18 Best Carabiners in 2023

A Carabiner clip comes in different shapes and sizes, with some serving great for climbing and others handy in securing a water bottle to a hiking backpack. They are further differentiated by those that have a locking mechanism and those that don’t.

You will find carabiners made from aluminum and those made from stainless steel. There are carabiners that are oval-shaped and those that have an asymmetric D-shape.

To make the right decision and purchase the carabiner clip that will meet your particular needs and last a long time, we compiled an extensive guide. These picks have passed rigorous testing in icy and warm weather conditions all while remaining robust and ready for more challenges.

Depending on what type of climbing you are planning on doing, how much weight you need to carry and what your budget is, this guide has the right carabiner clip for you. Alternatively, if you are searching for an everyday tool that will act as a sturdy storage expander, you will find one of those too.

Carabiner Buyer’s Guide

The word carabiner is etymologically rooted in the German phrase for “spring-hook” and was originally a means for riflemen to keep their “carbine” slung over their shoulder and at the ready. The design was adopted by firefighters and eventually made its way into the mountaineering world through one Otto “Rambo” Herzog in 1911.

The modern carabiner gave climbers a dependable way to fix their rope to the belaying device or the wall without having to tie in or run a rope through the piton they had just hammered into the wall. Carabiners have the added advantage of speed and single-hand operation, a definite boon regardless of their application.

Technically any metal loop with a spring locking metal gate could be considered a carabiner, but in the climbing world, the denomination is reserved solely for gear that’s rated to the appropriate standard (i.e. burlier making sure your water bottle stays attached to your backpack). In the same way, products rated for climbing are designed to be loaded in very specific ways, and regardless of their strength, they shouldn’t be used for commercial or industrial applications like say, transporting a piano to the third story of your apartment building.

In the following guide, we’ll outline the major types of carabiners by shape, gate, strength, and other qualifying factors. In addition, we’ll try to recommend the best type of carabiner per activity and hopefully decrypt some of the industry jargon that comes along with any outdoor activity.

Shapes

For carabiners, form is very much related to function, and the shape of your carabiner can impact everything from the clipping action, to load distribution, and even the baseline structural strength. The first carabiners were pear and oval shaped, and while these designs are still often employed by contemporary climbers, there are a few newer shapes that you’ll see a lot of in your time at the local crag.

D Shape

D shaped carabiners were another one of the major early contributions made to carabiners as climbing protection, making its first appearance sometime in the ’40s.  They’re designed to shift the load towards the strong spine of the carabiner, and also help to mitigate any accidental loading of the gate that might happen from shifting.

The simple and supported design makes them the strongest of all of the different carabiner shapes, provided the spine is carrying the brunt of the burden. They’re a straightforward and utilitarian option that can find suitable applications in many different styles of climbing.

Benefits

• Strongest carabiner shape
• Lighter and more accommodating than oval-shaped

Drawbacks

• Heaviest of all contemporary carabiner shapes
• Don’t have as much clipping volume as the asymmetrical D-shape

Asymmetrical D-Shape

Any recreational climber within most disciplines will use offset D shaped carabiners far more than any other style out there. It’s basically the same as a basic D shape, but tapered in such a way as to save weight and maximize the ease of clipping. You can never really have enough of them.

Offset D carabiners fall short only in that they aren’t as strong as the regular D shape, and they have a little less total internal volume. They’re still pretty resilient, they wouldn’t be so ubiquitously used if they constantly failed. Because the shape is so efficient you can expect to see them in nearly every gate type, and see them used in everything from clipping bolts to racking gear, to anchor building.

Benefits

• Lighter than the true D-shape without compromising strength too much
• Widely applicable in different purposes within climbing
• Have a wider range of opening than oval or D-shaped carabiners

Drawbacks

• Doesn’t direct load towards the spine as well as a regular D-shape

Pear Shape

Pear shaped carabiners (or pearabiners) are notable for their high capacity and easy clipping. They’re also widely applicable to a number of climbing purposes, but this style is most typically seen between your harness and your belay device. You’ll also see them used as a masterpoint occasionally, and their tapered shape allows the gate to open wider than even offset Ds to rack up a lot of gear.

