Karabiners

Karabiners or Carabiners (aka "krabs" or "crabs") have been around since at least Victorian times, and were used by continental alpinists prior to the First World War but only really caught on in the British climbing scene in the late 1940s when masses of ex War Department ones became available. In recent years the design of karabiners has gone through a rapid period of evolution with ever lighter and more radical models appearing.

Karabiners were originally Oval, but it was soon found that "D" shaped ones were stronger and that these could be given a greater gate opening by making them as an Offset "D". Original krabs were Straightgate, then Bentgates were developed to allow easier clipping when sport climbing. In the mid-90s, Wiregates, despite being derided initially as nappy pins, revolutionised karabiner design, enabling considerable weight savings to be made.

Screwgates are designed for use where it is especially important that the gate remains closed (eg belays) and the HMS version (Halbmastwurfsicherung) was originally designed for use with a Munter (or Italian) hitch for belaying and abseiling, but are now much used with belay devices - though specialist Belay Karabiners, which prevent dangerous cross-loading, are a better choice.

In recent years, new innovative designs have appeared such as Pulley Karabiners and Locking Karabiners that do not have a screwgate.

The strength of karabiners is rated in kiloNewtons (kN) and are usually given for gate closed (along the back), gate open (along the back) and cross-loaded (between the back and the gate). A fall can engender forces of up to ca 6kN so it is important that all aspects of a karabiner are stronger than this. In the early days of lightweight krab design (ca 1980!) gate open strengths were not very high and karabiners could break in a fall if the gates were knocked open or the krab was cross loaded. These days karabiners have very high gate open and cross loading strengths meaning that modern karabiners made by a reputable firm are most unlikely to break.

Metolius FS Mini 2 Karabiner - Jet Set 6 Pack
Metolius FS Mini 2 Karabiner - Jet Set 6 Pack
£29.25
£58.50
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Metolius Bravo 2 Wiregate Karabiner - Jet Set 6 Pack
Metolius Bravo 2 Wiregate Karabiner - Jet Set 6 Pack
£33.50
£67.00
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DMM Phantom Karabiner Gold
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DMM Phantom Wiregate Karabiner
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£9.99
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DMM Spectre2 Karabiner Red
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DMM Spectre 2 Karabiner
£6.80
£8.99
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Black Diamond Miniwire Karabiner Ultrapink
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Black Diamond Miniwire Karabiner
From £8.10
£9.00
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Black Diamond Litewire Karabiner Octane
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Black Diamond Litewire Karabiner
From £8.10
£9.00
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Black Diamond HotWire Karabiner Light Grey
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Black Diamond HotWire Karabiner
£9.00
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Wild Country Helium 3 Karabiner Green
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Wild Country Helium 3 Karabiner
From £10.35
£11.50
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4 In Stock
Petzl Ange Karabiner Large Blue
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£14.50
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Ocun Kestrel Karabiner Green
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Ocun Kestrel Wiregate Karabiner
£6.75
£7.50
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Edelrid Nineteen G Karabiner Icemint
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Edelrid Nineteen G Karabiner
From £9.00
£10.00
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DMM Shadow Solid Gate Karabiner
DMM Shadow Solid Gate Karabiner DMM Shadow Solid Gate Karabiner
DMM Shadow Solid Gate Karabiner
£8.99
£9.99
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8 In Stock
DMM Alpha Sport Karabiners
DMM Alpha Sport Karabiner
£11.69
£12.99
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9 In Stock
Black Diamond HotForge Karabiners
Black Diamond HotForge Karabiner
£10.00
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Edelrid Bulletproof Karabiners
Edelerid Bulletproof Karabiner
£12.60
£14.00
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Petzl Spirit
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Petzl Spirit Karabiner
From £10.80
£12.00
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Petzl Sm'D Wall Karabiner
Petzl Sm'D Wall Karabiner
£10.35
£11.50
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2 In Stock
DMM Phantom Screwgate Karabiner
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DMM Phantom Screwgate Karabiner
£13.49
£14.99
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Black Diamond HotForge Screwgate Grey
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£13.00
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Petzl Sm'D Screw-Lock Karabiner
Petzl Sm'D Screw-Lock Karabiner
£15.30
£17.00
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Petzl Sm'D Twistlock Karabiner
Petzl Sm'D Twistlock Karabiner
£18.00
£20.00
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2 In Stock

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