Thread: carabiners: screwgate or twistgate?

i am buying myself some basic climbing gear, and was wondering what people think about screwgate carabiners vs. twistgates.

climbers, is this just personal preference or are there advantages to one over the other?

People forget to screw the gate shut a lot, so if you get screw gates make it part of your life that every time you clip one into a runner, anchor, whatever... screw it shut. Some screw gates have a red stripe around where it shows in its unscrewed, which is a nice feature so you just look for red in the big group of beaners that might be attached to your anchor.

While the twist/speedlock/whatnot things work in ideal environments... There is still nothing more simple than the reg. screwgate.

I only have on Petzl speedlock gate deal, and only use it while climbing at the gym (for my GriGri). For outdoors and teaching, it's always screwgates.

Of, as stated the cons of those speedlock deals is that they are harder to use with only one hand and that they don't like grit & grime plus snow & ice that much. Screwgates, well they are easier to use and almost never fail, but as brice pointed out you need to screw 'em shut to...

Seconded all of hemas' advice too... I like screw gates better myself for simplicity sake.

I always used screwgates with gear but much prefer an autogate for belay.

Originally Posted by lemon boy

I always used screwgates with gear but much prefer an autogate for belay.

As long as you're not messing around with a lot of grit & grime or ice, it ain't a deal breaker.

But once you have the mechanism shut by grime and can't get the rope out (easily) from teh GriGri (never mind getting it back in there)... We'll you might change your mind.

But each to their own.

Being I cheapskate I use screwgates as they are marginally cheaper... and they are more "idiot" proof, provided you remember to screw 'em shut.

BTW. DMMs Belaymaster is a great HMS for belay devices, and not too steep price vise.

I just use the ones that you can get at walmart on a keychain. 2 for $1.00, can't beat it.

Originally Posted by hemas

As long as you're not messing around with a lot of grit & grime or ice, it ain't a deal breaker.

there's no grit grime or ice in colorado.

depends on the application. i've only ever used screwgates but i only climb rock and not ice.

You can't go wrong with a couple of each, because as others have pointed out there are pros and cons of each. But one prop of the twist lock and con of the screw gates is that screw gates can get locked up when they get weighted, then screwed shut, then unweighted. Doesn't happen very often but it does always seem to happen at the wrong time.

I also use a twistgate for my belay biner, and screws for everything else. The Trango Superfly screwgates are really light and pretty cheap. I use them for anchor building and other non-belay purposes.

Originally Posted by FrontRangeDrummer

I use them for anchor building and other non-belay purposes.

When is "anchor building" with a locking biner a "non-belay purpose?" Crevasse rescue? Porta-legde anchors? Rapping on an abandoned locking biner (i.e., you forgot your descending rings)?

I prefer screw gates. I have seen at least one twist-gate foul with dirt and another get hung up in a runner (although I acknowledge that the latter could occur with any biner). I believe the Mountaineers and some other instruction groups will not permit their students to use twist gates.

Originally Posted by Big Steve

When is "anchor building" with a locking biner a "non-belay purpose?"

I use screwgates for everything except the biner that connects the rope to my harness for belaying. That incudes constructing an anchor (pro+screwgate+sling), tying into anchors/bolts, clipping my ATC Guide to an anchor to belay in autoblock mode, clipping my decent shoes to my harness, etc.

this thread is teetering dangerously close to a long drawn out conversation as to the advantages and disadvantages of belaying directly off the anchor.

All of my lockers are screwgates. I climb rock and ice.

I'm a fan of the twist gates. Less that can go wrong. When it comes to outdoor use the less moving parts the better (I take an ATC over a grigri anyday). I work for a company that runs a portable rock wall which is catered towards kids. We use twist gates for speed and they are also pretty child proof. Also good when the kids crossload them (thank god the wall's not that high) as they are less likely to unclip due to rubbing from harness. Twist gates can also be a pain to unclip until you do it a few hundred times a day. We use screw gates for teaching outdoors.

Originally Posted by Skipig25

I just use the ones that you can get at walmart on a keychain. 2 for $1.00, can't beat it.

Me too. I also am always on the lookout for coffee mugs that come with a biner attached, because hey - free biner.

Originally Posted by lemon boy

there's no grit grime or ice in colorado.

Lucky...

Only screwlocks and wiregates for me... This is why:



Though, I do have a few non wiregates for my sport QDs (don't see that much use).

Screw-gates only.

The auto-locking option (Petzl calls them BALL-LOCK or TRIACT-LOCK) seems nice but...

1) As mentioned above, I've heard that ice and grit can fuck with the mechanism. I use my biners for ice, rock, and everything else. The biners I got 10 years ago when I started out and was just sport climbing are still on my rack.

2) The times when you really really really want to get the rope or sling into that biner will be the time that your fingers are too cold/wet/icy/broken/etc to manage the double-action of (a) twisting the mechanism just so and at the same time (b)opening the biner gate. That will suck. It will suck even more if you've got gloves on.

Screwgates can get frozen shut too, and they can bind crazy tight if you locked them while the biner was weighted (there are all sorts of clever tricks to get out of this situation - or you can carry a small leatherman).
This sucks, but generally it sucks less when you can't get a rope/sling out of a biner than when you can't get something into the biner in the first place.