Light weight biners - what do you like?

[Jim]

Ok, I'm convinced after some recent trips I need to replace my stash of older mish-mash of ovals and Ds. What's good?

[sdizzle25]

bd nutrinos, hotwires, Ozs, WC orbit, nitros etc. user preference on a little more weight for more size. camp nano 23 are super light, but not the best when using gloves in the 'pine. Works great with bare hands that you can feel, even if you crag with a 10.2.

Stay away from the metolius mini jet whatevers, so small they are unnecessarily hard to use, not sure how a great company like metolius came out with a product that seems so obviously terrible.

[DPS]

I personally dislike the really small ones and have fumbled BD Nutrinos out of my hands. A balance of function and light weight is key for me. I'm very happy with some Mammut carabiners I picked up for pretty inexpensively at Pro Mountain Sports http://promountainsports.com/index.php/climbing/carabiners/non-locking/mammut-element-w-g.html

[selkirk]

I personally dislike the really small ones and have fumbled BD Nutrinos out of my hands. A balance of function and light weight is key for me. I'm very happy with some Mammut carabiners I picked up for pretty inexpensively at Pro Mountain Sports http://promountainsports.com/index.php/climbing/carabiners/non-locking/mammut-element-w-g.html

 

I've got a crap load of these things

Trango used to make them from a nearly identical mold. Reliable, nice size, highly functional, nice snappy gates that have held up. Not the lightest out there but the difference between 20 of these and 20 Camp Nano/Metolius Micro's is only 7 oz.

[hia2]

I've got a crap load of these things

Trango used to make them from a nearly identical mold. Reliable, nice size, highly functional, nice snappy gates that have held up. Not the lightest out there but the difference between 20 of these and 20 Camp Nano/Metolius Micro's is only 7 oz.

[denalidave]

Love me some Heliums.

 

I also like the nanos for racking my cams but they are a bit harder to clip, for me anyway.

[ajpederson]

I personally dislike the really small ones

Completely agree. I wanted to leave a pile of those little camp ones on the top of Sherpa Peak after using a partner's gear for the climb.

 

I know they're not the lightest, but I have some of the Black Diamond Hotwires. They work with my rope and hands and don't make me feel like I'm trying to clip to a keychain like those little ones do. Hard to knock them when you can get blemished ones for under $5 on REI Outlet right now.

 

[BootsandPants]

I rack gear with BD neutrinos and just about all of my draws are made out of WC Xenons.

 

Love the action and full size of the WC biners for my case of hamfistitis. They're pretty light without breaking the bank too if you buy them in the 5 packs. Just got 10 for a little over $50 to replace various draws I've lost/partners have kept last year. http://www.backcountry.com/wild-country-xenon-wire-anodized-carabiner-5-pack

[Dane]

Trango SuperFly or the OZ. Great winter biners and even better on rock.

[EastCoastBastard]

I'm pretty stoked with my Wild Country Astros - stinkin' light, but still a decent size that I don't fumble with them when wearing gloves. And they're cheap. Check supertopo gear reviews for more biners/reviews/opinions

[dennyt]

Mammut Moses. Lighter than the Classic Wiregate, and still "almost" full size. Very skinny, great for racking cams.

 

http://www.backcountry.com/mammut-moses-wire-gate-carabiner

[denalidave]

Mammut Moses. Lighter than the Classic Wiregate, and still "almost" full size. Very skinny, great for racking cams.

 

http://www.backcountry.com/mammut-moses-wire-gate-carabiner

I've got a bunch of these and also really like them.

[John Frieh]

Trango SuperFly or the OZ. Great winter biners and even better on rock.

 

+1

 

I will say I have yet to purchase an OZ that actually weighs 28 grams. I suspect most "lightweight" biners are this way

[Coldfinger]

Gotta say snag free wiregates kick ass, DMM has a full line on the way, oh and the CAMP Nano 23.

[RafalA]

DMM Phantom for color-coding cams.

WC Astros for draws.

Petzl Ange S for gloves, water bottle, etc.

Camp Nano 23 for knife, cord, etc.

 

All the ones I have are true to manufacturer weight spec, too!

[xhen]

Mammut Moses. Lighter than the Classic Wiregate, and still "almost" full size. Very skinny, great for racking cams.

 

http://www.backcountry.com/mammut-moses-wire-gate-carabiner

I've got a bunch of these and also really like them.

 

+1. These are boss. Good price. Gotten most of mine second hand for even better price.

[montypiton]

I favor different biners for different kinds of climbing. For quick-draws on sport/crag routes, I love the ultralight biners like the nano and Metolius for the BOLT end of the quickdraw, with a more generously gated biner on the ROPE end. I agree that the Metolius is virtually unusable with gloves, but I haven't had that problem with the nano, so I do carry nanos on alpine and ice climbs. But the Metolius minis work great for clipping my umbilicals to my ice tools. They are unobtrusive, and the tiny gate keeps them secure. I LOVE almost anything DMM or Wild Country makes, so my alpine/ice rack runs to those. I like them so well I rep those companies for my local SAR unit. I detest bent-gates; and anything that doesn't lock has a wiregate. I do rig half or more of my quickdraws with lightweight lockers on the rope end. All of the other posters' recommendations are good, and I agree that Mammut may be the best value if price is a major factor. I own a bunch, and like them, just prefer the ultralights for sport and DMMs for ergonomics.

[TwoFortyJeff]

I like the BD Oz, but if I had to do it over again I'd save a couple bucks per biner and go with the BD Neutrino.

[Jim]

Thanks all. I'll post weight difference of the rack after shopping.

[Alpinisto]

Love me some Heliums.

 

Same here.

 

Yes, they're spendy, but worth it IMO for a full-size, keylock nose wiregate. I use 'em exclusively for all my alpine draws. (Racking biners are Metolius or BD color-coded to the cams.)

[Coldfinger]

Click this:

 

Edited March 15, 2012 by Coldfinger

[Buckaroo]

Nothing comes close to the WC Helium, once you've gotten used to a keylock nose it's hard to go back. This biner is the lightest for it's large opening dimension in a keylock. Expense is the only drawback. Every time you think a simple mechanism can't be further refined the engineers step forward. WC spent over a year developing a new forging process to come up with this cutting edge biner.

 

Also for the super light some Metolius Mini wiregates for the alpine climbs with short roped pitches. These things are kind of tricky to use and it helps to develop a technique. If you push on the edge of the wire gate instead of putting your finger right in the middle it makes them easier to use.

 

DMM has a new keylock locker that looks to be the lightest for a keylock locker but the opening is a bit small.

 

I haven't tried them but the New Petzl Ange S and Ange L might give the Heliums some competition in the keylock wiregate arena.

[Jim]

FYI

 

 

Xeon 38gm

M Classic 36

Neutrino 36

Helium 34

Oz 28

M. Moses 27

[bearbreeder]

WC nitros ... i own and use neutrinos, heliums, phantoms, specters, shields, nanos, FS minis, various solid gates, etc ...

 

the nitros have a minimal notch, are decently light, full size, easy to clip and fairly cheap

 

i find no functional difference between my heliums and nitros, so i save moola

[Coldfinger]

DMM has a new keylock locker that looks to be the lightest for a keylock locker but the opening is a bit small.

 

21mm gate clearance actually. 15g more than Phantom with snag free nose.

Edited March 15, 2012 by Coldfinger