Alloy vs steel carabiners karabiners for tree work

Eric Frei

I think a few guys might have surface rust issues from the weather they work in.

Mine are OK but shiny would be nice too.

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JohN Dee

We paid $48 for our one at SRTAustralia/Onrope at Padstow.

I use the steel triple locks for climbing. I know i've rigged with karabiners before, but isn't it true that karabiners arnt rated for shockloading?

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Tree Machine

Ratings are measures in force. 10 Kn (2,250 lb) hanging static on a line is the same force as a dropped load of X which accelerates and whose deceleration results in a 10 Kn force. How the force is applied may be different, but if the resultant force is the same, 10 Kn is 10 Kn. Ratings are designated to tell you a caribiner or scaffold hook or Maillon Rapide will stand forces up to that rating. So technically, yes, they are force rated and thus rated for static or impact force.

I use Kong Stainless slideline biners for light rigging. I don't know why I want other stainless biners.... the responsible explanation is that I'm addicted to climbing hardware. No real good reason, other than that.

We're no smarter. Just different ways to deal with that situation. Keeping the caribiner oriented in one direction, so it can't rotate, very, very important.

Quite easy to deal with, using spliced eyes or eyed terminations. If you tie bulky knots and drop a biner onto that, you're limited. For permanent ends, if you do your own, create a small eye, that's one way. Or you can Awl a single stitch through the eye to constrict and tighten the eye around the biner. Or take a broccoli band (fat, short rubber band), give it a loop-over over the terminated eye, stretch, twist, loop-over again. This will squeeze the eye. Insert biner. Surgical tubing, like that used on the big shot, cut a 1-2 cm long piece. Spread and open it up. Insert the eye through it, release the tubing around the eye.

There ya go Franz Nel. There are also stainless steel 'traps', plastic traps, and leather traps from most Arborist supply, all designed to hold a caribiner in the proper orientation and keep it from flipping. Lateral loading bad, as we all know. Try one of the ideas above, I think you'll have great results.

Drouin Tree Service

Thanks for the link ekka ill be buying a few of those..

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Drouin Tree Services | Excavator Hire - Drouin and SE Gippsland | Landclearing Melbourne

newguy18

I thought he was talking about the biner for his split tail.What i do is use both my climb line and split tail on the same biner but i've known some to connect the two biners with a quick link.Personally i found when the split tail biner side loads it is when you pull on your main line so when you advance your hitch the biner returns to normal so I don't know if I'd worry about it too much.

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Therrin

I've never had lateral loading problems.... though alot of the rigging biners I use are D's... as in the shape. It helps to align the direction of pull along the spine's axis.

Since I don't have that problem, I'm not entirely savvy as to what you blokes mean, if I'm complicating the issue...

Some biners are made with lateral stanchions and such which don't allow associated biners or lines to move away from vertical axis loading.

Eric Frei

That's what I do, 1 biner, simple. The lifeline is double fishtail tied then the split tail just slots in, however new ANSI standards say they should be tight on the biner and then the split tail should be either tight spliced or girth hitched ... here in lies the problem with one biner for girth hitching the 13mm dia split tail.

It aint gonna happen, not enough room. So spliced split tail are the go.

But for me spliced split tails not so good as the taper in the splice tends to stop me getting close up cinched. In palms I may have to cinch up around fronds directly in front of me, the taper of the splice means it wont bite, the prussik just slides.

Arghhh, I'll live with the cross loading fear and check on it ... hence why I feel screw gates are safer.

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Therrin

Screwgates are safer? Ekka, surely you dont mean that!

Can I ditch my sticky-gate auto's now?

Oh, no, I cant, OSHA regs and insurance...pffft...

Eric Frei

Today I was cleaning palms, doing change overs to get around the fronds and crap.

I looked and checked my biner and guess what, the gate had hairy shit in it, it looked closed but wasn't.

I dont like triple lock, never have and I know when a screw gate is done up and when it aint.

The problem is people get lazy and dont screw them up, but people run red lights too and that doesn't mean we change the colour of them all either.

I prefer and trust screw gates, the rest are like some bad assed haunting in the back of my mind whilst I'm working. The industry progresses at the pace of the dumbest untrained bastid in it at times I feel, hence the rules for all sorts of BS that frankly shouldn't be there.

Attached Files

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Drouin Tree Service

Screw gates are the only biner ill buy,i dont care what anyone else chooses to lose there life over..

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Drouin Tree Services | Excavator Hire - Drouin and SE Gippsland | Landclearing Melbourne

OutofMytree

Where was the inserted quote with multiple points drawn from Eric?

As to krabs in general, ALL climbing tools are only as good as the last time they were checked. My climbing teacher had a good friend with (at the time) over a decade of hard core arbor climbing experience. One day he failed to check his maillon(?) was screwed closed and fell 8 metres. He has never walked again. Screwgates are not safe. Maillons are not safe. 3 ways are not safe. Prussics are not safe. Unless you check them before and during every climb.

Tom Forrest

Time to pull back to the original thread. All points are valid, but drifting away from the original poll.

I was taught to use either steel or alloy for rope/rope or rope/harness, but if connecting to something like a shackle, should always use steel...perhaps because the casting of the shackle may not be nice and smooth like a 'biner.

pgwisn

I also use aluminum for climbing and steel for rigging. OK Triacts with the HitchClimber and ISC or DMM with the Anchor Bridge.

Rob Murf

Me too