Occasionally you’ll hear this shape referred to as an HMS carabiner, in reference to their compatibility with a Munter hitch belay. The wide, flat head of the carabiner makes it a great masterpoint option.

Benefits

• Can be opened much wider than comparable carabiner designs
• Symmetrical shape is good for specific applications

Drawbacks

• It’s bigger and heavier than most other shapes

Oval

Oval carabiners used to be the go-to for all-purpose mountaineering gear. They have very much dropped out of vogue being on average weaker and heavier than pretty much every other type of carabiner out there. But, their symmetrical shape is still great for racking gear, particularly wire nuts, and they have a couple of other specialty uses such as a carabiner brake rap.

Benefits

• Cheaper than any other carabiner design
• Has some specific applications

Drawbacks

• Heavier and weaker than all other shapes

Other/Specialty Carabiners

You’ll occasionally see other specialty carabiners in your climbing life. Prime examples are the wide opening carabiners you’ll see on ziplines and via ferratas or multidirectional carabiners that are built to specifically withstand loading in a few directions

Gate Types

Even though the vast majority of your carabiners will be D shaped, you should expect to at least have variation between locking and non-locking gates. As a whole these two styles have very different purposes, locking carabiners being used to super essential loads like your belay device or anchor points. Non-lockers are generally used as quickdraws for sport and trad protection, or as a means of gear storage.

In the following section, we’ll cover the major differences between non-locking and locking carabiners, and the types of mechanisms used to lock them. Later we’ll talk about different types of gate shapes and styles you might see between the two.

Non-locking

Having the option to lock your gate closed is great for many different applications within and outside of climbing, but locking gate carabiners aren’t the best tool for every job.

Your draws and the ‘biners on the rope side of your trad gear won’t typically be locking carabiners.  Non-locking carabiners have the benefit of being much lighter, and can easily use any kind of non-locking carabiner for things like racking gear, clipping your chalk bag to your harness, or attached to your backpack as a way to tell the world you climb.

Locking Carabiners

Locking carabiners have some kind of built-in mechanical safety measure to keep your gate from accidentally opening. They’re best applied in situations where you really don’t want your carabiner to fail and are a must for belay devices and with rare exception anchor points.

Take a look at these different kinds of locking carabiners. In the video you can see what the different kinds of locking carabiners are good for.

Screw lock

Screw lock carabiners have a manual locking mechanism that works similarly to any threaded fastener. A textured sleeve on the gate can be screwed down for opening, and then tightened over the nose of the carabiner to prevent accidental opening. All you need to do after that is give it a couple of safety squeezes to make sure it’s locked and you’re good to go.

Benefits

• Easy to operate mechanism
• Cheaper than auto lockers

Drawbacks

• They can seize up if you over tighten them
• Takes more time to open than alternatives

Twistlock

Twistlock, or triple locking carabiners are an easy choice for your belay device because of how easy they are to operate on the fly. These devices work via a tensioned mechanism that you need to twist and pull down in two simple but separate motions in order to get the gate open. Theoretically, all you need to do is let go and they’ll be latched again, but as always it’s a good idea to give your gate a squeeze just to make sure it’s locked up before you trust it.

Benefits

• The triple-action is super safe and not likely to come unlocked
• Faster clipping than screw lock carabiners
• Makes a great option for belay devices

Drawbacks

• More moving parts means there’s more that could possibly break
• Tend to be more expensive than screw gates

Magnetron

This style of carabiner is fast and easy to operate, Black Diamond released their Magnetron magnetic assist model a few years ago, improving on the basic slide gate design. The only caveat with this style is their tendency to get jammed up by dirt, dust, or ice. As a whole this style maximizes speed, but they’re also easier to accidentally open than other styles of locking gate.

Benefits

• Fastest clipping action of all the locking mechanisms

Drawbacks

• Most prone to jamming and freezing out of all the locking options

Straight Gate

These are the most basic shape of the gate itself. They’re characterized as running in a clean line from the pivot point to the nose. They have the typical spring lock mechanism to latch the gate, and as such is easy to operate under any conditions. Straight gate carabiners are used on quickdraws but are also great for racking gear and other applications where you’re frequently clipping and unclipping nonessential things.

