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Reviews by mjwestla (3)


Element Belay Key Lock Carabiner Average Rating = 3.00/5 Average Rating : 3.00/5

In: Gear: Essential Equipment: Carabiners: Locking Carabiners

why so many turns? 3 out of 5 stars

Review by: mjwestla, 2010-01-25


I like many things about this carabiner - it's got a nice round feel, has the keylock gate, is compact and lightweight. However, this thing literally requires twice the number of turns (8 full turns) to lock and unlock as any other carabiner I own which drives me crazy when I'm using it.


Revolver Carabiner (Manufacturer link) Average Rating = 4.25/5 Average Rating : 4.25/5

In: Gear: Essential Equipment: Carabiners: Non-Locking Carabiners: Wire Biners

actually useful 4 out of 5 stars

Review by: mjwestla, 2009-06-15


Like other folks have said, these things are great for making a sharp change in direction; they really diminish rope drag. They also are great for things like z-pulleys (try making a pulley with one and one without and you'll see the difference right away). I know folks who use a locker version (or two) as a master point for top roping as well.

My one gripe is that they do need to be either on a dog bone or held tight somehow to keep the proper orientation. I suspect that if this could be fixed by putting a gate on it, like the DMM belay master carabiners.


P.A.S Average Rating = 4.57/5 Average Rating : 4.57/5

In: Gear: Add-On Climbing Gear: Webbing

practical 4 out of 5 stars

Review by: mjwestla, 2008-12-12


I've had one of these for about 8 months or so. I'm very fond of it but like all equipment, be mindful of how you use it.

Pros:
- Dedicated piece of hardware (clear purpose, won't get used for something else, known history)
- Easy to select a good distance from the anchor point due to the variable length / multiple loops.
- It clips onto your harness pretty tidily
- Fast to adjust if you want to take in some slack by clipping a closer loop with another biner. You don't need to undo the original clip in point to do this either so that's nice and safe.
- ***Major plus that I haven't seen noted above: If you clip in to the power point with a mid-length loop it's possible to clip two loops at the anchor and then clip the tail back to your belay loop for a redundant pair of loops connecting you to the anchor. This will also work nicely for an extended rappel point so you have some redundancy there as well.

Cons:
- Dedicated piece of hardware. (not useful for anything else)
- Expensive compared to using a couple slings.
- Even with the tidy clip in length, other gear may get snagged on it occasionally.
- This thing is not stretchy. Don't fall onto bolts or other stuff as it won't cushion the blow and may impart a serious impact to the anchor point. I suspect it's a bit like being a human funkness device, similar to falling onto a daisy chain.
- Attachment point Doesn't rotate to spread wear and tear: With so many loops there are a lot of areas to inspect to make sure it's not wearing out somewhere. One thing that people may not consider here is that if you are using a single loop, if any of these loops fail you are toast if you aren't using a rope tie-in too (I do this). On the same note, having a dedicated end for girth-hitching to your harness means the same point of contact between this and your harness and the same point of wear and stress for the material. Bottom line: Inspect your gear.