The features that matter aren't strength related
Accessory carabiners are a divisive topic. If you have a dedicated racking carabiner for your jacket, knife, or water bottle, does it need to be "full strength"?
Many multipitch or trad climbers will argue yes. Anything on your harness should be full-strength PPE gear in case of an emergency. After more than a decade of multipitch climbing, I haven't found these emergency scenarios where I clear out every single carabiner on my rack. Every draw has two carabiners, and every cam has one. Those 30 to 40+ carabiners already on my trad rack seem to get me out of any scenario I have found myself in. What "Just in Case" scenario is the full-strength jacket-carrying carabiner actually for?
Of course, this full-strength vs no-strength debate comes down to pros and cons, as well as personal preference.
I won't push too hard in that debate. But I do feel strongly that the mid-strength accessory carabiners are a particularly awkward design. What good is a 4kN carabiner for in climbing purposes? I wouldn't even rappel off of one. I can imagine rope access scenarios (like carrying a heavy chainsaw) where the middle strength is useful. But in rock climbing we essentially have two load scenarios: storing gear that weighs only a few pounds, or holding falls. The 4kN accessory biners sacrifice bulk and weight for no benefit to either scenario.
I'd like to re-emphasize the dedicated racking carabiner aspect of accessory carbainer usage. Just like a cam has a permanently paired carabiner. I love to have all my multipitch accessory items paired with the smallest possible dedicated carabiners so I don't have to scrounge for free carabiners and rebuild my multipitch kit every time I go out.
And, I want these accessory carabiners to be as lightweight as possible while maintaining:
- A snag-free nose
- An easy-handling shape (a wide pear shape is best for usability)
- A narrow width on your harness to save room
- A secure wiregate
- Ideally, a no-flip captive zone (I find flipping carabiners to be frustrating, and are even worse as an oval shape with no obvious gate pivot direction)
There wasn't one on the market that met all these criteria. Our own accessory carabiner worked perfectly for TRS neck lanyards and phone tethers but has drawbacks when used on its own. So, this past year I designed an even better accessory carabiner!
If you are also as tuned-in to details and love your multipitch kit to be tidy, check out our new No-Flip Accessory Carabiner now up on the Avant webstore.
