Should I toss this biner

[Peter_SS]

I have been given a HB Wales locking carabiner. It has been shelved its whole life. I was showing the kids how to assend and noticed that with my weight (155) on it the gate pin catches the hook. It does not have any issues when un loaded. Do I toss it?

[Jake]

Never noticed that before on any biners. So it is bending/stretching that much when you weight it? I don't think I would want to climb on it.

[nalo]

just for fun you could do dynamic drop tests on it, with some static cord and some weights and stuff.

[MisterMo]

Gates not opening under body weight was common with old timey stuff like Bedayns which were otherwise perfectly OK. Gates which would open under body weight had the selling point that they worked much better for aid. If your biner is 'rated' and appears otherwise undamaged I wouldn't worry too much. OTOH something like a locker where failure=death and cost=cheap I would toss in a heartbeat if I lost confidence for some reason.

Biners both flex a lot and break easily with their gates open as looking at gate open vs gate closed test data will tell you. They're simply not intended for high gate open loads.

 

I think easy opening under body weight was first engineered by increasing clearance for the pin in the latch rather than stiffening the frame to any significant extent.

Edited May 16, 2005 by MisterMo

[RJB]

Sounds pretty bad. I think you should send it to me so I can dispose of it.

[Divot]

I would toos it and pray for its smooth return to the aluminum recyclying plant

[selkirk]

me thinks it becomes a bail biner.

[shapp]

Put it in a vice, and bust it in half with a big hammer. Take it to a popular 5.7 sport route and hang half the broken biner off a hanger about 1/2 way up.

[Kraken]

hahah! that's evil! I love it!

[Alex]

Put it in a vice, and bust it in half with a big hammer. Take it to a popular 5.7 sport route and hang half the broken biner off a hanger about 1/2 way up.

 

like Bunny Face!!

[Dru]

Do you really think someone leading das Bunnywand would even understand why a broken biner was scary?

[shapp]

That is funny that you mention the Bunny Face, because I actually did this very thing, and hung half a biner about halfway up on the route, I think it was about February of 1997. I have always wondered who found it and what they thought. Probably made for some good noobie spray around the fire that night.

[ken4ord]

Most biner flex some when weighted. And I have seen them flex to the gate pin. Your best bet though would be to contact HB rather than asking for advice on this board. They will know better than anyone here.

[ashw_justin]

I didn't know you were supposed to open 'biner gates under load. But hey maybe that's why I found myself here in the newbie forum.