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| Carabiner Care |
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| Caveats for this essential piece of gear |
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| courtesy of backcountry.com |
| by Black Diamond Equipment |
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If you’re just getting into climbing, memorize
these tips from Black Diamond Equipment about using carabiners. If you’re an
avid climber, here’s a refresher.
NEVER load a carabiner in three
directions. When you have several slings clipped into one biner be especially
careful that the pull is only in two directions
lengthwise.
NEVER load a carabiner over an edge. Loaded
in this manner, biners will fail at much less than their rated strength.
NEVER load any carabiner across its gate. Cross-loading
weakens a carabiner dramatically.
Be aware that in certain situations a
carabiner can open: if the gate gets pushed against a protrusion in the rock, if
the biner is struck against the rock, or if the gate sticks open. In the event
of a fall, carabiners can also undergo momentary "whiplash," an oscillation of
the gate due to sudden impact.
Open carabiners pose two significant
hazards to the climber: They are weak (much weaker than a biner with its gate
closed), and they can easily unclip.
LOCKING
CARABINERS
NEVER allow the rope to run against
the sleeve of a locking carabiner. The rope's movement could potentially unscrew
the lock and open the gate.
NEVER load a locking biner
across its gate, whether the gate is locked or not. Like all biners, lockers are
only strong along their major axis—lengthwise.
Reprinted
with permission of Black Diamond Equipment.
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