![]() The initial carabiners were forged into ovals. Steel carabiners, despite their weight, still have modern applications in gyms and as fixed anchors, since they are more durable. Today's versions are mostly made with an alloy of aluminum, which is lightweight and pliable, and zinc, which adds strength. In the 1950s, French alpinist Pierre Allain created the first aluminum varieties. The minor axis and the gate open standards were determined after a series of field accidents where carabiners were failing at 6kN. Engineers did engineering things to determine that the belay side should withstand 8kN, so that's 20kN in total. Those numbers came about via a little trial and error and the German military, who discovered that parachuters jumping out of planes could withstand 12kN in a full-body harness. To meet modern standards, carabiners must be rated at least 20kN along the major axis and 7kN along the minor axis and the major axis when the gate is open. Is it best to go for a beefy sling or a thin one? A wire gate or a solid one? And what the heck is a Screamer!? Everything from the shape, nose type and angle, and gate style varies from one carabiner to the next. But take a look in any gear shop and you'll notice you have choices. Modern quickdraws are simple, game-changing devices. ![]() In 1972, he tied off nine inches of 5/8" webbing to two carabiners and called his creation "UrQuickdraws." According to John Bachar, the Stonemasters called that "carabiner climbing," and Colorado legend Jim Erickson decided it was cumbersome. And the quickdraw? That came when climbers stopped clipping one carabiner into another carabiner into a bolt. Since that first one, subsequent iterations over the last 100-plus years have produced our modern and beloved carabiner. ![]() Copying the gadget, he produced the first climbing carabiner, a simple steel loop with a spring-loaded gate. Rambo, crafty German that he was, took notes from a piece of equipment used by the Munich firefighters. "Rambo," climbers in the early 1900s could attach rope to rock by tying and untying slings around the rope and protection, which was pitons or a rock horn. Sure, those draws come in neon pink and they match your harness, but why are they that shape and size, and does it matter? This article originally appeared on Climbing
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