What Can Carabiners Be Used For?

We have talked about carabiners many times in the past and that is for a very good reason; they are really useful! Carabiners have been around since 1921 to help keep things together with other things, as well as to keep climbers attached to the ropes on the side of the cliff or in the canopy. Carabiners have become something we can use for life support, for rigging and to make our climbing much easier. Let's take a look at some of the different uses of the different best locking carabiners available.

Aluminum carabiners

First, aluminum carabiners make up the bulk of what we use daily. Aluminum carabiners are very light and very strong, which makes them ideal for life support. These carabiners connect our eye to the eyes to our harness and connect our spliced ​​eyes to our Locking Climbers. They also attach our rope runners to our harness and our rope keys to our hitch pulleys. All these connections are what prevent us from hitting the ground and keeping our systems organized and orderly.

The most important things to pay attention to when using carabiners are sticky doors and cross-loading. The doors can become sticky over time, especially if you are doing many pine or spruce removals. That nasty sap can get inside the barrel of your carabiner and keep it open. As you can imagine, if the barrel of your carabiner remains open when you think it is closed, you can quickly enter a really bad place. Gear inspections are the best way to make sure your carabiners open and close properly. You can also clean your carabiners with warm soap and water and then lubricate them with duck oil to keep them opening and closing as smoothly as ever!

Steel carabiners

The second type of carabiner that we are going to discuss is steel carabiners. Steel carabiners are much heavier than aluminum carabiners, but the compensation is that they are also much stronger. Steel carabiners are normally used for rigging instead of something like a regular bowling alley. The best way to use a steel carabiner for assembly is to pull half a hook around the limb or trunk first and then hold the carabiner around the trunk and return to the rope. The half hitch will take most of the weight instead of loading the entire weight into the carabiner.

The use of a carabiner is quick and easy for the tree climber, but it really shines for the ground workers. I have personally noticed that untying knots takes much longer than tying them. The use of a half hitch and a steel carabiner can make it faster for earth fans to re-climb the rope. One thing to keep in mind about steel carabiners is that they are heavy and solid. If you are using them with a block and your ground workers have a habit of pulling the rope towards you, CAREFUL, that carabiner will fly along the rope at incredible speeds, and if it hits you, it will hurt you!

Accessories carabiners

Finally, let's take a look at some carabiners and tool holders. These carabiners are made of aluminum or plastic and make a climber's day much softer! The carabiners are inserted through the straps of your harness and give the climber a convenient place to store rigging lines, chainsaws or clippers. This makes everything accessible with one hand and everything is at your fingertips. A tool holder on each hip will give you tons of storage for anything you need in the tree!

Conclusion

All these excellent carabiners can save your life, save you time and save you headaches! We would love to know what your favorite type of carabiner is and why you like to use it!