The carabiner has many uses, from pulling dogs to camping, hammocking, and making keychains, but back to his primary application of mountain climbing. The quality of carabiner used for mountain climbing must be very strict, so how should you ensure that your climbing buckle is safe and strong enough and reliable quality? You can’t conclude practical application, but it can be life-threatening if the quality is not up to scratch.
To make sure your new climbing carabiner is strong enough to use for climbing, you can check if the carabiner has a CE or UIAA certification mark on it. If they do, they are basically of good quality and safe for climbing.
Climbing carabiners rated for climbing have minimum strength requirements to ensure that the equipment will not break when used correctly. Mountaineering climbing buckles are divided into 3 parts.
Spindle
Spindle Strength
This is the most robust direction and how the carabiner is designed to be loaded.
Open Door
Open Door Strength
When climbing, a climbing carabiner that rests on a rock can open slightly when crossing an uneven surface. The buckle can also open slightly when falling because “the buckle starts to vibrate, dispersing the energy (also called “gate chatter”). Weaker gate closures (due to poor/failed springs or overstressed wires) can also cause the gate to open halfway.
Short Shaft
Short Shaft Strength
The carabiner is not intended to be loaded along the short axis (cross-loaded). Still, the carabiner may be accidentally rotated during use, especially during protection. Of all accidental misuse of the climbing buckle, cross-loading is the most common suspect, which is why it is rated.
Note: Usually, in this direction, the wire fence is stronger than the solid fence. During testing, the wire gate flexed and absorbed some force compared to the less flexible solid gate.
How to identify a certified climbing buckle
Every certified climbing buckle’s spine is a CE or UIAA icon. They either appear to be printed (laser etched) or forged into the body of the climbing carabiner.
Note: UIAA certification is optional for manufacturers. CE marking is a mandatory requirement for products sold in Europe. If a mountaineering buckle has only one rating, it will not be stronger/weaker. CE certification standards are usually based on UIAA recommendations.
How strong is a certified mountaineering carabiner?
CE or UIAA certified climbable carabiners are solid and will not break when used as intended. In their optimal use direction (loaded along the long axis), most climbing carabiners are certified for at least 20 kN.
The maximum force for an actual climbing fall is 5kN.
Minimum UIAA carabiner strength
UIAA climbing buckle testing is done in a static fall far exceeding the forces experienced in an exaggerated climbing fall. If you want to know the exact mechanism and procedures used for the test, please see the official UIAA website.
Spindles
All climbing buckle shapes except oval: 20 kN
Oval climbing carabiner: 18 kN
Opening
D, Offset D carabiner: 7 kN
HMS / Pear shape (safety hook) shape: 6 kN
Oval-shaped carabiner: 5 kN
Short shaft
All carabiner shapes: 7 kN
UIAA Emphasis
When tested with free fall, Karabiners never break.
Falling climbers are also free to move laterally and reduce vibrations from the protector and soft rope brakes …… The UIAA standard for climbing carabiners requires more than 20 kN static strength. This value corresponds to a mass of about 2 tons to be maintained before breaking. 20kN exceeds the most severe falls in climbing accidents.
If you want to buy a carabiner for mountain climbing, remember to check whether there is CE or UIAA certification on the product. Of course, you can also recognize the brand to buy, like Kinjee as a carabiner manufacturer with many years of carabiner production experience, each product is strictly tested and passed the CE certification, so recognize our brand to buy the, Therefore, the carabiner purchased under our brand is safe and solid and trustworthy.
