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Non-Locking Carabiners

Top Picks

How we choose: The best non-locking carabiners highlighted here were selected based on 11 reviews of 10 products. Our top picks are those that are readily-available in the United States and have received the highest overall ratings from reviewers.

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Black Diamond Oz

user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1 review)

The Oz carabiner is a small carabiner that can be used in sport, trad, and alpine climbing. It's lightweight but has a decent gate opening making it more functional than other small carabiners.

Reasons to Buy

  • Good clipping action
  • Lightweight - 22g
  • Keylock (new model)
  • Multiple colors

Review The Oz carabiner is a good all-around biner. It’s not the lightest out there nor does it have the largest gate opening (22mm) but it works well and I’ve always found Black Diamond wire gates easy to clip. The new Oz has a wire hood design making it keylock like the Petzl Ange S but is the cheaper of the two. It also comes in multiple colors to match the Black Diamond Cams. Small Carabiner Overview There are a handful of small, full strength carabiners on the market from 19 grams to 28 grams.

Read more: Black Diamond Oz review (1)

DMM Revolver

user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1 review)

The Revolver deserves to be a lot more popular. Its ostensible exorbitant price is misleading as the 'biner will almost certainly pay for itself in extended rope life if you do much toproping and/or lowering.What it is: A carabiner with a rolling bearing in the basket. This bearing greatly reduces biner/rope friction.Advantageous uses:Top roping and lowering. I haven't seen any data on this issue, but my gut feeling is that regular use of the Revolver in this capacity would at least double the life of a rope which is subjected to a lot of this one-pitch action.Clip in point for directional pieces.

Read more: DMM Revolver review (1)

CAMP Photon Wire Straight Gate

user rating: 4 of 5 (1 review)

The Camp Photon wire gate carabiner is the lightest full size carabiner in the world and has an extremely large gate opening for easy clipping.

Reasons to Buy

  • Lightweight - 29g
  • Large gate opening - 28/29mm
  • Available in straight and bent gates
  • Straight gate comes in multiple colors

Review The Camp Photon carabiner is amazingly light weighing in at 29 grams. It also has a one of the largest gate openings at 28mm for the straight gate and 29mm for the bent gate. I currently have 12 Photon Wire Bent Gate carabiners on the rope end of my quickdraws and they are noticeably lighter than the hotwires I replaced while still being easy to clip. There have been reports of the Photons having sticky gates but I haven’t had any issues after year and a half of use.  Large Carabiner Overview Full size carabiners have also come down in weight in the last few years.

Read more: CAMP Photon Wire Straight Gate review (1)

Black Diamond Oval Wire Carabiner

user rating: 5 of 5 (1 review)

Caution: I DON'T CLIMB. So if you're looking for a review of this product based on its use as a climbing accessory, you won't find it here. I bought these carabiners for use as an accessory biner. They only cost a couple dollars more than the cheap accessory biners, so I thought the extra $ was worth it to know that I'll probably never come up with a way to destroy them. I recommend these for use as a general use biner for attaching things to your pack or belt, and for making a simple pulley system to either hang a bear bag, or pull your canoe up a steep bank.

Reasons to Buy

  • High quality
  • Rated to up to 23KN (5,170 lbs of force)
  • Wide gate
  • Large enough to use with gloves on
  • Cheap!

Reasons to Avoid

  • Not as light as some other lightweight models
  • Only comes in silver

This biner weighs 45g. It's lighter than many, but not as light as some of the newer lightweight biners. But as usual, if you want to shave a few more grams off your pack, you're going to spend a little more. $6!!! I went in to the store to buy 1, but at this price, I bought 3. This will allow me to... rig up a basic pulley system to make hanging a bear bag a little more convenient or haul my canoe up a steep bank, hang a hammock, hang my coffee cup off my pack or belt loop when I'm not using it, but don't want to put it away just yet, clip my Pelican box or day pack to the thwart of my canoe, so that I know it's not going anywhere, clip my dog's leash to anything while I lock up my car, get her some food & water, look for something in...

Read more: Black Diamond Oval Wire Carabiner review (1)

Black Diamond Neutrino

user rating: 5 of 5 (1 review)

Lightweight. Strong. Reliable. What else do you need?

Reasons to Buy

  • Lightweight
  • Strong
  • Easy to use

This is a great little product. I don't know if there are lighter full-size, full strength carabiners out there, but these are fantastic. Obviously the way you use the carabiner is going to change your opinion of them, but for hammock camping and general campsite use, they're fantastic. The biggest drawing point is the weight.  I think if my 30 L bag were filled with these, I wouldn't notice.  And so, they double as a means to hang stuff off your pack as you hike without much added weight.

Read more: Black Diamond Neutrino review (1)

More Reviews of Non-Locking Carabiners

Trailspace reviewers have shared 11 reviews of 10 different non-locking carabiners.

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Other Types of Carabiners and Quickdraws

Find more carabiners and quickdraws reviewed in these related categories:

Locking Carabiners

Quickdraws

all Carabiners and Quickdraws

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