A carabiner clip is a tool with a curved metal body and a spring-loaded gate. Carabiner clips, or devices that look like them, are very popular - but how strong are they? Heavy-duty carabiner clips are designed to keep you safe and can potentially serve as a life-saving device. However, not all carabiner clips are created equal, so it’s important to choose the right one for your needs.
In this episode, DirtFarmerJay shows you how to know if you have the real thing, how to decipher load ratings, and how these great devices can be used when it comes to securing loads.
Visit almost any home-improvement store or major retailer, and you’ll likely find a display of carabiners in the hardware or sporting goods section. These devices are extremely handy for many light-duty attachment purposes, ranging from keychain carabiners, accessories on a backpack, water bottle carabiner clips, as well as organizing cordage and rope in the garage.
But, BEWARE! What you see in most general retail settings, looks like what is used by search and rescue teams and for climbing and repelling gear - but they are not.
Heavy duty carabiner clips that are designed to carry heavy vertical loads, including “life-loads” (where someone’s LITERAL life depends on the device) are really different altogether. These heavy duty devices are also great for securing loads. With the gates secured shut, if anything were to fail, it’s gonna be elsewhere!
A real carabiner clip will always have a load rating on them expressed as kN (kilo-newtons). You’ll find this rating engraved along the spine. So what is a kiloNewton? It’s about 225 lbs (102 kilograms) - but that is only part of the story. This is not a static/stationary weight - it’s really a measurement of the force of gravity.
A good illustration of this is that it’s possible to tie a hefty piece of string to a heavy weight, and to lift it slowly without the string breaking. But when the weight is dropped and it reaches the end of the length of string, the string will snap. Why? Isn’t it all the same weight? Yes, but force must be taken into account. The mass of the weight accelerates downward, creating additional force on the string - overwhelming it. That is why kN ratings are used to address the force of gravity being applied to a falling object/person.
All the elements that are used by a rescue technician, entertainment rigger (think of the trapeze and such), and high-rise window washers are designed to absorb/redistribute the force that is generated by a fall, and the kN rating shows how much the carabiner is designed to carry.
Lastly, kN ratings on a carabiner spine are shown with 3 values. The ones we use have a combination of icons (to show direction of attachment to the carabiner) and how much force can be applied in that direction. Ours have 25, 8, and 7. This means that loading along the direction of the spine, with the gate secured properly, is rated at 25 kN. If loaded side to side, the rating is 8 kN. Lastly, if the gate is not secured, the rating is 7 kN. To get an approximate force rating expressed in kilos, multiply the kN number by 102. To get the answer in pounds, take the kN number and multiply it by 225.
Why is a carabiner so much stronger along the longest axis? Because the load is being handled by the spine of the entire unit! The weakest part is the hinge pin at the base of the gate, which is reflected in the sideways attachment number, which is about 1/3rd of the rating for attachment that the unit is designed for.
While light-duty carabiner-like devices will be constructed out of light gauge metal (typically aluminum), they will also have a spring-loaded closure arm (“gate”), secured with a small metal pin. As mentioned earlier, the weakest part is the hinge-pin. These cheaper models also don’t typically have a secure way to secure the gate. The last giveaway that you are not looking at a “real” carabiner are the disclosures that are imprinted on the spine, typically statements such as “NOT FOR CLIMBING,” or “SAFE WORKING LOAD 150 LBS.”
If you really want to “know your stuff” related to carabiners (how they work, are rated, how to rig them, and the various types) the best resource we’ve found for authoritative information on carabiners is https://accessrescuecanada.org/choosing-a-carabiner#
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Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay here from DirtFarmerJay.com.
Recently, we did an episode on our truck bed divider,
as well as ratchet strap organization.
And some of you noticed that we're using carabiners,
and you're curious about how they're rated,
and what these numbers mean, and all that.
And are these any good?
Well, stay tuned,
and I'll demystify these great little devices.
Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay here from DirtFarmerJay.com.
Thanks for joining me in this episode
where we're gonna demystify these carabiners.
Now, before we get into just showing you
how to make use of these,
and what makes a legit carabiner versus a convenience,
or, you know, an organizational tool,
I'd like to ask you a favor.
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All right, let's get to it.
Well, what you're looking at here is an actual carabiner.
And I use these to actually help tie down loads
to affix ratchet strap hooks to,
and actually as an organizational tool
in the back of the bed of the truck here.
And some of you wrote in and said,
what's the difference,
or can you tell the difference between these kinds of things?
You know, is this a real carabiner?
What's it do?
Et cetera, et cetera.
Well, let's cut to the chase very quickly.
This is not a real carabiner.
It's kind of carabiner-esque, kind of like a carabiner.
It looks like one, and you could call it that,
but it does not serve the full function
of what one of these real, the genuine deal does.
Now, let's notice a couple things on these,
the construction of these.
First, they're very lightweight.
And if you look here, it says right away,
safe working load, 150 pounds.
That's not very much.
And notice they call it a working load.
It's not a life load,
like where a person's life depends on it.
And then if you look on the backside,
it also says not for climbing.
So what are these good for?
