GearFlogger

RNR Lava Infinity Wiregate Carabiner

We think carabiners are sexy, and we know you do too, which is why we're always excited to see a new biner on the market. Rock-N-Rescue hooked us up with their fresh-off-the-forge Lava Infinity wiregate, and it's a case of beauty going all the way to the bone. Or the hot-forged aluminum, in this case.

Ten years ago the Lava, at a verified 34g/1.2oz, would have been classified as an ultralight biner used mostly for racking in quantity on serious climbers' skinny little Spectra/Dyneema dogbones. Today RNR casually throws the Lava out as an "all-mountain wiregate" so we can all enjoy ultralight hardware without breaking the bank.

The Lava is a pretty little thing and seriously strong: 23kN on the major axis and 8kN on the minor and with the gate open. The mouth is a good-sized .92 inch, easily swallowing our 10mm test line without a hiccup. RNR even throws in a useful innovation: the gate itself is pinched in the middle, making it less likely to open when dragged across a face. We tested this on our rock wall and it does seem to work, but what we liked about it was how the skinny waist helps us pinch the rope through the gate - with one hand, remember!

So to recap: great design, great price, great quality and with a useful innovation to boot. What's not to like? Nuthin. Grab a handful today.

$6.95 at RNR

Black Diamond Big Air Pilot Package Belay Device

I have a pen. I have pineapple. Uh! Pineapple pen. I have a Gridlock. I have ATC Pilot. Uh! Big Air Pilot Package. If you don't get the reference, we are sad. Click on link because 200 million people can't be wrong.

Black Diamond combines two excellent products into one belay device wunderdeal. Note the ATC Pilot is a specialized device intended for single pitch and toprope belays. It's not for rappelling or any of those fancy multipitch, multibelay, multirope scenarios; that's what the other ATC variations are for.

The ATC Pilot is good on ropes 8.7 to 10.5mm, and what it does on those ropes it does very, very well. It catches single rope falls reliably and softly, and enables the buttery smooth payout of rope when needed for slack or lowering. The device locks up automatically - this does NOT mean you can release your belay hand - making it much easier to hold a climber in position like you need to do frequently with beginners or even with advanced climbers working a project, placing bolts, etc.

Using the Pilot does take a bit of practice to get used to how it locks and pays out line, but nothing that a few gym sessions won't bring you up to speed on. The Gridlock we've reviewed before, and it's still a great belay device biner anywhere, anytime. The whole package, biner plus belay device, is a great deal if you're looking for a single pitch solution that weighs nothing, works flawlessly and adds a small but welcome margin of safety to your next climbing project.

$48.71 (on sale from $64.95) at Moosejaw

Black Diamond Camalot Ultralight Cams

We love us the shiny-shiny, and it's hard to beat the look, feel and sound of new climbing hardware. Black Diamond knows of our addiction and feeds the habit with their Ultralight Camalots, improving on the standard version in all areas except, alas, cost.

Regular Camalots are still available, and in a slightly greater range than the newer Ultralights. The two models overlap in seven sizes: .4, .5, .75, 1, 2, 3 and 4. If you need smaller you can step down to the X4 line, also available in some offset sizes. If you need smaller still you can go to the C3 three-lobe line, and of course there are color matched Neutrino wiregate carabiners if you're getting your full OCD on. But we digress.

The Ultralights are the same awesomeness you've always loved in the standard Camalots, but lighter, saving you anywhere from 0.78 ounces for the .4 to a full 2.26 ounces for the big gun 4, with the intermediate sizes being around an ounce savings each. The savings is achieved through more aggressive cutouts and by replacing the metal cable with Dyneema. This results in a very small strength reduction of 2kN for each size, to 8kN-12kN, down from 10kN-14kN for the standard model, which should never be an issue.

The feel is noticeably lighter for the larger sizes, and otherwise identical in terms of trigger and placement. Very solid, very satisfying, very safe. So here's the thing: unless you have extra money and/or a real need for weight savings on your rack, you can stick with the regular Camalots and save a lot of money and/or buy more cams. To put it in perspective, if your rack had one of each of the seven sizes it would cost about $500 for a rack of regular Camalots (total weight about 38 ounces) and $700 for a rack of the Ultralights (total weight about 30 ounces). You can save eight ounces or $200, or you can buy two or three more cams for the same amount of money. Again, both models are friggin' awesome, just do the math and make good choices!

$89.95 to $129.95 at REI

Black Diamond ATC Guide belay device

New and improved - OK, it's been the same new and improved for a few years now - the Black Diamond ATC Guide is better than ever, and still our go-to belay/rappel/sex dungeon bungee cord rigging device.

Every rack should have a tube-style belay device that can be rigged off the belay anchor in auto-blocking mode, and the 3.1oz ATC Guide is a perfect example of how to do it right. Improvements to the Guide are minor but appreciated. The cutouts on the sides reduce weight slightly, and the larger hole for releasing the autoblock will take a small carabiner. Still present are the two friction modes, the higher of which is much appreciated when Mr. Fatty Pants is on the other end of the cord.

