking mechanisms –the screwgate, twistlock, supersafe, and quadlock. In addition to the choices of gates, color option is also available.