Benefits

• Usually the cheapest out of all the options
• Stronger than bent gates

Drawbacks

• Harder to clip than bent gate or wire gate options

Bent Gate

Bent gate carabiners have a bowlike curve that increases the ease of clipping ropes, slings, and webbing.  They’re almost exclusively used for quickdraws. It might not seem like much, but if you enjoy climbing sandbagged sport routes, an easy clip can make a serious difference.

Benefits

• Easier clipping than straight gate carabiners

Drawbacks

• More expensive than straight gate alternatives
• Have limited applications in your climbing

Wiregate

Wiregate carabiners are the lightest option for your non-lockers, which makes them among the lightest carabiners in general. Contrary to intuition this lack of weight doesn’t necessarily make them weaker or less capable of catching you during a fall if they’re used properly. The reduced volume of the gate also allows them to open a little wider. You can use wiregate carabiners anywhere you would use another non-locking option.

Benefits

• Lightest weight of all the gate types
• Don’t suffer a loss of strength despite saving weight
• Can dampen vibrations from falls

Drawbacks

• The gate is much more prone to failure if they’re used improperly
• Cannot lock

Keylock Gates

A keylock carabiner doesn’t refer to the gate itself, but rather to the interface between the gate and the body of the carabiner sometimes called the nose. Also known as hookless or snagless, keylock gates do away with the notched gate traditionally used to keep gates closed. Without the notch,  your ‘biners are less likely to snag on rope or gear while clipping.

Benefits

• Help mitigate snagging when taking gear off of your rack

Drawbacks

• Keylock carabiners are more expensive

Size, Weight, and Strength

The size, weight, and strength of your carabiner are all intimately tied up, but relationships might not be as straightforward as you assume. There are many different philosophies that you use to approach your gear selection, and your own personal climbing style is going to have the biggest impact on the gear you select.

As mentioned, the shape of a carabiner clip has a massive influence on its strength. If they’re rated for climbing use and used properly, the specific brand of the climbing carabiner isn’t going to matter as much. But there are still some considerations you should make.

As a general rule, heavier carabiners are going to have a longer lifespan than their smaller, lighter counterparts. They also might be a little easier to handle when your arms and hands are shot from hauling yourself up a wall.

Smaller carabiners are going to be lighter, but have a shorter working life than big, heavy alternatives before they’re retired to the water bottle. Lightweight is a great way to go for your draws, but may be ill-advised for use as a belay ‘biner.

Applications

Whether you buy a whole sport rack and anchor kit in one go or are the type to slowly amalgamate your set-up over time, you’re going to end up with at least a couple of different types of carabiners. To help build the full picture, here’s a breakdown of common climbing scenarios and the carabiners that are applicable to them.

Belaying and Rappelling– When you’re belaying or rappelling, all of your weight or your partner’s weight is hanging off of the carabiner attached to your belay device. You’ll almost exclusively see large, pear-shaped locking carabiners used for these critical techniques.

See this video about belaying:

Check out this instruction video for making a rappelling device from carabiners:

Trad Quickdraws– Trad protection weighs more than sport quickdraws by nature of design, so you’ll typically have wiregate asymmetrical D shaped carabiners on the rope end of your cams and nuts. Wiregates have the additional benefit of reducing vibration in the event of a fall.

Sport Quickdraws– Chances are you’ll have more sport draws than any other piece of gear, and among these you’ll see mostly non-locking asymmetrical D shapes of all gate types. There’s a lot of room for preference here, wire gates will be the lightest, bent gates will be easier to clip, and straight gates are cheap.

Anchor Building– There are many ways to go about building an anchor, but for our purposes we’ll assume we’re dealing with a standard self-equalizing sport anchor.  Locking D-shaped carabiners are largely considered best practices, with a pearabiner masterpoint.

Racking Gear– When you’re racking nuts and gear, you want to avoid shapes with sudden curves and bends to prevent snagging at a critical moment. Non-locking D-shaped, ovals and asymmetrical D-shaped carabiners are your best bet. Ideally, these will have keylock gates to further prevent getting caught up when you need to.