The ATC Guide accepts ropes from 7.7 to 11mm and feeds them smoothly. Pair it up with a dedicated belay carabiner like BD's own Gridlock or Petzl's Freino, and you've got yourself a party.

$29.95 at REI

Petzl Grigri 2 belay device

Ooh, shiny! Petzl's Grigri is ubiquitous (look it up, rock apes, it's a real word) at gyms and crags everywhere and for good reason: it locks auto-reliably. Note that there was a recall on Grigri 2's with serial numbers where the first five digits are between 10326 and 11136. Go to http://petzl.force.com/GRIGRI2RecallWebForm but don't let it stop you from getting an awesome product.

At 5.9oz the Grigri 2 is two ounces lighter than the original. It's also about an inch shorter on the long axis and half an inch shorter on the short axis, although overall it feels much more compact than that. The big selling point is that version 2.0 handles ropes 8.9mm to 11mm, whereas the original was only 10mm to 11mm.

If you liked the original Grigri you'll love the new version. Aside from being lighter and smaller and handling thinner ropes, the Grigri 2 just works smoother, like buttah. For a truly seamless belay experience pair it with Petzl's Freino carabiner, harder to find but worth it with a little horn that allows full control for lowering a heavier partner. The good folks at Petzl deserve credit for taking a great product and making it signficantly better, and extra credit for clear instructions that include detailed drawings of usage in various scenarios.

$99.95 at REI

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.

$36.95 at Backcountry

Omega Pacific Link Cam

There's shiny like a button, and then there's shiny like the sweat on Megan Fox at a car wash. Omega Pacific Link Cams are the latter. They demand to be touched. You've been warned: don't put your nasty bagel-grabbers on one of these solid-single-stemmed beauties up unless you're willing to lay down the lucre.

Link Cams are articulated, with one major axle and two smaller ones on each three-piece lobe. And those luscious lobes are fat to minimize walking in placements, with teeth even for those of you who refuse to believe they don't make a difference. What this means to us knuckle-draggers is simple: significantly increased range and great holding power. The Link Cam #1 allows you to plug-and-pray from .83 to 2.1 inches. That's close to double the range of most other cams of equivalent size. You'll thank every god whose name you can remember from Mythology 101 when you're pumped and need a placement fast, no time for second-guessing size.

They have a smooth-like-buttah trigger, with a comfy grooved thumb-rest and a four-inch Spectra sling, making for easy placements. Link Cams are must-have gear, but this doesn't mean you'll want an entire rack of 'em for two reasons. First, they're heavier than most other models: 6.4 ounces for the #1. Second, they're 'spensive. What you will want is one of each size to save for the last, desperate placement that you can't see yet. Alpinists, this means you too: do you really want to be halfway up Denali's West Rib and find that the last of your three cams doesn't quite fit that splitter?

$99.95 to $111.95 at REI

DMM Bugette belay device

At just under an ounce you won't find a lighter belay device. The Bugette is perfect for glacier travel and other just-in-case applications. For heavy and/or frequent use you'll want something with a bit more metal to dissipate heat more efficiently and resist abrasion, but for emergency and occasional use the Bugette is the bomb.

This little fella has nice touches such as smooth edges and a covered keeper cable, and it's designed to work with ropes from 7.5mm to 9.5mm. In practice it's a smooth operator, working just fine for any normal belaying or rappelling scenario, and you'll barely know it's there until you need it.

$16.95 at Backcountry Gear

Petzl Mini Traxion pulley

Petzl specializes in making small, shiny objects that provoke lust in the viewer. The object of my affection here is a 5.8oz. multipurpose pulley/rope clamp/ascender that comes in Mini and Pro versions. The clamp is similar to Petzl's Tibloc but capable of larger ropes (8-13mm), which if true might make it a nice ascender for larger fixed lines that give the Tibloc problems.

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.

It's suitable for use on a tyrolean traverse, for those of you care about such things. For those of you who don't, did I mention it's shiny?

$84.95 at Moosejaw

Petzl Tibloc Ascender

This is the kind of thing I buy on impulse. It's small, shiny and relatively inexpensive. I don't really care what it does. Well, OK, in this case I bought it for a very specific use: to use instead of a prussik on the headwall fixed line on Denali's West Buttress.

It didn't work well for that purpose for the simple reason that the fixed lines are large diameter (>12mm) ropes that made the Tibloc difficult to move. Its documentation clearly states it should be used be used on ropes from 8 to 11mm, so this was operator error.

It does work well as a rope clamp for pulley setups. For a lightweight ascender rig on small to medium ropes it's hard to beat, saving up to half a pound each over larger handle-style ascenders.

$29.95 at REI