A karabiner
(or carabiner) is a metal loop with a sprung or screwed
gate. Karabiners are widely used in sports requiring ropework,
such as climbing, caving and canyoning.
When sold for use
in climbing in Europe, karabiners must conform to standard EN
12275:1998 "Mountaineering equipment - Connectors - Safety requirements
and test methods" which governs strengths, testing and markings.
The International Climbing and Mountaineering Association regulates
standards for climbing karabiners.
A karabiner's strength
(with its gate shut) should have a minimum strength of around
20 kilonewton's (kN) for most climbing applications - though
requirements vary depending on how the karabiner will be tested
during activity. Karabiners are also marked on the side with
single letters showing their intended area of use, for example
K (via ferrata), B (base) and H (for belaying with an Italian
/ Munter hitch).
Straight Gates are
most common and are the cheapest and strongest. Bent Gates don't
sacrifice strength but allow things to be clipped in easier
than a straight gate, but these can unclip more easily so are
only used to connect ropes to quickdraws. The karabiner gates
known as 'Wire Gate' are made of just a wire but have the strength
comparable to a normal Karabiner. The advantages are that they
are the lightest type of karabiner which allows the climber
to carry more before being loaded down. Auto-locking karabiner
gates allow for quick locking and also prevent the user from
forgetting to lock the karabiner. The disadvantages are that
the karabiner's spring can wear out or break preventing it from
locking, and it is harder to use with one hand because you have
to hold the gate lock to keep it from locking again. Twist/Screw
karabiner lock gates are similar to a nut on a bolt as they
are sleeves that twist up and down and must be done manually.
Also see: 'Oval karabiners',
D-karabiners' and 'Offset-D karabiners'.
