Carabiners
Carabiners are an essential part of the serious climber’s kit bag. They are designed to take the load along their major axis (major unbroken length).
Understanding the breaking load (rating, safe working load, safe working limit) is critical as incorrect loading can reduce the breaking point by large amounts.
Correct positioning of the load on the carabiner is of paramount importance. For example a carabiner that is rated at 2000kg may only have a 600kg breaking point across the minor axis.
Carabiners come in a variety of formats. The most common being the twistlock carabiner, but other varieties include the screwgate carabiner, auto-locking carabiner and the split carabiner.
Carabiners can be Plain or more typically D-shaped. They should be cleaned with warm water, liquid soap and a soft brush, and then thoroughly dried prior to storage. Any moving element on the carabiner can be treated with silicone, but never oil.
If dropped onto a hard surface or if used to arrest a major fall then the carabiner should be generally considered as being at “end of life”.