As with most climbing equipment, much of the decision-making around carabiners comes down to personal preference, but people tend to have strong opinions they treat as gospel. Here, we will outline the basics of both locking and non-locking carabiners to help you wade through the options and opinions out there.

LOCKING VS. NON-LOCKING

Locking carabiners provide more security because their gates lock shut, while non-locking carabiners are significantly lighter but don’t lock. A locking carabiner adds an extra layer of redundancy to your system since, once it is locked, the carabiner can’t accidentally open. This means locking carabiners are crucial when attaching yourself to the wall, to your belayer, or to essential gear. Lockers are used for belay and rappel devices, anchor building, hauling, and clipping important items, like approach shoes, off to your harness when multi-pitch climbing. Non-lockers are used in nearly every other climbing situation: racking cams, quickdraws, slings, and clipping less-important items off to your harness.

TYPES OF LOCKING MECHANISMS

So, you’ve decided you need a locking carabiner. Now, you have to decide which locking mechanism is right for your use. Much of this decision comes down to personal preference—we’ll outline your options below.

Screwgate

These types of carabiners lock by manually twisting the gate closed. They’re simple and light, but because they lock manually, you run the risk of forgetting to lock them shut.

Twistlock

A Twistlock closing mechanism requires one twist to open. The carabiner’s neutral position is locked, meaning you can’t froget to lock it. A Twistlock is heavier than the traditional Screwgate.

Triple Lock

Slightly more secure than a Twistlock, a Triple Lock carabiner requires you to pull the sleeve down and then twist to open. Triple Lock carabiners are a good option for scenerios where the rope is moving through it often, and you are unable to check the carabiner often, like setting up a top dog where you have many people climbing it and the anchor rubs against the rock.

Gridlock

These lockers are designed for belay devices and have an isolation feature that captures the belay loop of your harness to prevent crossloading.

SHAPES EXPLAINED

Pear Shaped

Pear-shaped carabiners, whether locking or non-locking, have a large gate opening that is eay to clip. Lockers in this style are designed for anchors, belaying, and rappelling. The Pearlock and Rocklock are all good options for this style of carabiner.

Oval

Ovals are underrated, in some circles. These are great utility carabiners and ideal for pulleys or rope-soloing devices. The Black Diamond Oval Screwgate is a great snag-free carabiner.

Asymmetric D-Shaped

With a large gate opening and plenty of surface area, these are great carabiners for belay and rappel devices, or as a locker for your PAS. We recommend the Vaporlock Twistlock as it's a strong, light option in this category.

WHAT ARE YOU USING IT FOR?

Belaying

A carabiner with a larger opening and a pear shape is best for belaying and rappelling. It’s up to you to decide how light you want to go with your lockers; the smaller the carabiner, the lighter it is, but you sacrifice a little ease of use when the gates get smaller.

Anchors

A simple locking carabiner is sufficient for anchor building, since a locker is not necessarily a requirement. A screwgate is light, streamlined, and plenty secure for cloving into an anchor or making a master point.

Racking Gear

For racking cams or making up alpine draws, we recommend a lightweight, wiregate, non-locking carabiner, such as the MiniWire or Litewire (these coming in perfect rack packs, too).

Quickdraws

We go into more detail in this article, but the type of carabiner used for quickdraws depends on the use case. For lightweight alpine draws, we recommend the Miniwire or the Litewire Quickdraw. For sport climbing, you can go a little heavier, and probably want something confidence-inspiring, so a straightgate carabiner makes sense. We recommend the Hotforge or the Hotforge Hybrid.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

If you want to learn more about choosing a carabiner, we go more in-depth in our QC labs, from the dangers of rope-worn carabiners to the weaknesses of hook-nosed carabiners.