UKC

Metolius Element HMS Karabiner

© Metolius
Element HMS Karabiner  © Metolius
Element HMS Karabiner
© Metolius


What has happened to screwgate karabiners where the design has been concentrated on the functionality; that have a bar-stock size that works with your rope rather than kinking it and that come in at a cost that doesn't make your eyes water?

The answer is that they still exist, in the form of Metolius' Element karabiner!

  • Compact, pear-shaped design
  • Workhorse belay biner for an exceptional price
  • Perfect for our BRD, munter hitch and other belay devices
  • Weight: 2.5 oz. (73 g)
  • Strength: 24 kN/8kN crossloaded/8kN gate-open.
  • Individually tested to 11 kN (2473 lbf)
  • CE/UIAA certified
  • Price: £11

Stockists: www.prana-metolius.co.uk/stockists.html

x


For more information Beyond Hope



22 Sep, 2009
"Individually tested to 11 kN (2473 lbf)" Curious, is this every one or standard (irksome 3 sigma) 6 sigma QC testing? Just seems a strange specification to add, I wouldn't expect any item to 'need' individual testing with adequate quality control in place. Perhaps i'm opening a can of worms in which I don't want the answer.
22 Sep, 2009
I expect it is in addition to the 3 sigma destructive testing to verify the 24kN rated strength. 11kN may well be more force than most krabs every get subjected to. Be interesting to know whether it is for marketing reasons or what. But presumably we can only take confidence from it.
22 Sep, 2009
Am I the only person who finds screwgates hard to get excited about? Lightweight krabs / quickdraws, yes, cos you're carrying loads up a route therefore a small weight gain becomes significant and ease of clipping is a great benefit in extremis. But screwgates? I normally only carry one and sometimes none. They don't have to be easy to use because you normally only use them belaying ... just don't float my boat really.
22 Sep, 2009
I tend to carry a few (maybe 4-5) so getting lightish weight ones is fairly important. I did have a play with some of the tiny phantom screwgates, and decided they were to small to be that useful. Something like the sentinal seems to be a good compromise between lightweight and usable sizing.
22 Sep, 2009
I thought the sentinel would be a great lightweight belay screwgate, but after having used it with double ropes IMHO it's a bit too small and can be a bit clunky to use as a result. If the krab inverts on your belay loop (so the ropes run through the narrow end rather than the wide end) it can jam the rope up. Using it with an ATC XP. Of course you can keep your eye on it to prevent it from doing this, but it has a habit of doing it just when your leader is looking wobbly and you most want keep an eye on them while being able to pay out/take in slack quickly. I've got a fairly chunky larger HMS krab which I usually use and that's fine, as the narrow end is still wide enough for two double ropes to run through freely.
More Comments

Product News at UKC presents climbing, walking and mountaineering equipment posts that will be of interest to our readers. Please feel free to comment about the post and products on the associated thread.
Loading Notifications...
Facebook Twitter Copy Email