GearFlogger

DMM Revolver Screwgate carabiner pulley

Introducing the ayatollah of lock-and-rollah! DMM has had their kick-butt Revolver wiregate pulley carabiner out for a few years now and it has proven itself in the field. See that review for how to put together an ultralight crevasse rescue hauling system. Now our fine Welsh friends have done it again, this time with lockability.

Available in three different locking formats, climbers will want the screwgate. The action on the screwgate is buttah smooth, and unlike the wiregate it's a keylock nose for snag-free unclipping. The screwgate adds minimally to weight for a total of 2.2oz. The gate opening is a little tight but workable at 16mm.

The Revolver is fully certified as both a carabiner and as a pulley. The pulley makes wandering ropelines pull smoothly for less leader effort, and the ease of lowering saves wear on your 'spensive thread for top-roping. If you're still wandering the icefields with old-school pulleys, do yourself a big favor and chamber some Revolvers.

$34.95 at Mountaingear

DMM Revolver carabiner pulley

Revolver is not just a potty-mouthed rock and roll magazine, a mediocre movie by Guy Ritchie, or a legitimate means of settling arguments in Texas (actual successful murder defense: "he needed killin',") it's also a tricksy carabiner design from DMM.

The 1.6oz Revolver carabiner has a burly little pulley built into the frame. It's definitely smooth, if slightly less efficient than a normal (larger) pulley. Used on the rope end of a quickdraw it reduces rope drag, but I got two to carry as part of my crevasse rescue rig. If my partner goes in the slot I (1) get his credit card number, (2) place an anchor and clip in a Mini-Traxion to a VaporLock (after sliding one of my Texas system prussiks above and one below the master point) and let it take the weight, (3) clip in one Revolver to each prussik and (4) clip the end of the rope into the master. Presto, a ZxC haul system.

All this requires two prussiks, two Revolvers, a Mini-Traxion, two Yates cable pickets and two Black Diamond Express ice screws (for snow and ice conditions respectively), a VaporLock (master point) and a CAMP Nano 23 (end of the rope) for a total of 3.5 pounds of gear. A locking version of the Revolver should be available "real soon now."

$25.95 at REI

CAMP Nano 23 carabiner

It's getting difficult to keep up. A month ago I bought a CAMP Nano Wire carabiner. Before I can even get off my lazy keister to review it what do I see while strolling through the aisles of REI - hey, I was there to buy a snowsuit for my 2-year old - but this little beauty.

The CAMP Nano 23 sets a new high mark for logical product naming: it weighs 23 grams, or .8oz for the rest of us. This is versus 28 grams or almost a full ounce (fattie!) for the Black Diamond Oz. Other specs are equivalent to the Oz, with a slightly slimmer gate opening of 21mm versus 22m for the Oz.

Again, I feel compelled to do the math: my partner carries BD Positrons at 49g each. So twenty Nanos would save you 520g or over a pound. Hmm, maybe if I return that snowsuit I can replace my whole rack...

$7.95 at REI

Black Diamond VaporLock carabiner

VaporLock sounds like something you get at 2am after trying to cure a night of heavy drinking with a triple bacon guacamole pepperjack greaseburger from Yak-in-the-Box. Nope, it's just more shiny-shiny from Black Diamond, in this case a smallish screwlock pearabiner.

BD claims their urine-colored VaporLock is "the lightest, full-function pear locker on the planet" at 51 grams. Evidently they haven't seen DMM's Sentinel at 48 grams, but whatever. BD also claims the VaporLock increases friction "up to 30%" when used with an ATC. Maybe their marketing folks are commissioned by the feature, I don't know.

What I do know is that it is a keylock design, and while they recommend sticking to 9.4mm ropes or smaller for Munter hitching I tried it on a 10mm and it seemed to work just fine. There are a lot of applications where you don't need a monster crew-served 'biner, especially if you're not doing rescue work, and despite the hype the Vaporlock is nicely sized for general climbing use.

$13.95 at REI

Black Diamond Oz quickdraw

I've been to three goat-ropes, two cockfights and a state fair and I've never seen anything like Black Diamond's new quickdraw. Based on their Oz carabiner, it weighs in at only 2.2oz. for the whole enchilada, two wiregates and a 12cm. Dynex dogbone.

If you're going to be taking fall after factor two fall on a run-out sport route you might want something beefier, with a bent gate for those desperate clips, but alpinists will be throwing these things around like primates with poo.

Oh, wait: there's some valuable advice in the instruction manual, which BD seems to believe should be written in the smallest font possible while covering at least twenty products and twelve languages. The sage words are these: "Carabiners are not indestructible." What? Get out! And: "Do not use at temperatures above 176 degrees F." Well dammit, there goes my climbing trip to... oh, I don't know... the nearest active volcano?

They are light. And shiny. Stop; you had me at 2.2oz.

$18.95 at Mountain Gear

Black Diamond Neutrino carabiner

A neutrino is a very small subatomic particle, about the size of, say, the brain of Michael Moore, Rush Limbaugh or any other corpulent propagandist.

It's also Black Diamond's lightest carabiner at 36 grams, unless you count their keychain models, and if you climb with those you are well on your way to earning a spotlight feature in Accidents in North American Mountaineering.

The asymmetric D design opens wide to take the worm, and the wire gate shaves weight and resists icing in alpine conditions. Also available as a quickdraw and at a slight discount as a "rackpack" of six 'biners, pictured at left (logo hiding the blue one) in anodized colors that match the new Camalots.

$7.20 at Backcountry.com

Black Diamond Keylock Mini Pearabiner

I'm always on the lookout for small, shiny things to add to my rack, and the Black Diamond Keylock Mini Pearabiner fits the bill perfectly at only 2.4oz.

I've been using this 'biner for more than a year, and it's just the right size to use on your harness. I clip into the rope with it, use it for my belay/rappel device and keep a couple handy on my harness or pack straps for clipping anchors. I really don't understand it when I see people toting these crew-served ginormous D's around when something smaller like this will do.

If you haven't switched to the keylock design for non-wiregates yet do yourself a favor and make the move. Smooth nose = no snagging = happy day.

$11.95 at REI

Black Diamond OvalWire carabiner

Ah, behold the humble oval carabiner. But what is this? A gate of wire? Yes indeedy, and this is the ticket for alpine use. Wire gates don't stick like normal gates in icy conditions. Manufacturers tout other advantages such as more working room, enhanced strength under certain conditions and lighter weight.

Here's the thing: this 'biner is not a true oval but rather a mild D configuration to shift the load onto the stronger spine part. Also the cross-section is a T, not round or ovoid. All this is fine except that there are a few specialized applications where you need the load-centering ability of a true oval as well as a round cross-section, for example for use with an ultralight pulley.

But for racking gear, etc. it's light, economical and Denali Approved. If you have the money and are a gram-nazi take a look at the OvalWire's more expensive cousin the Neutrino. Rack up a dozen of these and you'll save a quarter-pound over the OvalWire, at the cost of another $24.

$5.95 at REI