Opinions on wire gate caribiners

[Figger_Eight]

Maybe someday I'll get all caught up with this fancy climbing language. Till then I'll just keep clipping my rope into them snaplinks and keep my icepick sharpened

[mattp]

But

quote:

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Originally posted by chucK:

don't use those stupid stiffy dogbone draws.

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[ 08-09-2002, 06:39 PM: Message edited by: mattp ]

[Uncle_Tricky]

If you're averse to wire-gates (which I'm not) Kong's Helium biners are just as light as neutrinos. Plus they're good for racking stoppers since key-lock closure means there's no notch for the gear to get hung on.

[chriss]

You've run two situations into one with this "Gate Lash".

Whiplash is the first. Gate flutter is the second. They are from 2 different causes.

Wire gates REDUCE this, not eliminate.

 

chris

[texplorer]

Somehow I get the feeling all this "gate flutter" and "gate Lashing" are things contrived by the gear manufactures to sell you a biner for a couple of bucks more. I mean hell- beckey, robbins, and all those other hardmen climbed on ovals for years. For the record though I have wiregates on both ends. Guess I was a sucker to the hype.

[Guest]

question- have you ever had your carabiner brake on you?

You buy wire gate because:

-the rope is easier to clip

-much lighter

-they don't stick in winter

really- simple

[glen]

If a person had a biner break on them, they probably wouldn't be posting here, unless they are really, really lucky. Most of us have had biners work quite well as a brake, though I prefer ovals for that. That being said, a number of body recoveries in Yos were accompanied by halves of biners left on pro where they had failed due to cross loading, etc...

 

Didn't Petzl do some high speed photography of gate flutter upon rope bounce? I think they saw that the gate tends to open after the rope has passed the gate, reducing the possibility of the rope actually popping out during flutter. That means keep the open end of the gate on the low side of the draw/runner (depending on if you are trad or sporto).

 

bottom line is that they are lighter, just as strong when normally loaded, more reliable in non-deal situations (ie, cross loading , getting iced up, and snap/flutter), but do cost a bit more. Gear is cheap, your life is not.

 

This thread reminds me of a time I was at Really Egregious Incompetence (REI). I head the salesperson explaining that most people just buy wire gates biners for style, and that there was no other functional benefit.

[Dru]

wiregates are light. end of story. but get the dmm one cause the neutrino is tiny.

 

wiregates, since they are lighter, are easier for thieving to steal from camp. so put out some as a decoy to keep the from stealing your wiregates.