They're more like for convenience,
to organize a set of wrenches,
or perhaps you'll put on some small items,
like key rings, or to use,
to put your lip balm or something
on the back of your backpack.
But as far as actual hardworking tools,
these are not to be used for that.
Now, there's another thing I want to point out.
These are very lightweight.
And while they have what's called a gate on a carabiner,
just like the genuine article does,
if you look close,
there are pins that are the hinge points.
And those are the weakest part of the entire device.
So if you put a heavy load or a snap load,
where all of a sudden something is jolting on that,
where these are going to fail first
is right at those little axle pins.
Right there, you've got a notch
that allows that pin to connect on that side,
but it's pivoting on that side.
That's the weakest point on these carabiner-like devices.
So do not ever count on these for any heavy loads,
for tying down strong loads with them,
or certainly where someone's life depends on it.
Don't even think about it.
So that brings us to the real article.
So here you have a genuine carabiner.
Now, a couple of things that you would notice
right away would tell you I'm working with the real thing
is it has on it a KN rating,
and that stands for kilonewton.
If you have a carabiner and it does not have a KN rating,
you're not using a real deal.
So what is a kilonewton?
Well, I'm going to define it with something
that probably even sounds more confusing,
and that is it's a force of gravity rating.
Huh?
Well, would you agree that if I hang something on here
and it's static, it's just hanging there?
That's a different thing
than if you get a shock load that does that.
So a kilonewton measures when mass is accelerated,
like a falling body,
someone who is actually climbing up the face of rock,
and they have a slip and they fall,
and all of a sudden these devices catch.
Well, everything in climbing and harnesses and all that
is designed to distribute shock loads,
whether it is the lines, the carabiners, the harnesses,
the webbing, strapping, all of that.
So everything that is done for a true carabiner
has to be rated in kilonewtons.
And so that's what's going on.
If you notice this one, this is rated at 25.
Now, here's a rough equivalency.
Each kilonewton equals about 225 pounds of static weight.
I mean, weight at rest, okay?
So if you take 25 and you multiply it towards 225,
you're gonna have north of 5,600 pounds
that this device can hold.
And that means that if you had a 2,000 pound weight
and there was some kind of bounce in it,
this would probably hold together.
So you want a large rating
against whatever load you're putting on it.
A couple other things that would happen then.
If you notice, as you look close at that rating,
notice some of the arrows on it.
And it has an arrow going up and down
and says it's rated at eight kilonewtons.
That means if the load was going sideways like that,
this would be rated at eight.
And if the gate, which is this device,
if I unscrew that and the gate was open or not attached,
and the load was going this way or some other way,
it's rated to hold seven kilonewtons,
which is about 1,500 pounds or so.
And we'll give you some of those ratings in kilos as well
in the description below for our international friends.
So that tells you a little bit about how that works.
Now, another thing that's really important to notice
is the shape of a carabiner.
This is called a D shape.
There are pear-shaped or oblongs
for different reasons or different purposes.
So notice right here, first of all,
that these are designed to close the gate on.
This pivots, but then this rolls up.
And my friend behind the camera, Rob,
who had some experience with this would say
when they were teaching kids how to rappel,
there was what was called a squeeze test.
So before you released one and transferred load to another,
you would have to move the carabiner from position one,
move it over to the other one, close it, rotate it,
and do a squeeze test to make sure everything was secure
before you undid the first one.
So that's what all this is meant to be.
This really strengthens it when the gate is closed.
Notice the shape is also designed to get the load
to be as close as possible to the spine.
The spine is the strongest structure,
and that's why you can see this huge rating
of 25 versus eight and seven when it's sideways on this way,
putting force on the pin again versus the spine,
or the gate is open.
So these are some great things to be aware of.
Now I want to show you something over here.
What we have here is I've just put a bungee cord load
against this carabiner.
And notice that because of the way the shape is,
the carabiner is always going to rotate
to make sure the load or the tension
is as close as possible to the spine.
Even if I were to rotate this and push that up,
it's going to snap back down.
And if I try to rotate it this way,
it's still going to always try to return
back to that place right there
where the spine is carrying the load.
Now for larger pear shape or oblong ones
where they're trying to do multiple straps away
to lift cargo loads or a carrier
for someone they're rescuing off the mountain,
these things are going to really be beefed up
to distribute the load correctly.
So they've already designed that in.
So that's why you want to make sure
you've got the right carabiner.
If you're using anything like this to strap down loads,
make sure it's super heavy duty like this for convenience
and that the gate is closed and screwed shut.
If you found this video to be helpful,
please like it and make sure that you do subscribe.
If you've got some insights you'd like to offer,
be sure to do so.
And one other resource I want to tell you about,
I have provided for you in the description below
a link to a great place about carabiners.
It's actually a Canadian resource
related to search and rescue
and all about carabiners, how it's calculated,
the shape of them and so forth.
And we'll give you a lot more detail than I gave you.
Well, thank you for joining us.
Make sure you check out our new website at DirtFarmerJ.com
and you can connect with us there as well.
Until the next time,
this is Dirt Farmer Jay from DirtFarmerJ.com.
