Standard Karabiners

Standard (non-screwgate) karabiners are the workhorses of climbing, used to attach the rope to quickdraws, slings, nuts and cams. Surprisingly they were virtually unknown in British climbing before the end of the Second World War when army surplus ones became available in quantity.

Solid (or Plain) Gate Karabiners come either with a Straight or a Bent Gate - the latter is designed for the bottom krab on a quickdraw where it makes in extremis rope clipping easier and distinguishes one end of the quickdraw from another - this is important as falling on bolts can cause tiny nicks in the top end krab and if the quickdraw is turned around then rope damage can result.

More recently, Wiregates, though initially received with scepticism, have led to krabs that are lighter than any of their predecessors. They also do not freeze up in winter, and, because the gate has so little mass, are less prone to dangerous "gate open situations" than their solid-gated counterparts. As a karabiner is at its weakest when its gate is open, this is another important consideration. When wire gates first appeared, we worked out that the weight saving on the average reasonably comprehensive rack was equivalent to a jar of marmalade - that's worth considering as well!

Standard Wiregates: Standard sized wiregates, ideal for virtually all climbing and particularly for technical mixed winter climbing where a lot of gear has to be placed and clipped whilst wearing gloves.

DMM - Alpha Trad Karabiner

From £9.50

A wiregate krab designed to excel in both Summer and Winter, from cragging to expeditions and everything in between. The beautifully hot forged ergonomic back combines with the clean nose wire gate to provide an easy clipping, fumble-free, anti-snag karabiner. Available singly or in a multicoloured 5 pack.

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DMM - Spectre2 Karabiner

Special Offer £4.99 !!

Even lighter than DMM's incredible Prowire is their Spectre2 wiregate, which is the very much the same karabiner but 4g lighter at 32g due to the use of I beam technology. Seven colours available. 32g.

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Wild Country - Helium Clean-Wire Karabiner

From £8.99

The ultimate (?!) in absolute lightweight large wiregate karabiners and very aptly named. 33g. Available singly or in packs of five. NB. Wild Country have recalled certain batches of Helium Karabiners and Quickdraws - please read the Recall Notice and Recall FAQs. Please note that all our current stock is not affected by this recall.

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Petzl - Ange Karabiner - Large

£10.99

Innovative ultra-light karabiner with "MonoFil Keylock system" (or a single strand wire gate to you and me). Ideal for mountaineering, alpine/winter climbing and sport climbing where weight reduction is important but karabiners need to be large enough to handle easily. 34g.

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Black Diamond - Hot Wire Karabiner

£7.99

The krab that started the wiregate revolution and still (in the opinions of many) one of the best. 37g.

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Black Diamond - HoodWire

£8.99

Thanks to its innovative stainless steel wire hood, the hot-forged Black Diamond HoodWire karabiner fuses keylock functionality (ie it won't get tangled with your wires) with wiregate performance. 37g.

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Wild Country - Wild Wire Karabiner

From £5.99

A superb wiregate krab, ideally suited to winter, alpine and expedition climbing. 42g. Available singly or in packs of five.

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Micro Wiregates: Extra small krabs designed for situations where weight saving is more important than handling - eg high altitude mountaineering.

Edelrid - Nineteen G

From £8.95

The first full strength karabiner to break the sub 20g barrier, tiny but perfectly formed also and perfectly suited to shaving grams off that high altitude rack. Available singly in two colours or as a rainbow pack of six (slate, icemint, gold, red, green, purple). 19.5g.

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C.A.M.P. - Nano 23 Karabiner

£7.99

One of the lightest climbing krabs on the market. Ideal for high altitude climbing, though not perhaps if you are wearing mitts. Only 23g!!

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DMM - Phantom Karabiner

From £7.99

One of the lightest climbing karabiners in the world, but also large enough to be functional and super safe with 23kn gate closed and 9kn gate open strengths. Only 26g! Also available in a pack of five multicoloured. Special offer! 5 Colour Pack RRP £40, now only £34.95!!

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Mammut - Moses Krab

Half Price!!

Special Offer £4.50!!

The Moses weighs just 27 grams - one of the lightest karabiners on the market. Perfect for making up lightweight quickdraws, racking cams, hexes and generally stopping your harness dragging down to your knees when fully racked up! Half Price!!

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Petzl - Ange Karabiner - Small

£9.99

Innovative ultra-light compact karabiner with "MonoFil Keylock system" (or a single strand wire gate to you and me). Ideal for mountaineering and multi-pitch climbing where weight reduction is paramount. 28g.

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Solid Gates: Standard sized krabs with solid, rather than wire gates. These used to be the norm up until the late '90s and, despite being heavier than their wiregate equivalents, are still preferred by some climbers. However they are more prone to freezing up in winter and the gates tend to vibrate open and shut during a fall. They are particularly useful for wire racking as wires don't seem to unclip themselves from them quite so easily as they do with wiregates.

DMM - Alpha Sport Karabiner

£9.50

Probably the ultimate solid gate, sport climbing karabiner. Available in a Straight Gate (Pro) and Bent Gate (Clip).

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DMM - Shadow Solid Gate Karabiner

£7.99

Mega-light large solid gate karabiner. Excellent for racking wires. 43g.

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