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Screw or Autolock Carabiner?

Screw or Auto Lock Carabiner


  • Total voters
    60
I have been going up a tree and looked and seen my screw lock carabiner not screw locked. As long as I am weighted, no problem. I do screw them locked when I see this. With SRT, I am continuously weighted all the time.
Screwgates are probably a lot safer in SRT than DdRT. Theory is a moving rope can unscrew it. I could probably try for hours and not get that to happen, but sounds plausible. It’d take almost a perfect storm of events to really make a screw gate open itself up.
 
Screwgates are probably a lot safer in SRT than DdRT. Theory is a moving rope can unscrew it. I could probably try for hours and not get that to happen, but sounds plausible. It’d take almost a perfect storm of events to really make a screw gate open itself up.
I only climb on moving rope system and the rope has never unscrewed my carabiner. It doesn’t even touch the carabiner that I am aware of.
 
For any new guys considering non-locking carabiners for your setup here is a video from our own @Nutterbuster showing exactly why they are not considered good practice. See about the one minute mark for a visual example. You may say, "What are the odds of this really happening?" In reality, they are actually pretty good. Its a well known failure mode.

All it takes is a little slack in your lineman's between where you're holding it and where its attached to your saddle, a slight twist of the line and you lean back expecting the rope to take your weight and it pulls through. Next thing you know you're laying flat on your back wondering what the heck happened. Don't risk using a non-locker just to save a second or two.

I had not seen this video before. Good job NB! It's a real eye opener for me because I didn't realize how easy it was to screw up. I have screw locks and a magnetron auto lock. I have caught myself not tightening the the screw lock. Bad habit! I love the Magnetron just for this reason. I think I'm going to eliminate screw locks out of my system.
 
Screwgates are probably a lot safer in SRT than DdRT. Theory is a moving rope can unscrew it. I could probably try for hours and not get that to happen, but sounds plausible. It’d take almost a perfect storm of events to really make a screw gate open itself up.
If you use a screwgate on the girth hitch of your tether, swinging around the tree, the screw can rub against the tree and get unscrewed. I know, don't use a carabiner here, but if you do it is something to be aware of. Auto lockers are safer here, if used.
 
Screw locks. Auto locks are harder for me to work with gloves on, they’re less bulky, and I feel safer with that gate screwed down tight.
 
Grivel twin gates for me. I have used them so much over the last couple of seasons that the opening mechanism is now second nature.
 
Grivel twin wiregates on bridges, Metolius screw gate on my Madrock Safeguard, non-locking Petzl rollclip on my ascender and various other non-lockers for backup.
 
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