UKC

I am returning to climbing after 10 year absence, I'm going to start top roping to get back into the swing of things before I start anything to Big. my questions is should I use maillions  or carabineers to attach slings to the  anchor? any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

I can't see ANY advantage whatsoever to using maillions.

Al

Oaky thanks, I will stick to Carabineers.

By the way it's Karabiner or Carabiner  typically abbreviated to Krab or Crab.

It wouldn't be unsafe as long as they're done up properly, but it's just not the done thing. There's no advantage.

Ahh okay, Dyslexia strikes again. 

Okay perfect, I have never used them myself. Just wanted to make sure that the advice I had been given was correct.

Maillons are cheaper to buy but carabiners are usually pre-owned by most climbers (no extra cost as opposed to buying maillons) but carabiners are multi-purpose and the extra cost is mitigated whereas most people will have no other use for their rigging maillons. It’s also much faster to rig with a carabiner that the gate takes seconds to open and close whereas a maillons takes much longer using a spanner. You could use maillons and threading/re-thread knots but you will compromise on versatility and hence efficiency. Some centres use pre-tied bottom-rope rigs (for known locations) but it’s not ideal.

thanks

There is one small advantage actually. There have been recent cases of passers by removing karabiners from fixed ropes that were in use by cavers in the dales. 

It is now recommended practice in our club to use maillons for the top anchors that are accessible to anyone passing. A half-turn with the spanner stops them being removed easily, plus they don’t have the same appeal to light fingered types although probably make better key-rings. 

That's the difference between intended fixed installation anchors and temporary ones.

 A half-turn with the spanner

I'll add you can avoid lugging a spanner around and use the open gate of one maillon to tighten the other :-D

They're not much use to deter anchor tampering if your anchor is a sling around a boulder, or thread, or virtually any other combination of typical trad anchor though. If I were worried about the possibility of someone nicking my krab, I'd be equally if not more worried about the possibility of the same cretin nicking my [cams/nuts/slings].

Usually they twist the rope a lot as they are small, so I prefer normal screwgates

No, they twist the rope when set side by side in pairs and have a tendency to lie flat against the rock, not because they are small.

Al

In which case you need to lug one extra maillon around.