The carabiner or carbine hook is a useful bit of kit, some even go as far as to say they are the ‘unsung heroes’ of the climbing world. https://www.ronstanindustrial.com/carbine-hooks-carabiners-for-daily-usage/

1. Carbine Hooks
(Carabiners)
For Daily Usage
The carabiner or carbine hook is a useful bit of
kit, some even go as far as to say they are the
‘unsung heroes’ of the climbing world. There are
however many options in terms of types, parts,
shapes, gate options, and finally how you utilize
them.

2. Types of carbine hooks
(carabiners)
O A carbine hook is a
lightweight, metal
snap-link that is used
in a variety of
situations for numerous
tasks but most often by
climbers.
O Their purpose is to
connect one thing to
another, but different
tasks require different
types.

3. Types of carbine hooks
(carabiners)
O The locking variety are
the ones with lockable
gates which provides
extra protection against
accidental opening
O The lock is usually
created through use of a
manual screw type
mechanism, or an auto-
locking system.
O The locking varieties are
therefore heavier as they
have more constituent
parts but for safety
reasons are the only
choice in many
situations.

4. Types of carbine hooks
(carabiners)
O Carbine hooks as you may
imagine, also come in a
variety of sizes and weights.
O Larger ones are usually easy
to use with their wider gate
openings and capacity for
holding more inside.
O Smaller ones however are
lighter and take up less room
and so could be better in a
context where space in the kit
bag is key.
O Lighter ones can often have
shorter life spans, and can
also erode other equipment
more quickly such as the
rope. So you have to weigh
up all the options.

5. Shape Options
O ‘D’ shaped carabiner.
O These are really great for
all sorts of climbing.
O They hold the load to the
side that is not gated,
which means the off
centre load bearing gives
greater strength.
O They are also quite
lightweight, despite
having the same strength
rating as other options.
O They are also slightly
easier to use when
clipping in place and so
are popular because of
this.

6. Shape Options
O Oval carabiner
O The Oval carabiner is the
original style of carabiner
and still one of the most
popular due to their
affordability and
versatility.
O They are however,
slightly less strong than
the ‘D’ options, but they
are good at limiting load
shifting.
O The Oval style also offers
more gear holding
capacity and their
symmetrical design
means they are better for
carabiner-brake rappels.

7. Carabiner parts
O Gate
O This is the part that snaps
open and shut and allows
you to latch onto other
things.
O Spine
O The spine is the longest side
of the carabiner which is
located directly opposite the
gate.
O The part known of as ‘the
nose’ is the bit into which the
gate snaps to close the
carabiner.
O Basket
O This is the more prominent
of the two bends in the
carabiner where the rope or
gear sits when clipped in.

8. Gate Options
O Straight
O Used on protection, bolts, and
quickdraws.
O They are perfectly straight
from end to end, as well as
being spring loaded for ease
of opening and automatic
closing.
O Bent-gate
O It has a concave design which
allows rope to slip in easier.
O The design does not affect
strength or weight as one may
expect, but they can unclip
themselves.

9. Gate Options
O Wire-gate
O The wire gate model of
carabiner gate uses a loop of
stainless steel wire as a
gate.
O This creates its own spring
mechanism which reduces
the overall weight of the
carabiner making it a popular
choice.
O It also means some other
parts of the gate are not
required, and the openings
are also quite large.

10. How to use your carbine hook
O Using you carbine hook correctly is
imperative.
O This means knowing the strength of
the one you are using and correlating
that with whatever you will be using it
for.
O It is a well-known fact that improper
use decreases the overall strength of
the kit.
O You have to make sure that the nose
and the hinge are fully operable.
O Also try to avoid allowing the rope to
run against the sleeve of the locking
carbine hook and place loads on the
longest side.
O Always regularly inspect your kit,
especially before heavy usage.

11. Contact us
Ronstan International Inc.
45 Highpoint Ave, #2
Portsmouth
RI 02871
www.ronstanindustrial.com
Tel: 1 401 293 0539
Fax: 1 401 293 0538
Email: office@ronstan.us

12. Photo Credit
O simplycircus.com
O backcountry.com
O aliexpress.com
O twenga.com